While Dennis Kucinich Plays Political Games, Children Suffer

Using poor children as pawns is the nastiest sort of partisan politics. That Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), once a poor child himself, would stoop to this level by voting against the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) shows that his desire to become president has surpassed his ability to support progressive values.

This bill would have expanded an already successful program to provide health insurance to millions of children across the country. It takes some twisted logic for someone who claims to support health care coverage for all to oppose this necessary and overdue move in the right direction.

It wasn't perfect, Kucinich expounded, because it didn't include children who are legal aliens. He took the opportunity to promote his own universal health care bill, HR 676, which would cover both children and adults as a better choice - despite the fact that it is not going anywhere soon.

Does he think omitting legal aliens (reportedly a Democratic compromise to get Republican votes) is reason enough to vote against the needs of the many children in his own district who desperately need health care coverage? Even if S-CHIP was only going to cover the children living below the poverty line, it would affect 25.5 percent of children in Cuyahoga County, in which his district is located. Ohio has planned to expand the program to cover children at triple the poverty level, so the number of children affected skyrockets.

On one hand, President Bush vows to veto the bill, and on the other, Dennis Kucinich votes against it because he doesn't think it goes far enough. This is a perfect example of what is presently wrong with Washington decision-making. Polarizing positions work against functional compromise, resulting in a government that cannot serve in the nation's best interest.

While fringe politicians like President Bush and Congressman Kucinich rant like petulant children, the nation remains stagnant and desperately needs effective leadership. Unfortunately, children in Kucinich's Northeast Ohio district and around the country will pay the price for their obstinate actions.

His contrary vote on S-CHIP is only one of a series of grandstanding votes he's made recently.

First he missed the vote to implement the 9/11 Commission recommendations and was the only member of Congress other than Republican gadfly Ron Paul in refusing to condemn Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for saying Israel should be "wiped off the map." Kucinich claimed it was a bad translation, that Ahmadinejad didn't really say that.

Days later, he was the only Democrat to vote against the US Competitiveness Bill which would provide billions for science education and research including additional funding for NASA, which has a major presence in his hometown of Cleveland, OH. His reason for opposing the bill was that it included a mention of nuclear energy, and Kucinich opposes all things nuclear, even peaceful purposes.

When the Census Bureau released its poverty statistics and found Cleveland to be the fourth poorest city in America, he was off at yet another presidential campaign event, this time in Disney World.

On the eve of the sixth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, he was the only member of Congress to vote against honoring the fallen heroes of that dreadful day. He did so because the resolution didn't mention that September 11th had been used by the Bush Administration as a pretext for the Iraq War.

You can easily make the case that Dennis's votes, as bizarre and embarrassing as they were, were not needed in those cases, so his vying for the spotlight to promote his presidential campaign was no problem.

Last night, the situation changed. Congress needed to show strength to try to avoid a Bush veto on the S-CHIP bill.

Last night, Kucinich played the nastiest sort of "me-me-me" politics.

Last night, Dennis voted against the children.

Rosemary Palmer is the Democratic challenger to Dennis Kucinich in Ohio's 10th Congressional District. www.rosemarypalmerforcongress.com

Comments

[Mike5000]

Neocon Nancy pushed for discrimination against taxpaying LEGAL permanent residents. Would it be OK with you if neocon Nancy had discriminated against blacks? Catholics? Women?

Pelosi has three tasks - to protect Cheney, undermine the Constitution, and continue the Iraq war profiteering. She is doing very well. She is also destroying the Democratic Party, and most Congressional Dims lack the spine to stop her.

Thank goodness we have a real progressive in Kucinich and not another discriminationist like Palmer.

[patrioticintellect]

At least he has stances and maintains them. He's a decisive man and a smart one too.

Also, at least he is calling for single-payer not-for-profit health care and willing to take on the insurance interests. He has the balls to do this when no other Democratic candidate does.

So what happens? AARP gets angry because it has a stake in private health care.

He sees S-CHIP as a reform that will lead Democrats to say...well, this is good enough. We don't need to fight for anything more than this in the way of health care reform. And he doesn't want it to stop here so that is why he voted against it.

He sees the big picture like he saw the big picture when he saved muncipal power and kept it cheap for people when he was mayor. Rosemary, I wish you could see the picture just like Dennis.

[SusanCLE]

"Politics is the art of the possible." (Otto von Bismarck, 1867)

Wise people know this.

Wisdom is apparently in short supply these days.

Elected officials who use their votes to showboat and turn our government into a three-ring circus are not serving the people. They can grandstand all they want in their floor speeches and press releases.

And then they should put their noses to the grindstone and vote for what's POSSIBLE at this point in time, in order to move us closer to the perfection we will never attain.

Dennis is an agent provocateur, not a problem solver. Each has its place, but the people of OH-10 deserve a representative who will WORK for solutions, and not just whore for attention. Dennis has had much more than his 15 minutes, and now it's time for a change. Go Rosemary!

[poeta]

I guess you are neither Latino nor an immigrant!
Kucinich is right in refusing to validate a bill that denies *legal* immigrant children the benefits that other children have. And, mind you, children are not the ones that decide where or when to go from one country to another. Moreover, I think that if you adopted an immigrant child, she will not be able to have the benefits that your other American born children have.

As an American born Latino I'm really tired of the politicos asking for my vote... and then stabbing me in the back :(
Shame on the Democratic leadership to "negotiate" my brothers and sisters for others to have benefits! (same thing use to happen 1/2 a century ago with the rights of AfroAmericans... )

Also, if FDR would have play with the "art of the possible," we would not have Social Security today!!!

Peace with Justice
¡Sí se puede!
Marcos

[Ingsocittome]

"Me me me politics" That sounds a whole lot better than "$ $ $ politics". Screw the middle. This idea that you should change your views to fit the norm is bad at a personal level and it is even worse at a political level. With Kusinich at least you know what you are getting. FYI: Some other CRAZY ideas he's had is war is bad and weed is good, sounds like a smart man to me.

[jmpurser]

We've been playing games with kids health for decades. He just wanted to stop the games and do something real.

[rich1107]

Kucinich was making a point and when the bill comes back from the chimp he will vote to overide the veto. No harm done and a valid point made; healthcare is for everyone.

Kucinich was also correct regarding the inaccurate translation of "Israel should be wiped off the map." Ahmadinejad was calling for the ouster of the regime; much as we are calling for an end to Bushco.

[Desiderata]

Kucinich must be doing better than the MSN tells us, or else why start sharpening the knives?

[rich1107]

Because the author: "Rosemary Palmer is the Democratic challenger to Dennis Kucinich in Ohio's 10th"

[Camel54]

Yes, Ginzaman, universal health care for all is the goal, but you don't go from solidly capitalist, private healthcare to socialised medicine overnight. It has to be done in steps or it won't happen at all. By blocking all measures that move in the right direction, we go nowhere and meanwhile millions of people, let me say that one more time for those in the cheap seats, millions...of...people are suffering. I like Kucinich's idealism, but he needs a can of pragmatism opened up on him.

[CriminallySane]

Kucinich is a pathetic joke. His stunt is the legislative equivalent of letting your house burn down because the fire department won't get there in time to save the kitchen.

We need universal coverage here and now, yet voting against it for poor children because it's not quite perfect enough for his ideological purity tells me everything I need to know, both about Kucinich and his backers.

The perfect is indeed the enemy of the good.

[Ginzaman]

Instead of using little kids to score political points, why not do the REALLY humane thing and have universal health care for all? That way there's no more of this stupid political posturing. And if she wins this seat, would she be willing to give up her govt. universal health care? At least Kucinich has said publically that he would until universal care was passed. Give him a break.