"Dennis Kucinich joins Fox News." This is not an Onion article.
I have never been afraid to say that Dennis Kucinich is my favorite politician. For years, I've thought he was the only one with a spine. Few people knew that he was the last person that Obama had to convince to sign the healthcare bill. He resisted until the final hour because he felt it compromised the original intent of the bill; Kucinich was willing to stand against his party to voice that the healthcare bill had changed so much that it no longer represented that which it was meant to execute. He later addressed his constituents to expound on his hesitation to sign the bill. His consistency in not only going against the grain--when necessary and not for shock-value purposes--but also defending his stance, has made him a model of integrity.
Kucinich is known for critical analysis in making decisions, while always fighting to uphold the value of the Constitution. Some (key word "some") of his political actions include:
- Voting against the Patriot Act because of constitutional violations
- Being the only Congressional member to vote against the "9/11 Commemoration Act," because it did not address the lies employed to bring the United States to war
- Openly being the only Democratic presidential nominee in 2008 to embrace gay marriage
- Drafting the initiative to impeach Cheney and Bush for crimes against the people of the United States
- Opposing military intervention in Libya that was seen as abuse of presidential power
I was heartbroken when he lost his seat because of district reorganization specifically designed to oust him. Kucinich is the only political entity I ever donated to--twice--and I don't even live in Ohio. I donated because I respected his ethics. I donated because of his success in spite of a very destitute upbringing. I donated because I felt that Kucinich provided a consistent voice that the United States so desperately needs. He seemed to be one of the only politicians to recognize early on how the two-party system is closing in on this country. He is a fervent advocate of instant-runoff voting, something that could help restore democracy to the painfully stagnant binary in Washington.
Fox News is notorious for picking liberals who stand so far to the left that all Democrats look insane to anyone who watches the channel as a sole media outlet. It's obvious that they view Dennis Kucinich as that person. Fox News has seen Kucinich's opposition to some of Obama's policies as an opportunity to capitalize on the network's agenda to propagate a negative and inaccurate view of the President. What Fox may not realize is that disagreeing on an issue is not the same as changing one's values. Unfortunately, I can bet that Kucinich's supporters are going to dwindle in the coming days. Kucinich needs to make his motives clear, and I expect that he will.
Yes, Dennis Kucinich is seen as a crazy liberal, but he was my crazy liberal. He's my Barney Frank. I don't want to see him used by the least fair-and-balanced news outlet to sell nonfactual ideals. I'm really hoping that this is a blessing in disguise, but things look dismal. I would like to give Kucinich the benefit of the doubt--perhaps he sees this as an opportunity to somehow sway viewers of the network, even just slightly. But for a news outlet that will cut the mic off the second a dissenting opinion is uttered, I highly doubt Kucinich can effect much change.
