Dennis Kucinich

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Representative Dennis Kucinich
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 10th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 7, 1997–
Preceded by	Martin Hoke
Succeeded by	Incumbent (2009)
Born	October 08, 1946 (age 60) Cleveland, Ohio
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Elizabeth Kucinich, Married August 21,2005
Religion	Roman Catholic

Dennis John Kucinich (born October 8, 1946) is an American politician of the Democratic party. He served as the 53rd mayor of Cleveland, Ohio from 1977 to 1979, a tumultuous term in which he survived a recall election and was successful in a battle against selling the municipal electric utility. He today serves as the Representative (Member of Congress) for the 10th District of Ohio. It includes most of western Cleveland, as well as such suburbs as Parma and Cuyahoga Heights. He ran for President of the United States in 2004 and has announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for President in 2008. He is currently the chairman of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Contents 1 Personal details 2 Early career 3 Cleveland Mayoralty, 1977-1979 4 House of Representatives 5 2004 presidential campaign 5.1 Press coverage 5.2 Polls and primaries 6 2008 Presidential campaign 7 The Kucinich Plan For Iraq 8 Congressional campaigns 9 Recognition 10 Opposition to H1B/L3 Visa Programs 11 References 11.1 Footnotes 12 External links

[edit] Personal details

Kucinich was born in Cleveland as the eldest of the seven children of Frank and Virginia Kucinich. His Croatian father was a semi-trailer truck driver; his Irish American mother, a homemaker.^[1] In 1973, he graduated from Case Western Reserve University with both a BA, and an MA.^[2] Kucinich is a Roman Catholic and an environmentalist. He is twice-divorced, with a daughter, Jackie, from his marriage to Sandra Lee McCarthy and married his third wife, Elizabeth Harper, a British citizen, on August 21, 2005. He is one of few vegan politicians in the US.

[edit] Early career

Kucinich's political career began early. He was elected to the Cleveland City Council in 1969, when he was 23.^[1] In 1972, Kucinich ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives, losing narrowly to incumbent Republican William E. Minshall Jr. In 1974, after Minshall's retirement, Kucinich sought the seat again, this time failing to get the Democratic nomination, which instead went to Ronald M. Mottl. Kucinich ran in the general election anyway, as an independent. While he came in third, he still managed to garner almost 30% of the vote. Interestingly enough, Democrat Mottl still managed to win the race, even with such a large chunk of the Democratic vote going to Kucinich. In 1975, Kucinich became clerk of the municipal court in Cleveland and served in that position for two years.^[3]

[edit] Cleveland Mayoralty, 1977-1979

Main article: Mayoral administration of Dennis Kucinich

In 1977, Kucinich was elected Mayor of Cleveland and served in that position until 1979.^[4] At 31, he was the youngest mayor of a major city in the United States.^[1] Kucinich's tenure as mayor is often regarded as one of the most tumultuous in Cleveland's history.^[5][6]

Melvin G. Holli in consultation with a panel of experts, placed Kucinich among the ten worst big-city mayors of all time for reasons of temperament and performance in the book, Best and Worst of the Big-City Leaders 1820-1993 while Kucinich's supporters say that Kucinich kept his campaign promise of refusing to sell Muny Light to CEI and was brave for not giving in to big business. In fact, in 1993, then-Cleveland Mayor Michael White cited Kucinich's "wisdom" in not selling the utility. In 1998 the council honored him for having the "courage and foresight" to stand up to the banks and saving the city an estimated $195 million between 1985 and 1995.^[7]

[edit] House of Representatives

In 1996, Kucinich was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the 10th district of Ohio. He defeated two-term Republican incumbent Martin Hoke in what is still regarded as an upset given the 10th's historic Republican lean; however, he has not faced serious opposition since.

He serves on the Congressional Education and Labor Committee as well as the Government Reform Committee. He is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and is a self-described "Wellstone Democrat."

Kucinich voted against the USA PATRIOT Act. His voting record is not always consistent with that of the Democratic Party. He voted for the resolution calling for an investigation into President Bill Clinton's role in the Monica Lewinsky scandal, a stance inconsistent with most of his party.^[8]

Kucinich has criticized the foreign policy of President Bush, including the 2003 invasion of Iraq and what Kucinich perceives to be building American hostility towards Iran. In 2005, Kucinich voted against the Iran Freedom and Support Act, calling it a "stepping stone to war."^[9] He has since criticized the flag-burning amendment and voted against the impeachment of President Clinton. His congressional voting record has also leaned toward a pro-life stance, although he noted that he has never supported a constitutional amendment prohibiting abortion altogether. In 2003, however, he began describing himself as pro-choice and said he had shifted away from his earlier position on the issue.^[10] Press releases have indicated that he is pro-choice but also wants to initiate a series of reforms, such as ending the "abstinence-only" policy of sex education and increasing the use of contraception in hopes of making abortion "less necessary" over time.

He has criticized Diebold Election Systems, and posted internal company memos on his website.^[11] Kucinich has also been a strong opponent of space based weapons and has sponsored legislation, HR 2977, banning the deployment and use of space based weapons.^[12]

See also:

• Election Results, U.S. Representative from Ohio, 23rd District
• Election Results, U.S. Representative from Ohio, 10th District
• List of United States Representatives from Ohio

[edit] 2004 presidential campaign

Kucinich was criticized during his 2004 campaign for allegedly flip-flopping on the issue of abortion, as previously described.

Ralph Nader praised Kucinich as "a genuine progressive", and most Greens were friendly to Kucinich's campaign, some going so far as to indicate that they would not have run against him had he won the Democratic nomination. However, Kucinich was unable to carry any states in the 2004 Democratic Primaries, and John Kerry eventually won the Democratic nomination at the Democratic National Convention.

[edit] Press coverage

On December 10, 2003, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) announced the removal of its correspondents from the campaigns of Kucinich, Carol Moseley Braun and Al Sharpton. [2] The announcement came one day after a Democratic presidential debate hosted by ABC News' Ted Koppel, in which Koppel asked whether the candidacies of Kucinich, Moseley Braun and Sharpton were merely vanity campaigns, and Koppel and Kucinich exchanged uncomfortable dialogue. [3] Kucinich, previously critical of the limited coverage given his campaign, characterized ABC's decision as an example of media companies' power to shape campaigns by choosing which candidates to cover and questioned its timing, coming immediately after the debate. [4] ABC News, while stating its commitment to give coverage to a wide range of candidates, argued that focusing more of its finite resources on those candidates most likely to win would best serve the public debate. [5]

[edit] Polls and primaries

In the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination race, national polls consistently showed Kucinich's support in single digits, but rising, especially as Howard Dean lost some support among peace activists for refusing to commit to cutting the Pentagon budget. Though he was not viewed as a viable contender by most, there were differing polls on Kucinich's popularity.

He placed second in MoveOn.org's primary, behind Dean. He also placed first in other polls, particularly Internet-based ones. This led many activists to believe that his showing the primaries might be better than what Gallup polls had been saying. However, in the non-binding Washington, D.C. primary, Kucinich finished fourth (last out of candidates listed on the ballot), with only eight percent of the vote. Support for Kucinich was most prevalent in the caucuses around the country.

In the Iowa caucuses he finished fifth, receiving about one percent of the state delegates from Iowa; far below the 15% threshold for receiving national delegates. He performed similarly in the New Hampshire primary, placing sixth among the seven candidates with 1% of the vote. In the Mini-Tuesday primaries Kucinich finished near the bottom in most states, with his best performance in New Mexico where he received less than six percent of the vote, and still no delegates. Kucinich's best showing in any Democratic contest was in the February 24 Hawaii caucus, in which he won 31% of caucus participants, coming in second place to Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. He also saw a double-digit showing in Maine on February 8, where he got 16% in that state's caucus.

On Super Tuesday, March 2, Kucinich gained another strong showing with the Minnesota caucus, where 17% of the ballots went to him. In his home state of Ohio, he gained nine percent in the primary.

Kucinich campaigned heavily in Oregon, spending thirty days there during the two months leading up to the state's May 18 primary. He continued his campaign because "the future direction of the Democratic Party has not yet been determined"^[13] and chose to focus on Oregon "because of its progressive tradition and its pioneering spirit."^{[citation needed]} He even offered to campaign jointly with Kerry during Kerry's visit to the state, though the offer was ignored.^{[citation needed]} He won 16% of the vote.

Even after Kerry won enough delegates to secure the nomination, Kucinich continued to campaign up until just before the convention, citing an effort to help shape the agenda of the Democratic party. He was the last candidate to end his campaign, mere days before the start of the convention.

[edit] 2008 Presidential campaign

On December 11, 2006 in a speech delivered at Cleveland City Hall, Kucinich announced he would seek the nomination of the Democratic Party for President in 2008. [6]

His platform^[14] for 2008 includes:

• Creating a single-payer system of universal health care that provides full coverage for all Americans.
• The immediate withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq and replacing them with an international security force.
• Guaranteed quality education for all, including free pre-kindergarten and college for all who want it.
• Immediate withdrawal from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
• Repealing the USA PATRIOT Act.
• Fostering a world of international cooperation.
• Abolishing the death penalty.
• Environmental renewal and clean energy.
• Preventing the privatization of social security.
• Providing full social security benefits at age 65.
• Creating a cabinet-level "Department of Peace"
• Ratifying the ABM Treaty and the Kyoto Protocol.
• Introducing reforms to bring about instant-runoff voting.
• Protecting a woman's right to choose while decreasing the number of abortions performed in the U.S.
• Ending the war on drugs.
• Legalizing same-sex marriage.
• Creating a balance between workers and corporations.
• Ending the H1B and L3 Visa Programs
• Restoring rural communities and family farms.

[edit] The Kucinich Plan For Iraq

On January 8, 2007 Dennis Kucinich unveiled his comprehensive exit plan to bring the troops home and stabilize Iraq. [7] The Plan includes the following steps:

1. The U.S. announces it will end the occupation, close the military bases, and withdraw.
2. The U.S. announces that it will use existing funds to bring the troops home and the necessary equipment home.
3. We will order a simultaneous return of all U.S. contractors to the United States and turn over the contracting work to the Iraqi government
4. We'll convene a regional conference for the purpose of developing a security and stabilization force for Iraq.
5. Prepare an international security peacekeeping force to move in, replacing U.S. troops, who then return home.
6. Develop and fund a process of national reconciliation.
7. We have to once again restart the programs for reconstructions and jobs for the Iraqi people.
8. Reparations for the damage that has been done to the lives of Iraqis.
9. Assuring the political sovereignty of Iraq and making sure that their oil isn't stolen.
10. Repairing the Iraqi economy.
11. Economic sovereignty for Iraq
12. An international truth and reconciliation process, which establishes a policy of truth and reconciliation between the people of the United States and Iraq.

[edit] Congressional campaigns

Kucinich has always been easily reelected to Congress, though Republicans and conservative Democrats have made increasingly high-profile attempts to challenge him. In the 2004 primary election, Kucinich was renominated for the seat representing Ohio's 10th congressional district.

Democratic party primary election results:

Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Dennis J. Kucinich	73,063	86
George Pulling	12,380	14

In the general election, the result was:

Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Dennis J. Kucinich	167,221	59.9
Edward F. Herman	94,120	33.7
Barbara Ferris	17,753	6.3

Kucinich defeated Republican candidate Ed Herman. Because of Kucinich's national fame, both candidates received much backing by their parties from outside the district, particularly on the Internet.

In 2006, Kucinich defeated another Democratic primary challenger by a wide margin, and defeated Republican Mike Dovilla in the general election with 66% of the vote, despite last-minute Republican attempts to bring more support to Dovilla.

[edit] Recognition

In 2003, Kucinich was the recipient of the Gandhi Peace Award, an annual award bestowed by the Religious Society of Friends-affiliated organization Promoting Enduring Peace.

[edit] Opposition to H1B/L3 Visa Programs

Unlike many Washington liberals, Kucinich has been a vocal opponent of the H1B and L3 visa progams. In an article on his campaign website^[15], he states:

"The expanded use of H-1B and L-1 visas has had a negative effect on the workplace of Information Technology workers in America. It has caused a reduction in wages. It has forced workers to accept deteriorating working conditions and allowed U.S. companies to concentrate work in technical and geographic areas that American workers consider undesirable. It has also reduced the number of IT jobs held by Americans."

This position is a departure from the standard Democratic Party line.

[edit] References

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• Official campaign website
• Official Dennis Kucinich YouTube Channel
• Dennis Kucinich For President 2008 Online Map - join it today! Use the Map to Find other Kucinich Supporters, Volunteers, Staff Members, Meeting Places, as well as Campaign Offices
• The Kucinich Plan For Iraq
• Kucinich blog
• Official House website

• Kucinich on Iraq
• "A Prayer for America" - a speech by Kucinich
• Kucinich Introduces Legislation to Ban Space Weapons
• Interview with Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Candidate for the Democratic Presidential Nomination
• Audio and video archive of Presidential campaign events, speeches; video messages from Kucinich
• List of financial contributors
• Democracy now, Wednesday, November 15th, 2006 Democracy Now with George McGovern, debating a representative of the American Enterprise Institute.
• Dennis Kucinich Announces Bid For Presidency
• Congresspedia profile
• On The Issues
• OpenSecrets.org campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart biography
• Washington Post voting record
• The New York Times - Dennis J. Kucinich News news stories and commentary
• Dennis Kucinich Presidential Campaign at the Open Directory Project (suggest site)

Political offices
Preceded by Ralph J. Perk	Mayor of Cleveland 1978–1979	Succeeded by George V. Voinovich
Preceded by Martin R. Hoke	U.S. Representative from Ohio's 10th Congressional District 1997–present	Succeeded by Incumbent

Ohio's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators: George Voinovich (R), Sherrod Brown (D) Representative(s): Steve Chabot (R), Jean Schmidt (R), Mike Turner (R), Jim Jordan (R), Paul Gillmor (R), Charlie Wilson (D), Dave Hobson (R), John Boehner (R), Marcy Kaptur (D), Dennis Kucinich (D), Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D), Pat Tiberi (R), Betty Sutton (D), Steve LaTourette (R), Deborah Pryce (R), Ralph Regula (R), Tim Ryan (D), Zack Space (D) All delegations: Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming — American Samoa • District of Columbia • Guam • Puerto Rico • U.S. Virgin Islands

v • d • e  United States presidential election, 2008
Democratic primaries • Democratic primary polls • Democratic Convention	Republican primaries • Republican primary polls • Republican Convention Republican Candidates' Beliefs
Candidates: Biden • Dodd • Edwards (campaign ,views) • Clinton (campaign, views)(See discussion) • Gravel (campaign, views) • Kucinich • Obama (campaign, views) Candidates with exploratory committees: Richardson Potential candidates: Clark • Gore	Candidates: Brownback • Cox • Giuliani (campaign, views) • Hunter • McCain (campaign, views) • Paul (campaign, views) • Romney (campaign, views) • Tancredo • T. Thompson (campaign, views) Candidates with exploratory committees: Gilmore • Huckabee Potential candidates: Gingrich • Hagel • Pataki • F. Thompson
Announced Third party candidates: Amondson (Prb.) • E. Brown (Grn.) • Burns (Lib.) • Hollist (Lib.) • Imperato (Ref.) • Kubby (Lib.) • Milnes (Lib.) • Parker (IGVA) • Phillies (Lib.), (Campaign) • C Smith (Lib.) • Stanhope (Lib.) • Swift (Grn.) • D. Thompson (Cst.)
Notable independent candidates: Moriarty • Schriner • Weltman • Bloomberg (unofficial)
General articles: Opinion polling (D • R) • Election timeline
Other 2008 elections: House • Senate • Gubernatorial
Federal Election Commission: Campaign filings of 2008 Presidential hopefuls

Persondata
NAME	Kucinich, Dennis John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Kučinić, Dennis (Croatian)
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Ohio politician
DATE OF BIRTH	October 8, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH	Cleveland, Ohio
DATE OF DEATH	living
PLACE OF DEATH