Posted by Sabrina Eaton Rosalie Yelen of Huntington Station, N.Y., wore a pink "Impeach Bush and Cheney" T-shirt as she greeted the Cleveland Democratic congressman. Kucinich, who recently introduced a congressional resolution to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney, gave her group a smile and quick wave before disappearing down a corridor in the U.S. Capitol. Although Yelen, a co-founder of the Long Island, N.Y., chapter of the anti-war group CodePink, fervently believes that President Bush should be removed from the Oval Office, she says she's not convinced that presidential candidate Kucinich should replace him. "Dennis is saying all the right things, but I just worry that he isn't getting the exposure that he needs and that he is not being taken seriously," said Yelen. She hasn't settled on a candidate to support but says she likes former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards' stance on poverty. Therein lies the rub for Kucinich, whose presidential campaign is mired at 1 percent support among Democrats despite pitching himself as the staunchest Iraq war foe in the race. Public opinion on the war has turned his way. Support for his campaign has not. Asked about his appeal to anti-war voters as he approached Yelen's contingent, Kucinich said the "pro-peace" community is just one constituency in which he's drawing support. "They are pro-peace, they are for a not-for-profit health-care system that covers everyone, they are strongly opposed to [the North American Free Trade Agreement] and trade agreements that close manufacturing, they believe strongly in workers' rights," Kucinich said of his supporters. "There are people who are concerned about the health of the planet, as well." So far, however, none of these groups has flocked to Kucinich in sufficient numbers to reverse his standing as an also-ran. A nationwide Pew Research Center poll conducted last month found that 71 percent of likely Democratic voters believe the Iraq war was a mistake, but nearly all of those anti-war voters favor Democratic candidates other than Kucinich. Kucinich had 1 percent support among the 1,184 Democratic war opponents polled, and no backing from the 371 Democrats who told pollsters the war was justified. Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton had 34 percent support from both backers and opponents of the war, while runner-up Barack Obama's backing came disproportionately from war opponents. Twenty-seven percent of the anti-war Democrats polled favored Obama, the Illinois senator, while 18 percent of war backers favored him. John Edwards had 18 percent support from both groups. "There are a lot of factors that go into candidate preferences, like overall leadership qualities and chances of getting elected," said Carroll Doherty of Pew Research. "Iraq is the most important issue in the campaign, but it is not the only issue. Obama is doing better among liberals and war opponents than the other candidates, but despite the fact that most Democrats oppose the war, it isn't enough to get him over the top with Clinton." Ohio State University political scientist John Mueller, an expert on war and public opinion, observed that even though Democratic anti-war voters preferred Vermont Gov. Howard Dean in 2004, the party's nomination went to Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts because he "seemed more like a winner" who could triumph in the general election. "Kucinich keeps getting 1 percent in polls and doesn't look like a winner," said Mueller. "He voted the right way to please people that hate the war most, but you need more than that to become president. He hasn't jiggered up much support." While anti-war voters love what Kucinich has to say about the war, they're put off by his status as a punchline for comedians who mock his unconventional campaign tactics, such as pirouetting during a candidates forum in Las Vegas to show he's the candidate with "no strings" attached. Kucinich's anemic poll numbers and chronic shortage of campaign cash also make them question his viability. Paul Kawika Martin, political director of Peace Action, said there is wide support for Kucinich in his 100,000-member anti-war group, but that candidates including Obama, Edwards and former Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska also appeal to anti-war voters. They're less happy with Clinton, the New York senator, who has promised to remove U.S. troops from Iraq when she becomes president but, critics say, isn't doing enough to achieve that goal sooner. "There is probably a division in the peace movement between those who are purists and want someone like Kucinich who perfectly represents their views, and realists who want a viable candidate," said Martin. "He has a history of running and not doing well, and he doesn't have the fund-raising money." Although Kucinich's steady opposition to the Iraq war appeals to many members of United for Peace and Justice, a coalition representing anti-war groups, national coordinator Leslie Cagan said no consensus candidate has emerged. "There are concerns about who is electable, and who is being taken seriously and who has a shot at it," she said. "There are some who argue that it doesn't matter if someone like Kucinich has no realistic chance of winning; what he's saying is so important that we should support him. What I am hearing is that people think this election is so far away, so why jump in now and lose the focus on ending the war now?" Kevin Zeese, director of Democracy Rising, a group founded by Ralph Nader, is more sanguine on Kucinich. He calls Kucinich "a good spokesman for the cause" and says peace advocates should support him, despite his longshot status, "because his voice needs to be heard." Zeese himself conducted a longshot 2006 campaign for U.S. Senate in Maryland, where he collected 2 percent of the vote as a Green Party candidate. "It is easy to get caught up in the horse race, or who has the highest poll numbers or money," Zeese said, "but that is not really the way change has occurred in the United States." To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: seaton@plaind.com, 216-999-4212
on May 21, 2007, 9:09 pm
24.165.160.128
Washington - As Dennis Kucinich bustled past a Capitol Hill metal detector on the way to cast a series of congressional votes last week, cheers of "Go Dennis!" erupted from an all-female cluster of anti-war protesters.
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