April 24, 2007, 8:20pm
When it comes to the war in Iraq, Rep. Dennis Kucinich touts himself as the only Democratic presidential candidate who has opposed it from the beginning. His campaign has now released a video that makes the case by showing footage of the Ohioan’s critical comments about the war dating back to 2002.
Categories: Ohio, Iraq, Presidency 2008, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Dennis Kucinich
April 10, 2007, 9:50pm
When it comes to U.S. war policy in Iraq, you can’t get much further apart in philosophy than liberal Rep. Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio Democrat who is running for president in 2008, and the conservative Heritage Foundation.
They proved it this week in dueling online videos about the war. Kucinich scolded Congress for not taking a hard line on withdrawing troops, while Heritage accused Congress of playing chicken with President Bush over funding for the troops.
Categories: Military, Ohio, Iraq, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Budget
March 24, 2007, 10:33am
The House yesterday narrowly passed an emergency spending bill that would continue funding U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq but also require the withdrawal of most U.S. troops by Sept. 1, 2008.
The Washington Post reports that the vote, which divided Democrats into factions that either wanted to end the war now rather than wait 18 months or not impose any conditions on funding troops, was 218-212. All but two Republicans voted against the measure; 14 Democrats also voted “no.”
Republicans also decried the addition of money for pet projects in lawmakers’ districts.
President Bush vowed to veto the bill. He scolded Democrats for their “act of political theater” in passing a bill that “has no chance of becoming law” and that would “substitute their judgment for that of our military commanders on the ground in Iraq.”
“The Democrats have sent their message; now it’s time to send their money,” Bush said.
Here are video excerpts of the floor debate:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.: “This war is a grotesque mistake. … Rather than sending more troops into the chaos that is the Iraqi civil war, we must be focused on bringing the war to an end.”
Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio: “The benchmarks I see in this bill are intended to bring about failure, to bring about stumbles. And if you look at all of the handcuffs, all of the hoops and hurdles that are in here, I believe there’s only one outcome … and that outcome is failure.”
Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa.: “We’re gonna make a difference with this bill. We’re gonna bring those troops home, we’re gonna start changing the direction of this great country.”
Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas: “We can’t tie the hands of the guys on the ground with timelines or benchmarks. And worse, we shouldn’t be using an emergency troop spending bill as a way of to finance the political gimmickery of special-interest projects. It’s just exasperating that the Democrat leaders have turned the emergency troop spending bill into a pork-barrel project giveaway.”
Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pa.: The bill “leads our way out of Iraq; it leads the way to rebuild our overextended Army; it leads the way to win the war on terror.”
Minority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo.: “[T]he bill brought before us today isn’t written with victory in mind. It’s prevailing tone is one of defeat, and it’s abiding premise is that America’s mission in Iraq is over and troops’ continued status there is without merit.”
Pelosi’s office posted several more video excerpts of Democratic floor speeches to YouTube.
After the vote, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio Democrat and 2008 presidential candidate who has been a strong opponent of the Iraq war from the start, lamented that the House voted to continue funding the war. he posted an online video appeal to voters, urging them to organize “a powerful civic response” and “insist that our nation take a new direction now in Iraq.”
Categories: Military, Producer's Picks, Iraq, White House, Presidency 2008, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Budget, Dennis Kucinich, Sam Johnson
March 9, 2007, 7:59pm
“This is a fight inside the Democratic Party. … But let me tell you, our party has been the party of the insurance people when it’s come to health care, and that’s going to change when I’m the nominee.”
Categories: Ohio, Health, Presidency 2008, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Dennis Kucinich
March 2, 2007, 12:03pm
Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, the underdog of underdogs in the 2008 presidential race, cast himself as “a president with no strings” while speaking at a Carson City, Nev., forum for the Democratic candidates. Jeff Jarvis of PrezVid couldn’t resist the opportunity to put Kucinich’s performance to music, casting him first as Pinocchio and then as Peter Pan.
And here’s an oldie but a goodie — a shot of one of Kucinich’s presidential rivals, John Edwards, primping at length on camera:
The video mash-up, to the tune of “I Feel Pretty” from “West Side Story,” dates back to November, but it is getting attention again because Edwards talked about it in an interview where he said YouTube is good for democracy:
Categories: Ohio, Presidency 2008, John Edwards, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Friday Fun, Dennis Kucinich
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