General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWe won't have Dennis Kucinich to kick around anymore.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/16/kucinich-announces-retirement-from-congress/, sir.
Hater's gonna hate; this is DU, after all. But spare it in this thread, please.
A good man is being toasted here.
Gregorian
(23,867 posts)Had he been knocked out by a conservative it would have been a disaster. As it stands, he spoke for me on every issue. We need more like him. But those types of non-corporate representatives have it rough in this political machine.
I hope he finds a way to be effective while he reconfigures his context.
valerief
(53,235 posts)What a POS the U.S. Congress is. There are very few gems like DK amongst all the turds.
Skittles
(153,156 posts)one of the few true liberals we had
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)have "politician" hung on him.
K&R
rsmith6621
(6,942 posts)...When he was in Seattle that if he needed help packing a UHaul for Washington State I would be happy to pack it for him and drive the truck as well.
Im glad I had the honor to meet him.
eridani
(51,907 posts)--running for anything. I'd love it if he'd start his third political career in WA State.
Nuclear Unicorn
(19,497 posts)In a good sense or a bad sense?
WilliamPitt
(58,179 posts)For kicking my thread.
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)One of the true good guys in politics. He will be much missed.
Auggie
(31,167 posts)he's a true hero of the 99%.
hlthe2b
(102,236 posts)I'll raise a glass, for sure.
Vidar
(18,335 posts)cyclezealot
(4,802 posts)The Congress is what need be kicked around. Now he is free to be the Truth Teller , now he is away from the corruption of congress.
obxhead
(8,434 posts)Even while in Congress he always brought up the hard truths and fought for us, the 99%. It's a shame he's out, but I hope he continues the good fight.
cyclezealot
(4,802 posts)Not opposition from within the Congress. By adding Kucinich 's voice to those like minded forces, DK could have greater impact on the outside as from within. Its movements that foster change from there leaders evolve. Dennis ' Friends in the media from where DK came will be doing all they can to encourage Kucinich to find his proper role.
ConservativeDemocrat
(2,720 posts)...however I never believed that he was anything but an extremely brave, honest, congressman, who did his best to represent his district and his beliefs, along with giving voice to a segment of American of political thought that rarely is allowed a microphone on the national stage.
So, my hats off to you, Sir. And I wish you all the best.
- C.D. Proud Member of the Reality Based Community
fascisthunter
(29,381 posts)stevedeshazer
(21,653 posts)Back at ya.
flvegan
(64,407 posts)Nice thread.
myrna minx
(22,772 posts)sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)He did fight Corps long before most people knew what they were up to and put his life on the line to do so.
To say he was 'ineffective' is not an indictment of him, but an indictment of Congress. He was right about almost everything this country is now having to deal with. He rarely, to their disgrace, had the support of his colleagues on the issues about which he has now been proven to have been correct. He could have caved and taken the money like the rest of them, but instead he kept trying. And the record will show that at least a few of our members of Congress tried to do what was right during this awful period of our history.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)far too many people think the most important this is political victory. Political victory is nice, but it is trumped by character, a trait far to many of our democratic politicians lack. This guy stood up to the Cleveland mafia- standing up to the lilly livers in congress was probably easy for him.
sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)getting bills passed. Well, lots of Republicans get bills passed, Bush got Congress to sign on to so much truly damaging legislation that you have to wonder why anyone still thinks that 'getting Bills passed' alone, denotes 'effectiveness'.
Kucinich as far as getting his bills to the floor and a few of them passed, was as effective as most in Congress. But the kind of legislation he would have liked to pass and tried to pass, the bills he sponsored, was like trying to get Bush to stop lying about Iraq. The fault that he could not get good legislation passed, lies with the sell-outs in Congress, not with him.
In order to get GOOD legislation passed, you need real representatives of the people. Unfortunately we have far too many Corporate representatives. And now we have one less Rep of the People.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)ljm2002
(10,751 posts)...a man of great courage and integrity, and by that token, a rarity in our Congress. He'll be missed.
K&R
Zorra
(27,670 posts)and honest.
A toast, to a man of genuine integrity.
Remember this, old friends?
by Dennis Kucinich
The Progressive magazine, November 2002
Unilateral military action by the United States against Iraq is unjustified, unwarranted, and illegal. The Administration has failed to make the case that Iraq poses an imminent threat to the United States. There is no credible evidence linking Iraq to 9/11. There is no credible evidence linking Iraq to Al Qaeda. Nor is there any credible evidence that Iraq possesses deliverable weapons of mass destruction, or that it intends to deliver them against the United States.
----
We know that each day the Administration receives a daily threat assessment. But Iraq is not an imminent threat to this nation. Forty million Americans suffering from inadequate health care is an imminent threat. The high cost of prescription drugs is an imminent threat. The ravages of unemployment is an imminent threat. The slowdown of the economy is an imminent threat, and so, too, the devastating effects of corporate fraud.
We must drop the self-defeating policy of regime change. Policies of aggression and assassination are not worthy of any nation with a democratic tradition, let alone a nation of people who love liberty and whose sons and daughters sacrifice to maintain that democracy.
---
America cannot and should not be the world's policeman. America cannot and should not try to pick the leaders of other nations. Nor should America and the American people be pressed into the service of international oil interests and arms dealers.
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Iraq/Bloodstained_Path.html
barbtries
(28,789 posts)he's not that old is he? love him.
white_wolf
(6,238 posts)I don't know how accurate that is, but it would be nice. Perhaps he could undo some of the damage Kasich caused there.
barbtries
(28,789 posts)i hope he doesn't just retire though he's earned it.
DianaForRussFeingold
(2,552 posts)Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)annabanana
(52,791 posts)Zalatix
(8,994 posts)I hate that he's retiring.
brer cat
(24,561 posts)"Knowing love, I will allow all things to come and go. To be as supple as the wind, and take everything that comes with great courage. My heart is as open as the sky. Life is right in any case."
The above lines are from a letter Dennis sent in March to his email followers.
KoKo
(84,711 posts)We will miss his voice in the House of Representatives...but, given what we know about them...he's better out of there.
I expect to see more of him going forward. In ways that will be good for the betterment of us all.
vanlassie
(5,670 posts)scarletwoman
(31,893 posts)I caucused for him in 2004, all the way up to the MN State Convention. I only heard him speak live once, at a campaign rally at the UofM that year. He impressed me no end, so clearly was he possessed of a great mind and a great heart, and an unequivocally progressive spirit.
He always spoke for me, for the values I most hold dear. I sincerely hope that down the road he finds new ways to keep fighting for us 99 percenters, as he did so tirelessly throughout his political career.
Dennis!
fishwax
(29,149 posts)I'm sure he'll continue to fight in other ways.
Beringia
(4,316 posts)I imagine he will be continue to be active in something or other.
felix_numinous
(5,198 posts)is exactly like I would be treated if I were involved in government. It is like he was set example of--to anyone who dare have views so outlandish as ours. He isn't in the 1% insider's club, because he doesn't play the game.
sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)and the same people, many of them sadly on the 'left' who criticize him now, would be telling us what a great
'leader' he is.
We get the government we deserve, I have come to completely believe that over the past few years.
pa28
(6,145 posts)I worked nearly full time for another candidate in 2004 and really treated Kucinich as sort of a political joke. Now I really regret the things I said about him.
He was telling the truth about quite a few things back then and somehow I thought he was just some kind of marginal figure who was using valuable party oxygen with his ranting. Over time I realized he was talking about the right things.
Best wishes to you Congessman. I hope you find your way into public life again.
AnotherMcIntosh
(11,064 posts)Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)2 years from now he'll be back on the campaign trail somewhere.
alittlelark
(18,890 posts)If he had had 1-2 fewer marriages it coulda been GREAT!!!
He is the ideal candidate aside from that pesky 'Dennis Kucinich'.
Rhiannon12866
(205,268 posts)He was tireless and had the courage of his convictions. He was the best and this is our loss...
pacalo
(24,721 posts)and for looking out for the people's interest.
I salute you, dear sir:
pecwae
(8,021 posts)You've earned the right to relax for few months.
I can't see him stepping out completely, but can understand if he opts for just that.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)voteearlyvoteoften
(1,716 posts)Fighting the bill that paves the way for warfare against Iran and any other country that has nuclear capability.
What part of Peace Not War does congress not understand!
OnyxCollie
(9,958 posts)RoccoR5955
(12,471 posts)Kucinich is one of the rare true liberals to brighten the doors of the House in my lifetime, but he is not the only one this year to announce his retirement.
Another, less heard of Liberal, Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D NY22)is also retiring.
They will both be sorely missed. They are both the REAL DEAL.
sellitman
(11,606 posts)Thanks for this thread. I hope his next endeavor in life is fuffilling.
Thanks Dennis