It's Kucinich Time!Fanfare for the common man. And for his lovely wife, Elizabeth.By Scott Raab (more from this author)
11/1/2007, 7:01 AM
The folks who know that Dennis Kucinich cannot be elected president of the United States understand that while principle is nice, an excellent and desirable concept, practical politics is the art of the possible. Democracy requires compromise, and principle at times must yield to necessity.
Being a Clevelander, Kucinich yields to nothing. Ever. When he said no to the sale of Muny Light, the city's banks, led by Cleveland Trust, made good on their ultimatum and refused to extend the city credit on $14 million worth of short-term notes. And by so doing, they deliberately flushed the city down the fiscal toilet and into default, which made more news around the world -- awful news -- and brought Dennis Kucinich's political career to an apparent end.
But not immediately. On December 18, 1978, Mayor Kucinich, surrounded by the media, strode from City Hall to the main branch of Cleveland Trust downtown and withdrew his paltry life savings in protest. And because it was Cleveland, on the very same day, blocks away, his youngest brother, Perry Kucinich, robbed a different bank. Perry wasn't really a criminal; he was literally insane. But it sure looked bad for Dennis.
Because it was Cleveland, though, it could've been worse. The local mob, for reasons that have never been clear -- some say it was because Kucinich disconnected the city's garbage-hauling contract from the Mafia -- hired an out-of-state hitman to whack the mayor at a Columbus Day parade. When Kucinich got sick two days before the parade, the hit was relocated to Tony's Diner at a later date -- and after the default, when it was clear that Kucinich shortly would be out of office, it was called off altogether. Kucinich, meanwhile, on the advice of the police, had long since begun wearing a bulletproof vest, and kept a gun at home.
By saving Muny Light -- it's called Cleveland Public Power now -- Kucinich wound up saving Clevelanders hundreds of millions of dollars. In return for his foresight and political courage, he got thrashed a year later, when he ran for a second term, by George Voinovich, the current U.S. senator, who summed up his '79 campaign platform by telling The New York Times, "I like fat cats -- I want as many in Cleveland as I can get." Shattered by the loss, Kucinich limped back into the hills, unemployed and unemployable, a virtual pariah.
The union crowd knows none of this, of course. They're cheering because, first of all, Kucinich showed up. All the Democrats zipping through New Hampshire trying to build a base for the primary were invited; only Kucinich came. They're cheering too because Kucinich promises to hold hearings on the Verizon sale -- a six-term congressman now, he chairs the Domestic Policy Subcommittee -- and also to ask the FCC and SEC to look into it. And they're cheering because, what the hell, the guy at the microphone with the hot wife and the drab raincoat is yelling and pumping his arm like Huey Long in an old newsreel.
The folks who know that Dennis Kucinich cannot be elected president of the United States understand that while principle is nice, an excellent and desirable concept, practical politics is the art of the possible. Democracy requires compromise, and principle at times must yield to necessity.
Being a Clevelander, Kucinich yields to nothing. Ever. When he said no to the sale of Muny Light, the city's banks, led by Cleveland Trust, made good on their ultimatum and refused to extend the city credit on $14 million worth of short-term notes. And by so doing, they deliberately flushed the city down the fiscal toilet and into default, which made more news around the world -- awful news -- and brought Dennis Kucinich's political career to an apparent end.
But not immediately. On December 18, 1978, Mayor Kucinich, surrounded by the media, strode from City Hall to the main branch of Cleveland Trust downtown and withdrew his paltry life savings in protest. And because it was Cleveland, on the very same day, blocks away, his youngest brother, Perry Kucinich, robbed a different bank. Perry wasn't really a criminal; he was literally insane. But it sure looked bad for Dennis.
Because it was Cleveland, though, it could've been worse. The local mob, for reasons that have never been clear -- some say it was because Kucinich disconnected the city's garbage-hauling contract from the Mafia -- hired an out-of-state hitman to whack the mayor at a Columbus Day parade. When Kucinich got sick two days before the parade, the hit was relocated to Tony's Diner at a later date -- and after the default, when it was clear that Kucinich shortly would be out of office, it was called off altogether. Kucinich, meanwhile, on the advice of the police, had long since begun wearing a bulletproof vest, and kept a gun at home.
By saving Muny Light -- it's called Cleveland Public Power now -- Kucinich wound up saving Clevelanders hundreds of millions of dollars. In return for his foresight and political courage, he got thrashed a year later, when he ran for a second term, by George Voinovich, the current U.S. senator, who summed up his '79 campaign platform by telling The New York Times, "I like fat cats -- I want as many in Cleveland as I can get." Shattered by the loss, Kucinich limped back into the hills, unemployed and unemployable, a virtual pariah.
The union crowd knows none of this, of course. They're cheering because, first of all, Kucinich showed up. All the Democrats zipping through New Hampshire trying to build a base for the primary were invited; only Kucinich came. They're cheering too because Kucinich promises to hold hearings on the Verizon sale -- a six-term congressman now, he chairs the Domestic Policy Subcommittee -- and also to ask the FCC and SEC to look into it. And they're cheering because, what the hell, the guy at the microphone with the hot wife and the drab raincoat is yelling and pumping his arm like Huey Long in an old newsreel.
more...a Long Feature Article at...........
http://www.esquire.com/features/kucinich1107
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