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Jan

26

Read Plain Dealer endorsement of Cimperman


Major hattip to Buckeye State Blog.

Here’s the Plain Dealer’s endorsement of Cleveland City Council member Joe Cimperman over four other Democrats (Rosemary Palmer, North Olmstead Mayor Thomas O’Grady, Barbara Ferris and incumbent Dennis Kucinich) for the nomination to run for the Ohio 10th Congressional seat.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:21 pm January 26th, 2008 in Politics 

Comments

7 Responses to “Read Plain Dealer endorsement of Cimperman”

  1. 1 NixGuy.com » PD Versus Kucinich on January 27th, 2008 3:13 pm

    [...] getting much lefty love in the state.  I think the Honeymoon may finally be over.  See Jill and BSB. Filed under: Ohio by — Dave @ 3:12 [...]

  2. 2 Patrick Maynard on February 3rd, 2008 11:37 am

    Contrary to the PD’s opening rhetoric, it’s neither egoism nor “fantasy” to run for President with no chance of winning. Rep. Kucinich’s withdrawal from this historic 2008 race is a great loss, not only to the 10th District and the City, but because important positions he voiced will no longer be kept before the public: notably, 1) not-for-profit, universal, single-payer, comprehensive health insurance, 2) reduction of expensive militaristic culture and economy, 3) attention to workers, 4) care for children, 5) a different relation to the environment. Whether you agree with these views or not, all clearly require serious debate now. Also, all are issues that greatly affect Rep. Kucinich’s constituency. The ‘information media’, as we all know, did its best to keep that voice from being heard. The PD recommends now recommends muffling it further. How could that be in the City’s interest?

    PD’s main argument is that Rep. Kucinich, though admirable in many ways, is not a practical choice, as he will never have influence in Congress. Being influential, the editors argue, requires practical politics–the art of compromise—but Rep. Kucinich is uncompromising. As evidence, they list a number of what they take to be quixotic Congressional actions, and claim that he is a loner who doesn’t cooperate with his party organization. This PD case is presented anecdotally and in no particular order, without dates, figures–or comparisons.

    Fortunately, readers can find replies on the web, with facts and figures. For example:
    1. Rep. Kucinich serves on six HR committees, chairing one.
    2. His voting in this Congress has been 90.8% with his party (by comparison, Sen. Voinovich’s is 75.4%).
    3. Regarding lack of respect for Rep. Kucinich in Congress, a leading Presidential candidate from his party there, Sen. Obama, publicly stated, “I have a lot of respect for Congressman Kucinich, and I’m honored that he has done this because we both believe deeply in the need for fundamental change. He and I have been fighting for a number of the same priorities — including an end to the war in Iraq that we both opposed from the start, reforming Washington and creating a better life for America’s working families.”
    4. Rep. Kucinich’s HR 399 for impeachment of Vice President Cheney, presented by PD as evidence of his fecklessness and irrelevance has 24 HR co-sponsors, is called for by George McGovern, and nine of the twenty-three members (39%) of the HR Judiciary Committee favor it.
    5. The deal-making political realism that the PD calls for is precisely what Rep. Kucinich rejected in the Muny affair. Is the PD now suggesting that the City would have been better off had he been more compromising, like Rep. Frank? Facts and figures relevant to the City might be cited here. (Regarding the PD’s rhetoric, it seems inappropriate to term “self-righteous” the attitude that placed a political figure in the gunsight of the Mob in protection of a constituency.)
    6. As for serving his constituency and following his party’s majority vote, had Congress followed Rep. Kucinich, on several occasions, besides sparing the present 365 military lost to Ohio, including 34 to District 10, “The Cost of War” website states:

    “Taxpayers in Congressional District 10 (Kucinich) will pay $903 million for the cost of the Iraq War through 2007. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided [some figures are for one year]:
    302,680 People with Health Care, or
    1,011,307 Homes with Renewable Electricity or
    21,661 Public Safety Officers or
    13,823 Music and Arts Teachers or
    111,730 Scholarships for University Students or
    81 New Elementary Schools or
    8,422 Affordable Housing Units or
    513,536 Children with Health Care or
    139,430 Head Start Places for Children or
    15,344 Elementary School Teachers …”

    This gives evidence that Rep. Kucinich has been looking after his constituency. It is others who have failed to do so. Most of them are in Washington, where he is best stationed, to protect his District, City—and, above all, the people.

    Patrick Maynard

  3. 3 Jill Miller Zimon on February 4th, 2008 10:26 am

    Thanks for leaving that comment, Patrick. There’s no question that Dennis has many very loyal (and sane!) followers, or else he wouldn’t be elected over and over. But sadly he is never really interested in converting his enthusiasm for what could be, that others don’t see, into something that appeals to a broader range of people in need – and I think that’s what is infuriating to others and a big turn-off.

  4. 4 Brady01 on February 6th, 2008 1:46 am

    This district has some serious issues, and apparently Dennis has decided that it is more fun to appear at Democratic debates and discuss UFOs than it is to solve real world Rust Belt problems. I’m sick of this. Cimperman ’08!

  5. 5 Patrick Maynard on February 6th, 2008 1:34 pm

    HR676 (http://www.hr676.org/) stands as sufficient response to the PD position, since it provides real evidence, not slurs.

    It has Rep. Conyers’ name on it, although DK (in Greek, that’s “just”) co-wrote it, and it has 88 co-sponsors. It’s already in place for any other proposal by a Democratic candidate to vie with. Take that, one by one, through each of the claims made by PD vs endorsing him.

    There are more arguments, with objective data in this regard. Rep. Barney Frank is a poor comparison. A fairer one would be Rep. Russell Feingold.

  6. 6 Jill Miller Zimon on February 6th, 2008 7:23 pm

    Brady – why do you prefer Cimperman over the other Dems – Palmer, Ferris and O’Grady?

  7. 7 Jill Miller Zimon on February 6th, 2008 7:24 pm

    Well – no doubt, Patrick, you are not alone in your support of Dennis Kucinich. The key will be whether there are enough who keep you company to keep him in office.

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