Why is Kucinich on my TV???

[sampsonblk]

He is on Faux News as I write, claiming that Fox is good because of the need to hold the Dem contenders' feet to the fire and make them defend their positions.

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

[tk2kewl]

1. any publicity is good publicity?

:shrug:

[eridani]

41. Probably

Bad move, IMO.

[Orrex]

2. Why is Faux News on your tv?

But as for Kucinich, I don't understand that one, either. Perhaps a need to ingratiate himself to someone? Maybe he's working to balance the harmony of the universe again?

[sampsonblk]

7. Good question!-nt

Don't worry, I was just flipping the news channels to see which ones were topping the hour with Gonzales. Faux has Kucinich.

[ShortnFiery]

3. Talk about The Big Vacation!

WTF is wrong with Dennis Kucinich?!?

This is wrong on far too many levels.

BTW FOX SUCKS! :grr:

[Ninja Jordan]

4. How long is DU going to apologize for this guy?

[AnOhioan]

14. DK needs no-one to apologize for him

I may nt agree with his recent statements regarding the debates but no-one has been a bigger advoctae for true progressive values.

[Lautremont]

5. That Touch of Kucinich

[Bicoastal]

6. That may be so....

But the general census is that for the last few years, the Republicans have been given a free pass by the media, especially where the WOT is concerned.

Why do we deserve special treatment? The moment the Democrats come in to power, they're instantly subjected to trial by fire--it's unfair, considering that for 12 years, the only thing that stood in the Republicans' path was their own bloated corruption. Whatever happened to news organizations that simply REPORTED the news?

I say if Kucinich if feels Fox is such a necessary evil, he should drop out of the race & run for the position of Alan Colmes' replacement.

[sampsonblk]

8. Where IS Colmes, by the way?

Haven't seen him in a while. (Not that I watch that show.)

[Dr Fate]

10. DK would have done better to endorse the AAR sponsored Republican debates.

I smarter position for DK would have been to say "I will agree to the FOX debates only if the GOP agrees to the AAR debates- fair is fair."

DK jumped the shark- it's really too bad.

[Dr Fate]

9. I have always taken time to defend DK- but now he has jumped the shark.

Going against & exposing RW media is my #1 issue- all the DEM contenders except you seemed willing to at least fire a shot across the bow.

Sorry DK, I dont have your back anymore, since you dont have mine on this one.

[goodhue]

11. anytime, anywhere

Kucinich is ready and willing to talk about the issues. I'm sure he would happily go on any national media that would have him. And why wouldn't he? He has no fear, and is principally about delivering a certain message to all ears.

[sampsonblk]

13. At last, a DK defender

I give you 10 points for effort.

[Hawkowl]

15. IRONY

Since when does FAUX discuss the ISSUES? Kucinich may have a good heart and be right on the issues but he is apparently a first class IDIOT.

We could expect a debate moderated by Fox to include such questions as "When did you stop beating your wife" to "Are you anti-defense or just against our fighting men and women in Iraq?"

Issues? Fox has nothing to do with issues. They deal in propaganda to destroy dems and get Rethugs elected.

[Dr Fate]

16. He should have been unified with us in our opposition to the FOX channel.

He could have used it as an opportunity to ask FOX to retract all the lies they have told about the left:

"I'll agree to your debate as soon as you retract all the lies you have told about my party- fair enough?"

That would have been the classic DK moment I was looking for- instead I get to watch him jump the shark and side with Joe Lieberman...

You miss the point- it's not about a willingness to debate-we all lknow DK has nothing to hide- it's about not giving a fake news organization that attacks DEMS only any extra credibility- DK actually just tried to lend FOX credibility as gadflies where it does not exist.

[LittleClarkie]

20. That's it in a nutshell. Hold the Dems feet to the fire, but not with distortions

and lies.

Sometimes I think the man is too naive for his own good. Or something. I'm not sure what's going on in his head, frankly, except that I thought he was smarter than that.

[MadHound]

42. So that's why Hillary has gotten so cozy with Murdoch?

In order to be "giving a fake news organization that attacks DEMS only any extra credibility" :shrug:

Sorry, but I'll still put up Kucinich's credibility against any other candidates in the field, any day of the week. After all, how much money has he actually received from Fox, especially when you consider the other candidates.

[Dr Fate]

44. Personally, I think Hillary & the DLC wanted the FOX debates.

And I base that on her $$ connex w/ FOX, plus her general coziness w/ conservatives & big business...

But she knows she would have looked pretty silly up there debating only DK-(DK probably would have won- certainly would have embarassed her with some tough questions) so Roger Ailes's Osama/Obama comment gave everyone an excuse for a clean out.

I dont totally disagee with you- I think Hillary wanted the FOX debates too- for a while, some of the Hillary supporters were defending the FOX debates and chiding Edwards just like the DK people are doing now...

I want debates and I want DK in them- but a fight against FOX news-an effort to expose them- is just as important...

[ripple]

12. He's probably the only dem candidate they could get

And he is a bit odd looking and sounding, so I'm sure they don't at all mind presenting him as the voice of the dem party.

I've always liked Kucinich, but he's become a bit too Naderish for my tastes as of late.

[Flabbergasted]

17. What show was that and what time did it air? Is there a transcript or video available?

[sampsonblk]

19. I don't know

It was the 5pm (EST) hour. Whatever show that is.

[Flabbergasted]

21. So we're just taking your word for it?

[sampsonblk]

24. Not at all

You can get off your duff and go look for it, or you can go read his web site where he says essentially the same thing.

[Flabbergasted]

25. I looked for a while. I was googling under fox schedule etc

His Website says nothing of the sort.

[sampsonblk]

26. Video here - The Big Story with John Gibson

http://www.foxnews.com/bigstory/

Scroll down to "As Seen on the Big Story"
The most recent clip is "Dems vs Fox"

The clip includes what looks like an excerpt from Kucinich's appearance this afternoon.

[woo me with science]

18. LOL

It's the only thing he's ever said that they've covered.

[madfloridian]

22. He is not telling the truth about how this all happened.

He is legitimizing Fox News. It was NOT the candidates who shunned the debate...it was the activists and bloggers raising hell about it. Edwards was the first and really the only one to speak out and say no, but that was after Ailes was so mad he was insulting Obama again. And Ailes threatened us NOT to try to boycott him.

And Kucinich is playing right into their hands on this.

He is not informed on it.

[SaveElmer]

23. Two reasons...factime on TV...and a little Sister Souljah action...

He gets his mug on TV which he otherwise probably would not, and he gets to dis the left wing a bit...not enough to run them off, but to try and show moderates that maybe he isn't simply a tool of the left as many think he is...

[Bronyraurus]

27. Kucinich is basically right on this.

It tickles us to see the Dems kick back at Fox, but any exposure is good exposure, especially as more and more Republicans become open to voting for Dems.

[Adelante]

28. Every single Democratic candidate will go on Fox

We will see it happen.

[BootinUp]

29. I'd put money on it.

[MonkeyFunk]

30. of course they will...

this is a big kerfuffle over nothing.

[Bronyraurus]

32. It will be viewed as "crawling back"

The right will crow about it, and the lefties who think that this was a principled stand will feel betrayed. And if they don't crawl back, they will miss out on a huge audience of potentially sympathetic voters.

Bonehead play either way.

[sampsonblk]

33. You miss the value of a united front

Its a bonehead play if they "crawl back" one at a time out of self-interest. But if they all stick together and insist that they will only go on Fox when it becomes a legitimate news network, that would be a huge benefit for all of them.

Problem is, we are all Democrats. Lack of unity, unfortunately, is the norm.

[Bronyraurus]

37. That's a lot of "ifs"

I predict that Fox does nothing to change, and the candidates go on anyway.

[sampsonblk]

43. You predict weakness

So do I. I hope we are wrong.

[Bronyraurus]

45. Yeah, that's just politics for you

I still think it's a big mistake to abandon that audience.

[sampsonblk]

48. 50-state strategy all the way

I'm not for abandoning anyone. I am with Howard Dean. 100%. But to legitimize that medium to get to those particular voters is like shooting our party in the ass to save oneself. The night Hillary Clinton's book came out, Bill O'Reilly has on Juanita Broderick. And their "discussion" was about how a rapist (Pres Clinton) escaped justice and his wife is making a fairy tale out of it all. That was NOT the news of the day.

When Richard Clarke came on TV to talk about how f*cked Bush and Rice were, Jim Angle sought (and received) permission from WH to announce that Clarke had said great things about Bush in confidential background briefings. So the breaking news from the real world was Clarke's comments. On Fox the breaking "news" was Clarke is a damn liar. That was NOT the news of the day.


This is not a news medium and we should NOT legitimize it. But there are legtimiate ways to reach that audience. They should not be boycotted.

*Excuse my tone if I cause offense. Long day.

[Bronyraurus]

49. No offense at all

You make good points. The fact is that no one thinks that Fox News is balanced. It's clearly conservative. But which is better: airing a debate on CNN and having Fox cherry-pick quotes, or airing the whole thing on Fox and having their viewers see the Dems for themselves?

[loyalsister]

52. Agreed

It is also not exactly consistant to complain about not getting coverage while complaining about getting coverage and cheer about boycotting coverage.

DK is making his own news here. I am not a big fan for the most part, but I really respect what he has done here. He's doing what the rest of them should be doing. Candidates need to get the attention of the media and deal with them head on as they exist today.
They are going to hit our candidates hard. They have to know how to handle themselves. Denying the media access to answers and coverage eliminates the opportunity for the public to get to know them. DK knows this he's doing his best to help get the dem message out.

If a person wants to change the operation of the media go to jouralism school. It is a long term goal.

[madfloridian]

31. Dennis made false statements about this:

""If you want to be the President of the United States, you can't be afraid to deal with people with whom you disagree politically," Kucinich said. "No one is further removed from Fox's political philosophy than I am, but fear should not dictate decisions that affect hundreds of millions of Americans and billions of others around the world who are starving for real leadership.""

That statement of his is wrong. Marc Cooper was wrong. It was not a true statement. It was NOT the candidates.

Dennis K. is falling for the Fox spin that it was fraidy cat candidates.

Edwards only said he would not appear after Roger Ailes made a stupid joke about Obama again and threatened Dems who might boycott his network.

Dennis Kucinich should be held to the truth standard. Everyone else is.

[Mass]

34. Edwards said that BEFORE the joke. Also, many people are already saying they

may not go to the other debates.

I understand the question with FOX, but what is the pb with the debates in April in NH and SC. Do the frontrunners think they do not have to debate because they are media-annointed? (and for the record, Edwards is not the person aimed here, and was not the only person aimed at by Kucinich).

[madfloridian]

38. But that doesn't make Kucinich right on the issue.

Those who followed the NV issue saw that it was more complex than just having a debate on Fox.

Some of the big players doing it were NOT in the Dem party itself. The chair signed it, but the party was not consulted apparently.

The candidates have had their reps meeting with the DNC to see if they can somehow cut down on the number of forums. I believe Dean once said they had to attend about 70 to keep up with the others in 03.

I doubt there is anything the party can do, but that is a lot of cost and travel for the candidates, and no one seems to have a control over it if it is the media doing it.

What I resent is the spin people are falling for here at DU. Fox is having great fun with this. Like how dare we not go on their network for a debate.

Dennis made it sound like his fellow candidates were to blame, and that is just wrong. It is a very complicated issue.

[Leilani]

47. You are repeating something that is not true

And I gave you the facts in another thread

Edwards withdrew from the debate on March 7th

The correspondents dinner, where Ailes told his bad joke was on March 8th

[SlowDownFast]

35. Just another example of how politically savvy

Kucinich is. Excellent strategy for him and other democrats alike...

:sarcasm:

[Mass]

36. Why are you watching FOX?\nt

[rhombus]

39. DK needs Fox more than Fox needs him

Fox will use him as a prop and DK will get his media exposure. Its a symbiotic relationship. :popcorn:

[skipos]

40. Kucinich is wrong, but who cares? Let him have his 1% primary support. nt

[baldguy]

46. Kucinich could come out and say "A rainbow is red, orange, yellow..."

then green, blue, indigo & violet."

If it suited their agenda, they'd have him saying "Red, red, red, red, red, red and red".

[Voronski]

50. Kucinich could learn a lot from DU

We speak the truth here, and we don't need anyone questioning us. Liberals regulate themselves, they don't need input from fascists.

[rman]

53. Dennis is reaching voters that other Dems ignore

good for him

[NotGivingUp]

55. Give me a break! DU could learn a LOT from Kucinich! eom

[loyalsister]

51. This is a candidate using the media

They have to do it if they want people other than the choir to hear what they have to say.

[NotGivingUp]

54. where's his quote????? all i'm seeing are YOUR words.