Dennis Kucinich's acomplishments in 14 years in congress

[Hamlette]

according to the Web site GovTrack, of the 97 bills Kucinich has sponsored since taking office in 1997, only three have become law. Ninety-three didn't even make it out of committee.

The three that were enacted are, in chronological order from first to last: A bill "to make available to the Ukranian Museum and Archives the USIA television program 'Window on America,'" a bill "to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 14500 Lorain Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio as the 'John P. Gallagher Post Office Building" and a bill "proclaiming Casimir Pulaski to be an honorary citizen of the United States posthumously."

http://www.salon.com/news/healthcare_reform/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2010/03/10/kos_kucinich

Dennis has never even tried to be an effective member of congress. This is not to say, as is pointed out in the article at the link, that it is not admirable that he stands up for his beliefs but he has been completely ineffectual as a member of congress.

I wonder if it is that his ideas are so far outside the mainstream he is swimming against the tide or whether it is that he is so unskilled as a politician he can't sell his ideas to a majority of his peers.

Some of each I suspect.

[Oregone]

1. The only thing he is good at is killing precious baby Jesus

KEEP UP THE SMEAR! :)

[Robb]

4. Wait, his record is smear?

[LoZoccolo]

7. Well played. n/t

[laughingliberal]

62. ROFL!! nt

[flvegan]

2. Neither. He's up against the party of "no" and a bunch of spineless douchebags.

As for not being effective he may not get much passed because the "Dems" can't bear to lose lobbyist support and all those dollars.

Articles of Impeachment? Only a handful of his fellow lawmakers backed that. So fucking afraid to do the right thing. Losers.

[Auggie]

20. +1

Kooch is the only one with balls. He speaks the truth.

[Octafish]

48. +2

Kucinich stood up to the War Party. That takes more spine and guts than most of the rest will ever know.

[OhioChick]

50. +3 n/t

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

54. +1000

[salguine]

67. + infinity

[LWolf]

94. + 1,000,000

[Political Heretic]

3. Look, I'm not going to wade in deep to this DK mess. He is not God, nor is he Satan.

[DFab420]

13. AMEN!

Sooooo tired of the back and forth,

He's a politician, for better or worse, one day he's a hero and the next a pariah, can we PLEASE oh PLEASE stop talking about this man like he's anything more then just another politician in the House stomping his feet...

[Ardent15]

5. Define "ineffectual"

Number of bills passed does NOT equal effectiveness to me. Sometimes, it's better to stand on principle and be proven right in the long run than to support legislation that is damaging to the country.

Most of the legislation we've had in the past few decades has, frankly, been garbage. Remember, it was a Republican Congress for many of those 14 years of Kucinich's term.

[Robb]

11. Ted Kennedy.

Sponsored 512 bills, 41 became law.

Edited to add: Ted had 8 more years, of course.

[bigwillq]

14. Less than one per year while in the Senate (nt)

[Robb]

17. He co-sponsored almost 2,400.

Edited to add: fewer than Kucinich, BTW.

[bigwillq]

Good for Ted.

Good for Dennis.
I thank them both for their service to this country. RIP, Teddy.

[Ardent15]

19. Senators have a lot more power and clout than Congresspeople. nt

Especially ones like Ted Kennedy, who served for a whopping 47 years.

[Robb]

22. Quite true. nt

[karynnj]

53. That ignores that many pieces of legislation become law,

when the idea or even the language is accepted into a large committee bill or is added as an amendment to a different bill, oven by a voice vote. I assume that this is the case for Kennedy as it was for others.

This is less true with someone like Kucinich.

[lamp_shade]

6. I'll take "unskilled politician" for 50 alex.

[girl gone mad]

71. I'll take "inefffective smear campaign" for $2000.

[Captain Hilts]

8. He is not an effective legislator. nt

[salguine]

68. By your standards, who is?

[sabrina 1]

83. See my posts below. He is as effective as any other

Democrat. This DLC smear is a lie. It is a lie because it omits the information that his record is average when compared to even people like Russ Feingold. I wish if people are going to smear a Democrat on a Democratic Board they would take the time to do some research first.

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LoZoccolo]

21. Maybe some of his supporters could defend him in a substantial way. n/t

[jefferson_dem]

10. A self-aggrandizing political gadfly.

That is all.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DFab420]

16. Clarification

Is it spam because you disagree with it?

Or is it spam because it makes a point against your guy?

Not trying to pick a fight I promise, I just want to know why you think its spam

[Name removed]

27. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LoZoccolo]

30. So Kucinich cannot withstand criticism? n/t

[Sebastian Doyle]

33. This ain't criticism, Oasis

This has been a full on assault on a loyal Democrat.

[LoZoccolo]

37. .

It's not like he's assaulting all the other loyal Democrats.

[LoZoccolo]

38. DELETED MESSAGE BWOOSH!

:nuke: BWOOSH! :nuke: BWOOSH! :nuke: BWOOSH! :nuke: BWOOSH!

[Spazito]

25. Post deleted as concern was addressed n/t

[Sebastian Doyle]

29. Of course it was a typo

Silly me, I must have typed too fast. :)

[Spazito]

31. There is still time to edit!

Unless, of course, you choose not to for some reason.

[ProSense]

34. Delete n/t

[asdjrocky]

15. Enough already.

Principles bother you, we get it.

[LoZoccolo]

24. "Shut up!" - Bill O'Reilly n/t

[asdjrocky]

26. That's a strange one even for you.

[tritsofme]

18. But he sure runs a great presidential campaign!

Oh wait...

[WilliamPitt]

28. *wince*

[OnyxCollie]

60. he did better than Chris Dodd.

[tritsofme]

64. He should consider that line for his epitaph.

[OnyxCollie]

65. Okay, that was kinda funny.

Nothing beats the post at the top.

[Bjorn Against]

23. We need voices who are unafraid to speak out against the majority of Congress

Whether it is Republicans or Democrats in power the fact is that the majority of Congress is wrong far too often. The only way to get a bill passed in Congress is to get the majority of Congress behind it, and when that majority is sold out to corporate interests it is damn near impossible to get any bill that challenges the status quo through. Kucinich may introduce a lot of bills that have no chance of passing, but these bills do serve a very important purpose in that they get people talking about a better way forward. The problem is not Dennis Kucinich, the problem is that most of the other members of Congress are a bunch of corporate sell outs and they deserve the blame for his bills not passing.

[Starry Messenger]

32. A little dull in the sekrit treehous today?

I guess all the beard stroking gets tiresome. I'm glad your royal selves could parade amongst the commoners this week. We'll have commemorative mugs made.

[LoZoccolo]

35. I love these responses, almost nothing but conspiracy theories and "stop it stop it". n/t

[Starry Messenger]

36. You know all these threads are just meta-commentary

reactions from the BOG right? You're the one who sent them all there, so I assume you check in every so often, right?

[fascisthunter]

39. Doesn't it take more then one person to pass some thing in Congress...?

as for why no one supports his efforts is because they are compromised, like you. Sellouts...

[doc03]

40. What do you mean those three bills changed America

for ever..:popcorn:

[still_one]

41. The real point should be where he voted on the issues. Actually that should be the

point of anyone in Congress, and why you should or should not vote for someone

Did he vote for the IWR or the patriot act? A lot of Democrats did. Did he vote the financial bailout with no accountability? A lot of Democrats did. Did he vote for NAFTA, the Communication Act, or the Welfare Reform Act? A lot of Democrats did.

Acomplishments are how a person stands on the issues

The administration wasted the past year catering to republicans who declared early on they would do everything to see he failed

Not only did that delay important work, but it weakened HCR and wasted a lot of time not being able to focus on the economy

The administration, along with their man Tim Kaine let the ball drop on Mass., and by the time they realized that they were in trouble it was too late

As I have said before Senator Fulbright from Arkansas was one of the only Democrats against the Viet Nam war, and he was ridiculed for his stance

I guess if you are "outside the mainstream" that makes you wrong, which is why we still are using many of the bush policies

Thanks for setting me right that being in the mainstream is what it is all about. Civil Rights and Medicare were NOT part of the mainstream at the time, by the way

[undeterred]

42. I don't think his record is unusual.

I remember hearing something similar about my own congressperson. Many bills get sponsored, few become law.

[still_one]

43. How many Democrats voted for the patriot act, the IWR, the telecommunications act

NAFTA, and the Welfare Reform Act

It is always important to be mainstream isn't it?

[Cleita]

44. His ideas that are considered outside the mainstream today were widely held

during the forties, fifties and sixties when we had liberals in office, yes even Eisenhower, who would be considered a lefty today. He marches to the tune of his own drummer but he does take care of his district and that's what Congressmen are supposed to do. He can't sell his ideas to his peers because they are all bought and gift wrapped, which he is not.

[Ardent15]

45. Exactly.nt

[bigwillq]

46. Good post.

:thumbsup:

[laughingliberal]

47. +1000 nt

[Earth_First]

49. Another member of the DU DK hit-squad...

How surprising.

[thediggity]

51. LOL UNTRUE

thats bullshit!
the fucking corporatecrats wont give him ANYTHING unless its some menial thing.
this guy is the shit, I dint give a damn what you say. one of the few good guys on board.
also, his voting record is his biggest accomplishment. so this thread is done for

[Name removed]

52. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Moochy]

55. funny coincidence

all the people I fucking despise at DU are the ones who hate DK. :shrug:

[EFerrari]

56. Thank goodness we still have Dennis to remind us of what a liberal looks like.

[OnyxCollie]

57. Naturally the common people

don't want war want healthcare; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders corporations of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders corporations. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked coverage equals care, and denounce the pacifists true liberals for lack of patriotism compassion and exposing the country to danger wanting others to die. It works the same in any country.

Useful idiots.

[DainBramaged]

58. Democrats like Kucinich thrive on hoodwinking their constituents

13 years ZERO effective legislation for his district, Zero for his Country. Even the worst of the worst on the Reich-wing side of the aisle during the Booshe collapse accomplished more.

[salguine]

69. That you can say that with a straight face after Obama punk'd practically everyone who

worked their asses off for him just defies comprehension.

You know what? That's so far off the stupid-scale I think I gotta put you on Ignore.

[DainBramaged]

93. He who looks like ass never looks in mirror

I guess you have no mirrors in your house?


BuhBye Bozo.

[Name removed]

59. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

61. Deleted sub-thread

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[Name removed]

63. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[salguine]

70. Or their hero is worthless as a President.

[LostInAnomie]

85. You mean the "worthless" president that's going to pass HCR...

... over the objections of DK and his Republican cohorts?

It's ok though. I'm sure DK will find something else to be morally outraged about and then accomplish nothing. That seems to be what he's good at.

edit: I think it's pretty interesting that a post calling a sitting Democratic president "worthless" is allowed to stay, but a post pointing out that DK is worthless as a legislator is deleted. Pretty sad really.

[Incitatus]

66. If the majority of Congress was like him, this country would be a MUCH better place

So think of him what you want.

[girl gone mad]

72. Sounds like you don't understand how the political process works.

[sabrina 1]

73. John Kerry's accomplishments after 23 years in office:

John Kerry has sponsored 485 bills since Jan 6, 1987 of which 399 haven't made it out of committee and 13 were successfully enacted. Kerry has co-sponsored 2,711 bills during the same time period. (The count of enacted bills considers only bills actually sponsored by Kerry and companion bills identified by CRS that were themselves enacted, but not if they were incorporated into other bills, as that information is not readily available.)

23 years and all those bills sponsored and only 13 enacted!! John Kerry is INEFFECTIVE!

[sabrina 1]

74. Barbara Mikulski's accomplishments after 23 years in Congress:

Barbara Mikulski has sponsored 163 bills since Jan 6, 1987 of which 141 haven't made it out of committee and 7 were successfully enacted. Mikulski has co-sponsored 2,237 bills during the same time period. (The count of enacted bills considers only bills actually sponsored by Mikulski and companion bills identified by CRS that were themselves enacted, but not if they were incorporated into other bills, as that information is not readily available.)

I wonder if she and Kerry are so far outside the mainstream or are they so unskilled as politicians that they cannot get their bills passed?

I think it's probably because they are both considered to be 'extremely left' and this country has tilted so far to the right that Richar Nixon is beginning to look like a liberal.

So, another 'ineffective' member of Congress.

[sabrina 1]

75. Barney Frank's accomplishments after 23 in Congress:

Barney Frank has sponsored 380 bills since Jan 6, 1987 of which 317 haven't made it out of committee and 12 were successfully enacted. Frank has co-sponsored 5,323 bills during the same time period. (The count of enacted bills considers only bills actually sponsored by Frank and companion bills identified by CRS that were themselves enacted, but not if they were incorporated into other bills, as that information is not readily available.)

Wow! Another 'ineffective' Democratic Congressman. Only 12 bills enacted in 23 years!!

[sabrina 1]

76. Russ Feingold's accomplishments afte 17 years in Congress

Russell Feingold has sponsored 376 bills since Jan 21, 1993 of which 346 haven't made it out of committee and 6 were successfully enacted. Feingold has co-sponsored 1,204 bills during the same time period. (The count of enacted bills considers only bills actually sponsored by Feingold and companion bills identified by CRS that were themselves enacted, but not if they were incorporated into other bills, as that information is not readily available.)

Hundreds of bills sponsored and only six enacted. Yet another 'ineffective' Democratic Congressman.

[sabrina 1]

79. The smear campaign against Kucinich is

probably going to make me rethink my affiliation with the Democratic Party. Who needs Republicans when we have a whole network of operatives in the Democratic Party working against good, honest and sincere and most importantly, right on the issues Democrats?

I could go on posting the records of other members of Congress, but I think I made my point. Anyone else who wants to do so, feel free. As anyone can see, Kucinich's record is average for a member of Congress.

This LIE that the OP is perpetuating, is clearly a coordinated talking point from the DLC, the rightwing of the Democratic Party and those perpetuating are mindless people unable to do their own research. Just parroting, like the freepers did for Bush, the party line..

It is a lie by omission. Kucinich's record in Congress is about average as my posts above demonstrate.

Kucinich is one of the best Democrats we have and he has a conscience.

If they want his vote, all they have to do is what they American people want them to do. Put a PO in the bill and stop lying to us that it can't be done.

Shame on this party that they would use these tactics against one of their own because they cannot defend the POS bill they are trying to push through Congress.

No wonder Dorgan quit. Who needs this kind of life?

Go Dennis!! Keep up the good work. In time, I know he will be proven right.

[KoKo]

95. Thank You for the research, Sabrina 1......a K&R to you for thoughtful reply

:kick:

[democracy1st]

81. You kicked his a....

[depakid]

89. Suffice it to say, the OP's lost a bit of credibility with this one....

[rpannier]

77. You are either

A.Unclear of the job of a Congressman
B. Aware, but are choosing to ignore it because it doesn't fit with what you want

1. A Congressional Reps primary responsibility is to represent his district
2. Constituent services is a primary importance
3. Promoting and Passing Legislation
4. Attending and participating in committees
5. Preparing for committee meetings
7. Meeting with constituents
etc

So your analysis is not particularly insightful, but it is inflammatory

[FreeState]

78. LOL why didn't you link to the page? Afraid we might read it?

Afraid we might read this?

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/repstats.xpd


Successful Bills

These representatives have brought to the floor the greatest number of bills that were later enacted. (View All Representatives)

Bills Representative
66 Sen. Orrin Hatch since Jan 6, 1987
61 Rep. Donald Young since Jan 6, 1987
41 Edward Kennedy since Jan 6, 1987
38 Sen. Patrick Leahy since Jan 6, 1987
33 Sen. John McCain since Jan 6, 1987
33 Sen. Dianne Feinstein since Jan 21, 1993
Mean: 4.42; Standard Deviation: 3.83.


Unsuccessful Bills

These prolific representatives have introduced the highest number of bills that never made it out of committee. (View All Representatives)

Bills Representative
608 Sen. Charles Schumer since Jan 6, 1987
575 Sen. Olympia Snowe since Jan 6, 1987
546 Rep. Robert Andrews since Jan 3, 1991
543 Sen. Daniel Inouye since Jan 6, 1987
533 Sen. Dianne Feinstein since Jan 21, 1993
465 Sen. John McCain since Jan 6, 1987
Mean: 63.77; Standard Deviation: 59.21.

[sabrina 1]

80. A very deceptive OP pushing a talking point

to smear a Democrat, that is basically a lie. This is what the Republicans used against Kucinich when he was going after Bush. I remember it well as I was posting on rightwing dominated boards at the time. And it's sad that I find myself doing here on a Democratic board, what I used to do in response to those rightwing thugs. Try to present them with facts. It looks like facts are as popular here as they were there with a significant number of people.

[democracy1st]

82. +1

[sabrina 1]

84. I think it's time for someone to do an OP

destroying this lie with facts. Thanks for taking the time to do the research. You have destroyed this OP at least. :-)

[Starry Messenger]

97. FreeState FTW!

:thumbsup:

[depakid]

86. 10 of those years were under Republican control- the next 3 are under so called "centrists"

I guess if you're far right- or center right, Kucinich is not in your mainstream.

[Name removed]

87. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MilesColtrane]

88. Rep. Conyers is almost as liberal as Kucinich, yet he seems to have the ability to...

get other members of Congress to co sponsor his legislative proposals.

[sabrina 1]

96. Conyers record isn't much better than Kucinich's

mainly because Kucinich's record is about average for a Congressmember.

John Conyers has sponsored 290 bills since Jan 6, 1987 of which 232 haven't made it out of committee and 13 were successfully enacted. Conyers has co-sponsored 3,639 bills during the same time period. (The count of enacted bills considers only bills actually sponsored by Conyers and companion bills identified by CRS that were themselves enacted, but not if they were incorporated into other bills, as that information is not readily available.)

Co sponsors or not, he has been in Congress longer than Kucinich, eight years at least, and hasn't had much more success.

Kucininich has co-sponsored a couple of thousanad bills himself, and his voting record on major issues is almost perfect. He co-sponsored the Minimum Wage bill, airc and the Labor Unions have given him a perfect rating, 100% for his support on labor issues.

In fact, it could said that Kucinich has been far more effective than other Democrats in informing the public about major issues, such as the Wars and Torture and other Bush crimes.

Sponsoring bills is not the only way to judge someone's record, nor is the primary job of a member of Congress. This talking point has now been pretty much debunked. But it's sad that the attacks this time are coming from the The Dem. Party against one of their own. Kucinich has been slammed by the Right which could be expected, but since when do Democrats join Republicans in their smears of good Democrats?

[eridani]

90. Obviously reading articles of impeachment against Bush and Cheney was not a accomplishment

It's only an accomplishment if all the bought-off sheep go for it.

[JVS]

91. This really points more to problems with the other democrats in congress

[sabrina 1]

98. Exactly and very succinctly said, although it will go over

the heads of the Kucinich haters I'm sure.

[Vinca]

92. His bills might not go anywhere, but at least he tries.

He's a good person who stands by his principles whether he's the odd man out or not. He shouldn't be listening to his fellow legislators as much as they should be listening to him. I absolutely agree with him about the health care bill. It's enshrining a failed system. The POTUS is running around the country trashing insurance companies while loading us onto the platter. It might be worth passing for the few beneficial changes in it, but the idea of ever having a civilized system similar to other prosperous countries will be completely out of the realm of possibility - maybe forever - after this bill passes.