Public Square: Was Kucinich a Race Baiter, or was Our Story a Hit Job?

A vigorous debate is breaking out over our story "King of Spin: How Dennis Kucinich remade himself from race-baiting bomb-thrower to liberal sweetheart." While some have found the story an interesting take on Cleveland's man who would be president, others see it as a "hit job." Zee offers the latest thoughts on this most pressing matter:

"Kucinich is a genuine leader, something rare these days." Nice multiple tries, Kevin A. You a campaign worker? Pointing fingers and whining do not a "genuine leader" make. Guess who else is against Cheney? Another fraud who can drum up a cult following: LaRouche. Besides the flip-flop on abortion to pander to the only sliver of the voter pie he had a chance of reaching, Kucinich pandered to the 9/11 truther nuts (and didn't deliver on his vague "promise" to "investigate") and most recently, to the Ron Paul cult, which, even if it were a joke that he'd choose antiabortionist federal reserve conspiracist white power player Ron Paul as his "running mate" it proves he knows his fringe followers are cut from the same cult cloth. Hell, he married a New Age Nut. Forget UFOS, this year Elizabeth Kucinich, the pierced-tongue child bride who became Mrs. K #3 after she got a mystical sign from an opal ring, spoke at a new age festival alongside Breatharian frauds who preach a cult of not eating any food, just living on breathing and sunshine. And the Kucinich campaign promoted her kookery until negative attention caused them to pull the links. Cleveland Plain Dealer covered Kucinich's race baiting in 2003, as did Slate and MSNBC in 2004, and Cleveland Magazine in 1978. And Kucinich's recent votes include voting for the religious pandering nonsense applauding the role of Christians in the founding of our naton, and voting against the endangered species protection act. Some progressive principles at work, huh? Maybe instead of hypocritically whining that it's undemocratic and unfair to be shut out of a presidential debate, Dennis could quit playing the imperial candidate long enough to respond to the Gold Star mom Rosemary Palmer, his primary challenger for his congressional seat, who has been waiting for over 3 months now for him to answer her request for debates to inform the voters in his district who would be the best candidate to vote for. But no, Kucinich doesn't believe in democracy at home, it seems.