Kucinich publicity is good thing
It’s nice to see Congressman Dennis Kucinich finally getting some much-deserved media attention (“Kucinich speaks at LCC,” ODE, March 29). From the beginning, truly populist and anti-war candidates like Kucinich, if mentioned at all, were trivialized with labels such as “long shot,” “dark horse” and “unelectable.” Instead of demanding fair and balanced coverage of all their candidates, the Democratic Party elite eagerly contributed to the media feeding frenzy against so-called fringe candidates. Likewise, Howard Dean, an early favorite with voters, was systematically drummed out after it became apparent that he posed a threat to the status quo. Last but not least, the party encouraged candidates to drop out early, long before most voters (like you and me) had a chance to express their preference.
Obviously, the Democratic Party was not interested in discussing issues, particularly divisive issues like the Iraq war and its impact here at home, or in hearing what its constituents’ priorities were. All the Democrats wanted was to quickly narrow the field and start serious fundraising for the campaign against Bush.
In such an anti-democratic environment, the anointing of centrist insider John Kerry — and the re-emergence of Ralph Nader as a countervailing force — should come as no surprise to anyone. What should shake us all to the core is the Democratic Party’s taking advantage of the “anyone but Bush” mentality to give us “someone like Bush” in so many ways.

Mary Forthofer

Longmont, Colo.