Kucinich Watch: Dennis Kucinich Blasts Clinton-Edwards Thoughts

This week Dennis Kucinich proved once again that good things come in small packages as he played David to two of the Democratic presidential candidate Goliaths, caught with their loincloths down when they were overheard discussing a reduction in the number of debaters. Kucinich also reproached Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff for trying to terrorize the American people about summer Al-Qaeda attacks.

At the Detroit NAACP forum mikes picked up a whispered conversation initiated by John Edwards in which he suggested to Hillary Clinton that they "should try to have a more serious and a smaller group." Clinton responded, "We've got to cut the number. ... They're not serious." Clinton added that their staff had tried to limit the debates but it got "detoured" and "we've gotta get back to it," according to the AP.

Dennis Kucinich reacted immediately in a press release that "Candidates, no matter how important or influential they perceive themselves to be, do not have and should not have the power to determine who is allowed to speak to the American public and who is not. . . Imperial candidates are as repugnant to the American people and to our Democracy as an imperial President."

Edwards was questioned about his provocative comments while campaigning in Iowa and claimed that what he really meant was not to exclude any candidate, but rather to separate them into two groups chosen randomly so that "we would have a much more serious discussion and people would actually be able to see what the differences are between us." Clinton mumbled something about enjoying the forums and Edwards having "some ideas" about improving their format, basically dismissing the matter as trivial.

Kucinich sent letters to Edwards and Clinton demanding an apology, and added: "If you are truly seeking debates where there are fewer participants and where there is more meaningful and serious discourse, this is a great opportunity for us to join together in an open discussion on behalf of the American people." He also stated in an interview that trying to rig the election, then denying it, reflected a lack of integrity on the part of Edwards.

Ironically, in the 2004 Iowa primary, candidate Dennis Kucinich generously helped increase Edwards' final delegate vote by instructing his own supporters to back Edwards if they didn't meet voting thresholds in the state's precincts. Isn't it nice to know that John Edwards remembers who his friends are?

Meanwhile, back in Washington, Michael Chertoff told The Chicago Tribune on July 11^th that he had a "gut feeling" about a new period of increased risk for terrorist attacks this summer and the American people should not be complacent. Chertoff cited increased training activities at the Afghan-Pakistani border and Al-Qaeda's alleged interest in summer strikes. Revealingly, his comments come at a time when support for his bosses is at close to rock bottom because of the Iraq fiasco, which they had initiated by scaring much of the public and most of Congress into believing the fiction that the September 11^th Al-Qaeda attacks had something to do with Saddam Hussein.

Dennis Kucinich, on point once again, accused Chertoff of a continuation of a "strategy of deception." He continued, "This Administration is drumming up fear in order to protect its war agenda . . . No evidence has been made public to suggest an attack on the United States this summer, just as there was no evidence that Iraq was harboring Weapons of Mass Destruction."

Readers may recall that one of Chertoff's other dubious claims to fame was his sluggish management of the FEMA response to the Katrina disaster, which caused thousands of people to be stranded in filthy conditions and some to die in New Orleans. Apparently Chertoff's gut feelings failed to kick in at that time to give him any clues about the absolute inevitability of a major hurricane and flood in the area.

Kucinich appealed to his fellow legislators to see through the ruse and do the right thing: "The president is on a mission: To get more money for his war. Congress must also be held accountable and not fall into the Administration's trap. We do not have to fund the war. We have the money to bring the troops home. It does not require a vote. It requires determination and truth."

Unfortunately, determination and truth are becoming harder and harder to come by in what's left of our faltering democracy. Politics now has more to do with how many bucks candidates can suck in to buy themselves power, and how pretty they are. But at least there are still a few honest politicians like Dennis Kucinich, who will never hesitate to speak truth to power, no matter how laughable that may make them in our very cynical times.