Reply #43: For DK, losing signalled rebirth, for Dean quitting was the end in VT [View All]

[dpbrown]

Dennis was subsequently commended by the City of Cleveland for having the political will and foresight to save public power. He went on to beat two Republican incumbents, one during the Gingrich years when most seats were switching in the opposite direction.

Half the people of Cleveland pay less for their power today because of Dennis' courageous stand. The company that Dennis saved Muny Light from went on to become FirstEnergy, the company that just caused the biggest blackout in North American history.

And Kucinich's political rise came after he lost re-election as Mayor. This was not the end of the trail.

In comparison, while Dean has the excuse that he quit the Governor's job because he was going to run for President, his number spread versus opponents had declined every single race from 1992 onward, signalling that Dean's performance in that office merited, from the citizens of Vermont, a signal that they were ready for a non-Dean change.

In fact, every office Dean ever held in Vermont is now held by a non-Democrat, while every office Kucinich held in Ohio and in the US Congress is held by a Democrat now. Kucinich has done a better job winning and keeping Democratic seats.

Had Dean lost the Governor's election in Vermont to Jim Douglas the way Doug Racine did, how likely is it that Dean would have been able to turn a courageous stand he took, say on Civil Unions (oh, except the Supreme Court took the stand there, sorry), to build a political rebirth in Vermont. Not likely.

So for Dean that was the end of the line in Vermont.

Just the opposite for Kucinich. Being the youngest Mayor of a major city in the history of the United States of America was only the beginning.

Kucinich: Better Ideas, Better Candidate - it's just that simple

Dan Brown
Saint Paul, Minnesota