7/9 NW Netroots conference to feature Kucinich, McDermott and a Canadian provincial health minister

http://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2011/06/congressman-dennis-kucinich-to-speak-at-nwroots-2011-in-seattle-on-july-9th.html

Having already made multiple trips to Washington State this year, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich will return on July 9th for the 2011 NWroots Conference in Seattle. Kucinich has been making frequent visits here, presumably in preparation for a redistricting that may leave him without a congressional district to represent. Speculation is that he could settle and run in Washington’s tenth, first, seventh, eighth, or even third district. Demographics for each of these districts will not be fully known until redistricting is complete.

The Tenth District will likely be an open seat. The Eighth may or may not include Mercer Island, where incumbent Dave Reichert currently lives. The First District will be vacated due to Jay Inslee’s bid for governor. The Third is currently a swing district and not safely in Republican hands. There is talk that Jim McDermott may be appointed Ambassador to India, which would leave the Seventh open (although I talked to a McDermott staffer last week who said the rumor that McDermott is angling for the India ambassadorship is complete nonsense).

There are problems with any scenario which includes Kucinich as a candidate, and it is not at all certain he would be a good fit anywhere in Washington.

State Democratic Party Chair Dwight Pelz recently made it clear in a phone conversation with Kucinich that he’d rather the Congressman not poke around the state in search of a district to serve.

Regardless, Kucinich obviously sees potential in Washington. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. One thing Kucinich was clear about when I had dinner with him last month is that he won’t run against an incumbent Democrat anywhere. If he has to relocate it will be in a district where he can run in an open seat, or against an incumbent Republican. He will not take on an officeholder from his own party.

Kucinich will join Congressmen Jim McDermott and Jay Inslee, former Canadian Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh, and Washington State Labor Council President Jeff Johnson at NWroots 2011 on July 9th.

NWroots is a regional conference for liberal bloggers, activists, and citizens interested in progressive public policy. The event will feature keynote speakers, panel discussions, documentaries, and a candidates social.

The closing keynote address will be delivered by Ujjal Dosanjh. In last month’s Federal election, Dosanjh lost his seat in Parliament and announced his retirement from politics. He has previously served as Health Minister in Paul Martin’s cabinet, Premier of British Columbia, and B.C.’s Attorney General.

The conference will be finished off with a special performance by the Total Experience Gospel Choir.

NWroots, which is being organized by NPI and the NWroots Fellowship, will be held at the Comedy Underground in Pioneer Square. Breakfast and lunch are included in the registration price of $50 ($25 students). An after-party will take place one block away at the historic Central Saloon. It should be a fun and interesting day.

I hope you’ll join me and the NPI team at NWroots on July 9th!

http://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2011/07/nwroots-2011-tell-us-how-we-did.html

A number of journalists and activists have written blog posts about NWroots 2011. Here’s a roundup of the ones that we know about: (all links at above URL)

•I Met Kucinich!!! (Jill Richardson/Daily Kos)
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/07/11/993381/-I-Met-Kucinich!!!

•NWroots – Kucinich, McDermott, Total Experience Gospel Choir (DiAnne Grieser/Silenced Majority)
http://silencedmajority.blogs.com/silenced_majority_portal/2011/07/nw-roots-kucinich-mcdermott-total-experience-gospel-choir.html

•Inslee takes the edge off controversial idea (Joel Connelly/Seattle P-I)
•Red meat from a vegan — Kucinich (Joel Connelly/Seattle P-I)

•Demand-Side Economics (Josh Feit/Publicola)
•Inslee (and Kucinich) at Progressive Confab (Josh Feit/Publicola)
•“I’m Not There.” (Morning Fizz/Publicola)
•N-oddly Enough… (Roger Larson/The Liaison Report)
•Kucinich in His Own Words (Goldy/The Stranger)

•Is Kucinich Running in WA? And If So, Can He Win? (Goldy/The Stranger)
http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2011/07/11/is-kucinich-running-in-wa-and-if-so-can-he-win
I personally like Kucinich, and love the fact that there's somebody like him in Congress pushing the agenda from the left, and talking as bluntly as he does. And as a political writer, it would be a blast to cover somebody like him in our state delegation. But count me among the folks who just can't see how he wins.

There's nothing ignoble about being redistricted out of a seat, but moving to Snohomish County only to come in third or fourth in a top-two primary, well that's another story. And I'd hate to see Kucinich end his career on such a low note.

One of them stars three attendees.

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2011/07/cleveland_rep_dennis_kucinich.html

Jean Thomas and Elaine Phelps were hashing out a political sticking point last Saturday afternoon in a dim corner of the Comedy Underground in Seattle's historic Pioneer Square neighborhood.

The longtime Democratic party activists share a progressive philosophy and a Feb. 12 birthday but disagreed on whether Rep. Dennis Kucinich should seek a congressional seat in Washington state next year if his Cleveland district is eliminated.

Slow population growth means Ohio will lose two congressional seats in 2012, and Republicans who control the redistricting process in Columbus are likely to target the districts of Democrats like Kucinich, who has served as a Cleveland mayor, city councilman, state legislator and congressman in a career that spans more than three decades.

http://waliberals.org/am1090-forum-in-kent-kucinich-shone-progressive-talk-show-hosts-defended-obama/2011/07/24/

Kucinich got repeated cheers and standing ovations from the crowd. He said the expected things about ending wars, achieving fair taxation, raising the debt ceiling, protecting Social Security, and taking our government back from the corporations. He worked the crowd well.

There’s absolutely no valid reason why Washington, D.C. is talking about reducing Social Security. It’s rock solid through 2036. Besides, it’s easy to fix, raise the FICA cap above $106,000 so the rich pay their fair share, Kucinich said.

We need another New Deal.

The 1915 Federal Reserve Act took the money power from Congress (where, according to the Constitution, it belongs) and gave it to the Fed.

The other panelists and questioners from the audience were often talking doom and gloom, but Kucinich stayed positive and inspiring.

“Find a vision so that America’s future will be as bright as the day is outside.” (Seattle had sun for a change this weekend.) We need health care for all, jobs for all, education for all, and peace for all. We need an America dedicated to peace. End the American imperium. What’s our vision? Through our creativity and our love of our country we can take back America.

In response to a question from the audience about what practical steps activists can take, Kucinich said that door-to-door contact is important. People are too isolated. Reawaken the sense of citizenship. Stand up at small meetings and talk, like that brave guy in the Norman Rockwell painting. Reclaim our capacity for citizenship door-to-door, neighborhood-to-neighborhood, block-to-block, etc.