Kucinich Attempts To Resurrect Campaign By Committing to CBC/Fox News Debate And Attacking Clinton, Edwards And Obama
May 31, 2007 | Permalink
The Congressional Black Caucus Institute (CBC) and Fox News 
announced a while back that they would be co-sponsoring both a Democratic and a Republican primary debate; the Democratic debate is scheduled for September 23, 2007 and the Republican debate is scheduled for Fall 2007 (a date has not yet been set). Following this announcement John Edwards, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton issued statements indicating that they would not be participating in the debate. Since then, talk of the debate had remained quiet and the CBC continues to indicate that the debate is still on.
Last week, Joe Biden announced that he would participate in the CBC/Fox News Debate. [Kudos to Sen. Biden for agreeing to participate in the debate] This in turn led to fresh questions about who will be participating in the debate. Sen. Dodd and Rep. Kucinich did not respond to requests regarding their status last week.
Then, this past Sunday (5/27/07), Dennis Kucinich decided to shake things up a bit by confirming that he would participate in the CBC/Fox News Debate. About participating in the debate, Rep. Kucinich said:
“America needs a President with the ability and willingness to unite people of diverse political views. Let us never forget that the symbol of our country, the American eagle, needs two wings to fly — a left wing and a right wing. I’m prepared to reach out to all Americans. We all deserve to be heard. and we all deserve to be represented.”
“Certainly many Fox viewers are not part of the traditional Democratic base, but they have a right to hear from the Democratic candidates and we as candidates have an obligation to reach out to them. Families who view Fox News have lost loved ones in Iraq, lost their jobs to NAFTA, and lost their homes to medical bills, just as have the viewers of other networks.”
Dennis Kucinich also took issue with Edwards’, Obama’s and Clinton’s refusal to participate, saying:
“This is particularly troublesome because the concerns of African Americans should take precedent over what network is broadcasting the debate,” Kucinich said, “There are matters relating to employment, health care, education, jobs, rebuilding our cities, environment and civil rights that all presidential candidates have an obligation to address and debate. Those candidates planning to skip this debate clearly are trying to avoid a forum where there will be hard-hitting questions from people who may not agree with them. But taking questions from all sides is part of politics, and part of being President. I’m running to be President for all people in this country.”
“…First Sens. Clinton and Edwards were tricked by George Bush into voting for the war. Then they and Sen. Obama voted most of the time to support funding the war. All three have said all options are on the table with Iran, meaning they are ready to go to war against Iran. This raises questions about their judgment, about who they are they, who they represent? African-Americans — and Fox viewers — have a right to know.”
I’ll commend Rep. Kucinich for agreeing to participate in the debate as I am strongly opposed to the idea of withdrawing from a debate simply because Fox News will be hosting it (especially after seeing their first Republican debate, which was pretty good aside from some very silly questions). I just find myself wondering why it took him so long to act on his strong feelings about this debate. It seems to me, given what he believes and what he said that he should have committed to the debate immediately after it was announced or at the very least respond to press inquiries about it (I can think of another recent example of Rep. Kucinich’s rhetoric not corresponding to his actions - his handling of the “Eyes And Ears Project”). So why wait until the beginning of this week and why launch strong criticisms against other candidates about this issue? Here are my thoughts…
- First and foremost, Kucinich has been off the radar for a while. After the first Democratic debate, Mike Gravel cut in on the the little attention that used to be given to Kucinich. Beyond that, he hasn’t really done much. So, he needs to shake things up a bit in order to get some attention.
- Aside from the need to keep his campaign fresh and in the press, it’s also important to keep in mind that CNN’S Democratic Debate is scheduled for this Sunday (6/3/07).
Getting a media bump prior to the debate will enable Kucinich to receive maximum exposure during and after the debate. I’d also like to point out that prior to MSNBC’s Democratic Debate last month, Rep. Kucinch attempted to create buzz by filing Articles of Impeachment Vice President Dick Cheney just two days before the event. - Committing to the Fox News debate offers Kucinich ammunition during this weekend’s debate. If an opportunity arises to challenge the other candidates on this issue, Kucinich will certainly capitalize on it. Thus, his attempt to make this an issue leading up to this weekend’s debate only increase the chance of the issue being raised during the debate.
Other candidates have been chiming in on this issue too…
- Sen. Chris Dodd has announced that he will not be participating in the debate (which seems odd given that he did just appear on Fox News Sunday). His refusal to participate is most likely the result of pressure from far left parts of the Democratic party.
- Yesterday, Gov. Bill Richardson announced that he would not be participating in the debate. Several hours later, Richardson withdrew his statement that he would not participate and instead indicated that he was undecided. Today, his campaign confirmed that he would not be participating in the debate.
- Mike Gravel has not committed to the debate yet, although it seems likely that he would.
In all, I don’t imagine Rep. Kucinich will gain much from this. Even if he goes on a charge against the other candidates during the debate. If this issue has any teeth (and I don’t really think it does…at least not amongst Democrats), Sen. Biden will be the one to gain from it, since he was the first candidate to clearly state that he would participate in the debate.
You May Have Missed…
- Hillary Clinton Backs Out Of CBC/Fox News Debate (4/10/07)
- Obama Backs Out Of Debate Co-Sponsored By Fox News & The Congressional Black Caucus (4/9/07)
- Edwards Backs Out Of Another Debate (4/8/07)
Kucinich lost my vote when he endorsed “Alternative & Complementary Medicine,” which is the polite name for medical quackery.
It would be refreshing for a candidate to call these kinds of practices for what they have always been, what they are & what they continue to be - Scientifically worthless, morally fraudulent & medically useless.
Kucinich is correct. The members of the Congressional Black Caucus have the right to choose where they will have their debate. Obama, Edwards and Clinton are treating the members of the Congressional Black Caucus like children who don’t know what they are doing. The actions of Obama, Edwards and Clinton are a direct insult against the caucus.
What good is a Presidential candidate who can only preach to the choir? Why are Obama, Clinton and Edwards afraid to debate in front of an audience that may disagree with them?
Kucinich is acting very Presidential in his decision. He is reaching out to all of America.
Kucinich’s campaign has a lot of grass roots support. He has the support of most of those who brought America the results of the election of 2006. It doesn’t need resurrecting. Just because the news doesn’t want to carry his campaign, doesn’t mean it is less than alive and well.
I have mixed feelings on this. I don’t feel that Fox News is a real news organization and I do not feel they should be treated like a news organization… but I also understand Kucinich’s points and in the end he’s probably right.