The Des Moines Register put out a press release last week announcing that six of the eight Democratic candidates for President had "accepted invitations" to debate this Thursday. Congressman and Presidential Candidate Dennis Kucinich was not among them.
What the Des Moines Register press release should have said is that they offered invitations to this debate to only six of the eight nationally recognized Democratic presidential candidates and that all six who were invited accepted.
The Des Moines Register is a prominent newspaper. Their editors and writers know how to turn a phrase. And the way they turned that phrase in that news article, the implication is that Dennis Kucinich did not accept the invitation they offered to him. That phrasing by the Des Moines Register implied that Kucinich declined their invitation to debate.
That is not true.
In phrasing its news article the way it did, the Des Moines Register did not tell voters in Iowa -- and voters across the nation, since this debate will be nationally televised -- the whole truth.
Here’s the truth. Here is the arbitrary list of criteria for inclusion in this debate, and in other debates held in Iowa this fall:
Eligible Participants for Des Moines Register Debates will include Presidential Candidates who:
Have filed an FEC Form F-2, "Statement of Candidacy," with the Federal Election Commission; (CHECK)
Have publicly announced an intention to run for the nomination of the Republican or the Democratic Party for President of the United States; (CHECK)
Have employed at least one paid campaign staff representative to perform full-time campaign duties in the State of Iowa on behalf of the candidate since at least October 1, 2007. (CHECK – Kucinich has had a full-time staffer – an Iowa resident – on board since April)
With at least 1% in the Des Moines Register October, 2007, Iowa Poll (CHECK)
And lastly, have a Campaign Office inside the State of Iowa as of October 1, 2007 (to which the Kucinich campaign says CHECK, but the Des Moines Register says CHECK-OUT)
The whole truth, the truth the Des Moines Register is not telling you, is that Dennis Kucinich has a political organization in Iowa. It is small, but it is energetic and energized. His paid state coordinator, Marcos Rubenstein, works out of his home. Dennis and his wife Elizabeth have campaigned in Iowa many times.
The Federal Elections Commission recognizes that the Kucinich campaign has paid staff in Iowa. The IRS recognizes the legitimacy of a home office. Across the country, the Kucinich campaign has at least 15 high-ranking paid campaign staff members who work out of their homes. Their offices are campaign offices.
The Des Moines Register, however, does not recognize a home office as a campaign office.
This is what they sent to the Kucinich campaign when it protested his exclusion from Thursday’s (Dec. 13) debate:
"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."
So is a full-time person on salary and working well more than 40 hours a week not a full-time person because he doesn't waste time and energy lugging his cell phone and laptop from one address to another twice a day?
Yes, the Des Moines Register has determined, arbitrarily, that a campaign must have real estate in Iowa, a storefront, to be a legitimate campaign.
Two things wrong with that. The concept that only landed gentry should be eligible to participate in the political process is an idea that we threw out, not in the last century, but in the century before that.
I am a proud 2004 Kucinich delegate. Hopefully, I will be one again in 2008. These arbitrary 'qualifications' for participation is un-democratic considering we have not cast ONE vote for the next president. What happened to grassroot support? I hope they change their minds. There are many days when I wonder what country I live in?
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serryjw (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2 comments) on Wednesday, Dec 12, 2007 at 3:07:03 PM
Quite a contrast between the country we live in and the sort of country we COULD be living in. With access to the internet, we can learn what is possible, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Canada among others have a system of government that seems to value the citizens they serve. The United States seems to be only concerned with helping those who already have plenty to get even more, with the clear knowledge that as the rich get richer the poor get poorer. Personally, I wish the Corporate America's CEO's and their henchmen in the Washington DC a cozy place in the lower depths of hell.
Veteran, '66-68
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Roger (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 465 comments [22 recommended, 1 rejected]) on Wednesday, Dec 12, 2007 at 3:33:48 PM
Dennis Kucinich should have learned a long time ago how the corrupt election process works. There are forces out there who are bound and determined that a maverick who doesn't play by the rules will not have any chance of landing in the White House. The last time that happened, they had to kill him before things got too far out of hand.
It's not just Iowa, but the entire country. Here in New Hampshire we're subjected to the same pre-election bullshit. Every day there is article after article in the newspapers about Hillary, Obama, and Edwards. To date, two articles about Kucinich have appeared in the Concord Monitor - both of which were condescending, and focused more on his shopping habits at a local health food store, and his short, physical stature than his actual positions on the issues. It's enough to make you vomit.
Meanwhile he trails in the NH polls - if you believe them - and will most likely end up with the same number of votes as he did four years ago.
When is he going to learn that he will never get anywhere until he starts taking the big risk by exposing the lies and rot at the top. He had a perfect opportunity to turn the tables when they tried to blind side him with the UFO question. How could he have not been prepared for that? There is no excuse for that degree of naivete.
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Bill Cain (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 434 comments [67 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Dec 12, 2007 at 3:57:38 PM
as i have said in numerous comments,the onoy person with a real plan to save America is Dennis Kucinich.he is the person the corporate giants keep excluding from debates or just ignor when he gets invited.if you are a intelligent person you better start asking yourself why.Do you really want the corporate media to choose your candidate.I just wrote the iowa register for all the good it will do.
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liberalsrock (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 256 comments [53 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Dec 12, 2007 at 6:21:14 PM
I understand your frustration being in NH and being exposed to the corporate newspaper's attempts at brainwashing. What can you do? Write letters to the editor and stop reading their baloney!
As far as the polls, I feel confident that Dennis Kucinich will do well in NH. I don't believe the standard polls. I know, I used to work for a major polling company in the Chicago area. They don't let you take part in the poll if you didn't vote in the last election - that means all the first-time and young voters, as well as others who didn't vote for whatever reason but plan to vote, are NOT part of the polls that you see in the news.
Those polls are also skewed, because they mostly call only land lines. What demographic uses only cell phones the most? Again young people! And you bet that young and first-time voters are Kucinich voters.
Now the UFO question, I feel that Dennis did handle it well. He got media, mega internet hits that week, and stands as a man of integrity. On Democracy Now, he mentioned Carter and Reagan seeing UFO's, and that means it must be a prerequisite to being President. In the debate, he said more people have seen UFO's (including me) than support Bush. Two great lines. His UFO media also brought to the public's attention the need to reopen government files and reinvestigate a lot of the coverup on this issue.
Dennis can win. Can you imagine it? The Des Moines Register is being slammed with calls and emails about excluding Dennis, and I expect there will be more on the ground the night of the debate.
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Aireen Joven (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments) on Wednesday, Dec 12, 2007 at 6:23:07 PM
Writing letters to MSM newspapers, which attempt to divulge anything beyond the pablum they dispense on a daily basis, will only get you censored. I've tried it. They simply don't run the letter.
If only Dennis had had the instinct to know the UFO question would be coming in an attempt to derail him, he could have used it to his advantage. He could have said, "Yes, I saw a UFO, just like millions of other credible people have, including some former presidents. It displayed characteristics that don't conform to the known laws of physics. I also received a 500-page briefing document about the Disclosure Project's 2001 National Press Club's conference at which over 20 government, military and intelligence personnel gave riveting testimony about their direct involvment in top secret projects that have to do with UFO's and the related technologies, which if divulged I'm told, would be the answer to our energy problems. As president I promise to get to the bottom of the UFO question once and for all."
No backpedaling. No excuses. No silly statements to invoke levity.
Can you imagine what the response would have been on live TV? This election would have been redefined, and Dennis would have received overwhelming public support.
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Bill Cain (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 434 comments [67 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Dec 12, 2007 at 11:03:16 PM
This story is perfect to illustrate just how much control the MSM's have, and a chance to show the Major Holders behind the giant media corporation that controls the Des Moines Register newspaper. It should really open some folks eyes to why MSM does little but mis-inform us. My apologies for not being able to get this posted earlier today. It's the 12/12/07 commentary at the GreatRedDragon.com website.(There are NO ads here.)
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Edward Ulysses Cate (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 232 comments [9 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Dec 12, 2007 at 9:13:37 PM
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