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Published Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008 | 5:51 p.m.
Updated Monday, Dec. 8, 2008 | 11:30 a.m.
At 5:25 p.m., shortly after the Nevada Supreme Court refused to give Dennis Kucinich a seat at the debate, a small band of his supporters marched to a far corner of a parking lot outside the Cashman Center, where supporters of the three major candidates had gathered.
Spectators soon realized that Kucinich was among them. He said:
"The fact of the matter is, NBC is owned by General Electric. General Electric makes power plants. General Electric wants to make sure there is a place to dump the waste."
He was talking about nuclear waste and the now shuttered Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump site northwest of Las Vegas. Kucinich has joined the state of Nevada in opposing the dump. Thus, he said, GE is trying to keep him off the air.
"Now the media has become an issue in this campaign by trying to determine who should be in this debate," he said.
The Cleveland congressman said he will fight for changes to Federal Communications Commission law to ensure that future candidates can participate in debates. "This underlying corruption is something that undermines our democracy. I'm asking you to continue our efforts to stand up and speak."
Kucinich has been allowed to participate in all but one of the Democratic debates. He was barred from the Las Vegas debate by NBC after poor showings in the Iowa and New Hampshire contests.
I'm not a supporter of Kucinich, but he's absolutely right. The mainstream media is simply a fraudulent cheerleader for the status quo. Totally corrupt, indeed.
Kucinich was sent an invitation and should have been allowed to participate. He represents differing viewpoints on many issues, an important part of what was once a democratic process.
Interesting, Giuliani got 3% in Michigan and feels he did very well. Dennis Kucinich got 4% in Michigan yet various media sources have decided that he's so insignificant that we don't need to hear his message. In fact, he and anyone who might like to hear what he has to say are held in such disregard by those media sources that they change the rules to exclude him even when he's met the requirements for qualification. The previous debate from which Congressman Kuicnich was excluded was in Iowa and the rules were set by the local newspaper. Again, at the last minute, he was told he didn't qualify, that time because his permanent campaign office was located in a home rather than in a rented commercial space. That it had to be a commercial space hadn't been specified in the rules.
My number one national issue has become control of the media. As a Democracy we must have access to divergent opinions and accurate information. We've seen where we can be led under the current arrangement of media conglomerates. How can we make the right decisions on issues of war, the economy, healthcare, immigration, the environment, etc. if we aren't getting all the honest information we need? I'm asking all candidates I meet what they plan to do regarding net-neutrality, the FCC and media monopolies.
John Edwards voted to override Bill Clinton's veto of the Yucca Mountain dump site. Then Edwards voted with Bush to create a permanent nuclear dump site at Yucca Mountain. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama voted for the funding for Yucca Mountain.
Of the candidates for President, only Kucinich voted against Yucca Mountain and its funding.
If you oppose Yucca Mountain, you have one choice for President: Dennis Kucinich.
As a descendant of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, patriotism is deeply ingrained in my DNA. I'm extremely disturbed over the corporate takeover of our democracy. When MSM is allowed to decide who appears in OUR nationally televised presidential debates, then the corporate giants are controlling "We the People."
Dennis Kucinich is the only true voice of change. Obama and Clinton have the financial backing of the insurance industry, so their universal healthcare plans will just INCREASE the profits for the very industry responsible for our healthcare crisis!
Kucinich's single payer not-for-profit healthcare plan will fund itself by kicking out the insurance middlemen, thereby recouping billions. Dennis Kucinich is the only candidate to vote against the Iraq war and it's continued funding, and the Patriot Act, which is a clear violation of our civil liberties.
I'm saddened by the continued media manipulation of our democratic process in these presidential debates. Yet I'm more disillusioned by the American people voting for corporate America verses the greatest defender of our constituiton; Dennis Kucinich.
http://www.pnhp.org/
http://www.opensecrets.org/
This is a scandal that will not go away because it speaks to the very heart of what is wrong in our current political system - God Bless Dennis for having the courage and the stamina to stand up to this system -- he is a very courageous, honest, fine human being -- that's why I am supporting him and always will!
Thank you, truthmatters. These "debates" controlled by networks owned by defense contractors, will never cover the issues. And most voters are too lazy, stupid, unwilling (pick one) to ask any questions, let alone find out the truth. Until we have public financing of elections and stop paying the media to cover the candidates with the most money (which mostly goes to them) without any regulation, we will have exactly what we see now. One party--the corporate party. And to hell with the mythical little people.
Kucinich has my vote (thank goodness, I don't live in a state where the Democratic Party has succeeded in keeping him off the ballot). Additionally, I have been talking to everyone I know about his stands on issues such as the war, health care and legalization of marijuana. I'm voting for him even though the deck is stacked against him. I'm going to do the right thing, the way that Dennis Kucinich does the right things. It's a long shot, but as far as I can see, it's the only shot worth taking.