The Largest Minority

January 19th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

After being excluded by General Electric/NBC from the Las Vegas “debate”, Congressman Dennis Kucinich joined Amy Goodman the following day for a re-host of the event. I only wish that they had allowed Dennis to talk more by shortening the clips from Clinton, Obama, and Edwards. Since they all say the same thing anyway, it’s not really necessary to hear each one repeat the other. Still, Democracy Now! deserves major kudos for attempting to right the irreversible wrong committed by NBC. Due to this crime, NBC, the sponsors of the debate, and Howard Dean have received an overwhelming response of emails and calls on why we’re boycotting them permanently.

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January 17th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Dennis Kucinich rocks your grandma something proper. NBC? Not so much.

January 16th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Rest assured that we will continue to hold Disney/ABC and General Electric/NBC accountable for their exclusion of Dennis Kucinich from the last two debates. So rather than give last night’s Democratic “debate” (perhaps “Democratic” ought to be in quotes too) any more coverage than it’s already gotten, I present to you a debate with serious candidates actually talking about real issues - the Green Presidential Debates.

If you want to know what the slight differences are in the rehashed Nixon healthcare plan being proposed by Clinton, Obama, and Edwards, you can find plenty of lengthy filler on YouTube. I’m sure you’ll also be able to hear the word “change” used as a marketing device to sell their conservative platforms, and even learn what their favorite colors are too. Over here on the genuine Left however, we have real discussions and aren’t apologetic about it. The 2008 Green Presidential candidates are Jared Ball, Kent Mesplay, Cynthia McKinney, Kat Swift, and Jesse Johnson. Cindy Sheehan and Ralph Nader are also featured. Hat tip to John Geraghty for the vids.

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January 10th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Though I enjoy Professor Michael Eric Dyson’s commentary and insight on most issues, I couldn’t disagree with him more in this debate. Glen Ford’s critique of Obama is spot on. I’ve always had a problem with Obama’s “There are not two Americas” campaign theme of unity since it runs contrary to his more prominent message of hope and change. Ford points out the white-friendly marketing devices used by Obama which ignore the traditional interests of the black community. I believe he’s right in stating that Obama would be critiqued more harshly on what he says concerning race if he were white. Dyson, on the other hand, seems to be arguing that the time to critique Obama is after he’s already in the White House. He argues primarily about what Obama represents rather than the substance behind who he really is, even going so far as to concede that an Obama presidency will not do much to end poverty or injustice. So why are you endorsing him? It’s really depressing to see someone as intelligent as Professor Dyson using the “lesser of two evils” logic. That’s not democracy.

December 18th, 2007 by Manila Ryce

Alison Stewart, filling in for Olbermann, reports on the battle which took place on the Senate floor Monday. Jah bless Chris Dodd for being the only senator running for president who took a stand against the FISA bill to keep it from coming to a vote in the full Senate. The bill was approved by the oxymoronic Senate intelligence committee in early October, and plans to give immunity from lawsuits to telecommunication companies who assist the government in their warrantless domestic wiretapping program. Warrantless searches are in violation of FISA, and more importantly, something called the fourth amendment.

Kennedy is correct in stating that the president is more interested in protecting the phone companies than American lives. America is not a democracy, it’s a polyarchy where the public is excluded from the decision making process which occurs between the political class and big business. Corporations are the real constituents. Our participation is limited to electing one of two nearly identical leaders. Were we living in a true democracy, the will of the people would not be facing such tremendous opposition from both the Democratic and Republican elites who move against our interests at every opportunity.

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December 13th, 2007 by Manila Ryce

Mike Gravel has been excluded from the last several Democratic presidential debates under the excuse that he is polling too low to be included. Now private powers at the Des Moines Register have excluded Dennis Kucinich, yet are unable to use the same excuse used against Gravel because Kucinich is polling in fourth place nationally. Instead, the Register has excluded Dennis because the Iowa field director for his campaign works from home rather than an expensive store front. This is insane. Make this story known and donate twice as much to Kucinich as you originally planned on December 15th.

Hat tip to Representative Press for the following contact info below. Call up and give the Register hell for hijacking our democratic process. I suppose email is also acceptable for the less confrontational.

The Des Moines Register contacts
Editor Carolyn Washburn (515) 284-8502.
Laura Hollingsworth President and Publisher (515) 284-8041
Randy Brubaker Managing Editor (515) 284-8590
Randy Evans Assistant Managing Editor (515) 284-8118
Letters to the editor e-mail: letters@dmreg.com

Telephone switchboard
Local: (515) 284-8000
Iowa: (800) 532-1455
Outside Iowa: (800) 247-5346

DES MOINES, IA – The highest polling Democratic Presidential candidate among the Party’s progressive, grassroots, activist base, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, has been excluded from the Des Moines Register-sponsored Presidential debate here on Thursday because his Iowa field director operates from a home office rather than a rented storefront.

Despite being the top-ranked Presidential candidate in polls conducted by Democracy for America (DFA), Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), and one of the country’s leading progressive publications, The Nation, Kucinich was not invited to participate in the debate because “It was our determination that a person working out of his home did not meet our criteria for a campaign office and full-time paid staff in Iowa,” according to a statement from the newspaper’s top officials, including editor Carolyn Washburn.

The dismissive reference was to Kucinich Iowa Field Director and State Coordinator Marcos Rubinstein, who coordinates campaign activities from his home office in Dubuque, bolstered by a dozen-or-so other senior campaign staff who have traveled the state over the past several months.

Both the DFA and PDA have been extremely active in Iowa in the past few weeks promoting the top vote-getters in their on-line polls. The DFA is planning to run full-page ads featuring Kucinich, as well as second and third-place finishers John Edwards and Barack Obama; and the 90,000-member PDA has been sending emails to its Iowa members advising them that Kucinich scored first with 41% while Edwards came in a distant second at 26%.

The results of those polls, and others showing Kucinich ahead of “invited” candidates – Senators Joe Biden and Chris Dodd – apparently carried no weight at the Des Moines Register, despite the fact that the newspaper and other national media have been portraying the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses as a national political event that may determine the outcome of the Presidential race.

“The Iowa caucuses have been portrayed as having national implications, and if the Register has decided to use hair-splitting technicalities to exclude the leading voice of the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party, then the entire process is suspect,” according to a statement from the Kucinich campaign. The Iowa Democratic Party, Iowa Public Television, and well-funded political interests have barred Kucinich from previous public appearances. “The Des Moines Register’s arbitrary and unreasonable exclusion of Congressman Kucinich is consistent with the treatment that the Congressman has received from the entrenched political and institutional interests in Iowa.”

Kucinich, his campaign pointed out, is the only Democratic Presidential candidate who voted against the Iraq war authorization in 2002 and every war-funding measure since. He has been warning for years that the Administration’s belligerence toward Iran is unjustified, and, last week’s revelations in the National Intelligence Estimate confirm that. He is the only Democratic candidate who voted against the Patriot Act, and the only Democratic candidate who has called for the repeal of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) because of its disastrous effect on U.S. jobs. Kucinich is also the only candidate pushing for a national, not-for-profit, single-payer health insurance system that will cover all Americans.

“He is also the only major candidate who has been excluded from Thursday’s debate,” said his campaign. “The Des Moines Register, Iowa Public Television, the Iowa Democratic Party, and other broadcast sponsors should be asked to explain why the leading voice in the progressive Democratic constituency has been denied a presence and a voice in this debate.”

source

December 2nd, 2007 by Manila Ryce

Some of the questions from the Iowa Heartland Forum were mind numbingly asinine (“will you support our values?”), but others were fairly personal and relevant. The format was similar to the Logo forum, where each candidate talked to the crowd separately on all of the same issues.

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November 19th, 2007 by Manila Ryce

If the establishment keeps Mike Gravel from attending the Democratic “debate” then he just hosts his own. Like him or not, you’ve gotta respect that.

During the debate in Las Vegas, Sen. Gravel maintained an alternative debate nearby, discussing the other candidates, their policies, and their rhetoric with his supporters, both in attendance, and streamed live via ustream.tv. In this clip, Sen. Gravel confronts Hillary Clinton about her history of public policy relating to Iran.

Mike Gravel was excluded from the last two debates because his campaign hadn’t raised $1 million. Now, whether you dislike Gravel or even think that he detracts from these debates is besides the point. He is a presidential candidate being excluded from consideration by the Democratic leadership and war-profiting corporations based on arbitrary standards they’ve invented. If we allow business to limit our choices and promote their favorite candidates over airwaves which are meant to serve the public interest, then democracy is dead in America.

I personally think it’s time that the supporters of lesser known candidates (even those in the Republican Party) work together for the sole purpose of making these debates fair. Each candidate must be given the same amount of speaking time. The threat of a boycott or even legal action from a large segment of the public could bring that about. The corporate media must be held accountable, and hitting them while ratings are low due to the writers’ strike is probably the best time to do it. Leave me a comment if you’d like to help me get that started, or have ideas regarding such a cross-party movement.

Gravel’s entire “Alternative Debate” is available below the fold. The first 13 ½ minutes is them trying to get the audio working. In between that time and about the 28 minute mark, Mike is killing time before the debate starts on television. The rest is both insightful and humorous. There’s nothing better than grumpy uncle Gravel giving commentary about a rigged event. He lets candidates get their points in, but at times it’s like a political version of Mystery Science Theater. Kudos Mike.

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