Kucinich raises his funds one dollar at a time

Monday, June 11, 2007 | 7:02 a.m.

The steamroller that is Dennis Kucinich's presidential campaign rolled into Las Vegas on Saturday night for a fundraising dinner.

The exclusive $25-per-plate dinner for the long shot Democratic aspirant, at Tipps Thai Cuisine on Spring Mountain Road, had the potential, what with the silent auction and all, to raise thousands of dollars for the elfin peace candidate. Thousands. Probably not five figures, but definitely thousands.

The math:

About 70 true-blue Kucinichites showed. For various reasons, two or three more people ate, and those guys count on the expenses side of the event, even though at least two of them weren't paying (newspaper photographers always do this).

Seventy people times $25 apiece income totals $1,750.

Now deduct the cost, which was $12 a dinner.

That's 72 people times $12, or $864. Total funds raised?

$886.

But there was more. At 8 p.m., exactly $300 had been bid in the silent auction, which included massage gift certificates, gem necklaces and a consultation in "Business Voodoo," the flier for which advises, "as we transition from the age of Pisces to the age of Aquarius, people will transition individually to live in the reality of the future to bring it to life today," and that Kucinich will be president in the dawning age of Aquarius.

The auction ended with a flurry of bids, driving the total up to, say, $500. Add to that the total from little donation envelopes. If they gave as much as they did for the auction, that would be another $500.

So total income: $1,886.

Deduct $400 for Kucinich's coach ticket from D.C. and we're left with $1,486.

Is the presidency being bought?

Not at these prices.

But that's the Kucinich campaign. Genuine, quirky, tiny. Like the man himself.

The event drew what looked like the entire Las Vegas population of cars with liberal bumper stickers. They included the usual stickers for peace, for impeachment and for Greenpeace. Also, one that said, "I poke badgers with spoons."

When the Ohio congressman arrived at 8 p.m., he shook the hand of every supporter in the room. It took five minutes.

Then one of the evening's organizers got on stage to welcome Kucinich with a 12-string guitar song "concerned with a gathering of energy."

Kucinich followed, saying that the world is interconnected and humanity is "a light of wholeness going through a prism." America yearns for peace, which is why he would establish a Department of Peace. It would not only concern itself with not having wars, but also domestic violence, child abuse and violence in the schools. He'd close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. He'd get rid of all the nukes.

"I speak to you as a practical politician," he said. He mentioned his beginnings in Cleveland, which is odd, since in his term as boy mayor (1978-80) the city defaulted on its loans and he barely survived a recall election.

Question time: An older gentleman wearing a black T-shirt and a white blazer got up and said, "In the book I am writing, I refer to the Iraq war as white collar murder." Which led naturally to health care at the Veteran's Administration hospital, which the man said is the kind of health care everyone should get, adding: "Let's go ahead and call it socialized medicine."

Thanks for your question!

It turns out Kucinich is in favor of a Canadian-style health system, and the other democratic candidates, his friends, are all moral cowards to back anything less.

Other questions: The price of gas? He blames oil companies but also hedge fund managers.

Yes, the Bush administration should be held accountable for war crimes.

When it comes to the Federal Reserve ("it's just paper money," the questioner worried), hedge funds are again the problem.

Impeach Vice President Dick Cheney? Yes!

Then someone asked if he would reinvestigate 9/11. About a third of the heads in the room nodded in sympathy.

Kucinich temporized.

"The American people have doubts about the 9/11 investigation," he said. He vowed to use his House subcommittee to explore some of those questions, "and then we can use those answers to explore other questions."

He was out by 9, driving off to the airport with takeout tofu.