After 11 years representing Ohio in Congress, this former Cleveland mayor has become one of the most controversial Presidential candidates in the 2008 election.
Dennis John Kucinich was born in 1946 in Cleveland, Ohio. After attending Cleveland State University for three years, Kucinich transferred to Case Western Reserve University where he graduated in 1973 with both an undergraduate degree and a master’s degree in communication.
Kucinich was elected to a seat on the Cleveland City Council in 1969, while still in college, at the age of 23. He ran for Congress twice in the 1970’s but lost both times. In 1977 he was elected Mayor of Cleveland and became the youngest city mayor in America. He failed in his bid to be re-elected to that post in 1979.
In 1996 Kucinich was elected to Congress. He still holds the 10th District Seat in the House of Representatives for the State of Ohio.
Abortion and Stem Cell Research
Kucinich gradually shifted in the in the early part of this decade from a moderately pro-life position to a more pro-choice position. He says that abortion should be legal and women should have the right to make that choice, but he promotes programs designed to reduce the number of abortions in America. He supports federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.
Education
Kucinich has called for an end to No Child Left Behind. His own children attended public school. Kucinich is in favor of free public education starting with universal pre-school and extending through college. He is opposed to federal tuition vouchers that might help pay private school tuition.
Health Care
Kucinich is in favor of a universal, government supported health care system. He sees America as the only Western democracy without universal health care and calls access to health care “a basic right.” He sees the elimination of for-profit health insurance as part of the key to universal health care coverage.
Immigration
Kucinich is in favor of a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. He voted against building a fence along the Mexican border.
Taxes and Social Security
Kucinich is opposed to efforts to privatize social security. Kucinich is in favor of repealing much of the Bush tax cut.
Gay Marriage
Kucinich is in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage.
The Iraq War
Kucinich voted against the invasion of Iraq. He has called for “the immediate, phased withdrawal” of US forces from Iraq.
Conclusion
While chrisma may not be exactly the right word, Kucinich attracts many supporters because of his unique personality. Some sources say that the mafia in Cleveland hired a hitman to kill him during his time as mayor there in the 1970's. The force of his personality, his outspoken nature, and the radical nature of some of his political views often either attracts or repels voters. He is muched loved in the swing state of Ohio and wins re-election there easily despite (or perhaps because of) his personality and his extreme views.
Dennis Kucinich Official Site: www.dennis4president.com/
