can his ego be seen from space?Democratic hopeful Dennis Kucinich is guest blogging this week on Lawrence Lessig's blog. You may remember that Howard Dean previously guest blogged for Lessig. Unlike Dean who appeared to spout the same campaign drivel, Kucinich has chosen to take quesetions from the peanut galley. His second entry begins with the question "how do you propose to get your broad reforms through a divided congress?" Candidate Kucinich replies: My nomination will set the stage for a Democratic Congress. In 1932, when president Franklin Roosevelt was nominated, he ran on a platform of broad economic reform, which excited people to come out in vote in their own enlightened self-interest. As a result, FDR led a Democratic sweep, which resulted in a pickup of 90 House seats and 13 Senate seats. This was accomplished because he represented profound change. He represented jobs, he represented rebuilding America, he represented a hope for popular control over predatory corporations. My nomination will reverse the results of the 1994 election when the Democrats were unable to regain the House and lost the Senate principally because the parties’ ties to corporate interests muted the differences between the parties and discouraged the Democratic base. My nomination will excite the Democratic base, will broaden the reach of the party, and will engage third party activists to join us in a mighty effort to reclaim our government. Well if it's that easy, sign me up! What about his mirror reflection causes Kucinich to believe that he alone is a man destined to reshape society? As Greg from Begging to Differ rightly points out the United States is sharply divided between the left and the right, and without a unifier like the Great Depression in site (knock on wood). If there has been a unifier in last two years, Dennis Kucinich has shown that he's on the complete wrong side of the issue from the publics perspective. There's a pretty sad fault in Kucinich's reasoning, which may be attributable to his "progressive" agenda. From what I understand, the theory of historical materialism is focused on the belief that our economic systems shape our own impressions of our economic system. In other words, why am I a serf? Well I always have been, it's the way things are. Marx knew that economic systems were the very basis of society and tended to last for hundreds of years. Yet after only a few decades after the Industrial Revolution, Marx was constantly defying his better judgement and declaring the socialist revolution to be on the horizon. Why does Dennis Kucinich believe that his "progressive" agenda alone will be able to derail a growing conservative trend in this country? Because he *really* wants it to? For the country to retend towards the left it will require candidates who embrace Americans where they stand, not candidates who force them to concede that they're on the wrong side of history. History has shown an odd ability to outlast the desires and ego of any one man. |
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