Not enough coverage, pro-impeachment Dem launches KucinichTV Nick Juliano

Published: Wednesday November 14, 2007



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Print This Email This Largely ignored by the mainstream media, a dark-horse Democratic presidential candidate has decided to create his own coverage with a new online TV station set to launch Wednesday. While the media seems more focused on Rep. Dennis Kucinich's alien encounters than his universal healthcare proposal or warnings about the march to war with Iran, the feisty Ohio Democrat is using the Internet to side-step the normal gatekeepers of presidential campaign coverage. KucinichTV will feature a live town hall meeting at 9 p.m. Wednesday as part of a series of broadcasts planned for the next 10 weeks, the campaign says. Kucinich did receive a burst of coverage when his resolution aimed at impeaching Vice President Dick Cheney provoked several hours of unexpected action on the House floor. Republicans joined with Kucinich and his allies to defeat the Democratic leadership's attempt to kill the bill, but it has been referred to committee where it is expected to languish. On KucinichTV.com, the congressman lists the details of his impeachment measure, which he says is necessary to prevent Cheney from plunging the country into another war with Iran. Kucinich first introduced his impeachment resolution in April, accompanied by a lengthy list of alleged Cheney crimes, including pushing false intelligence in the run up to Iraq. A recent American Research Group poll found 70 percent of Americans believe Cheney has abused his power as vice president, and 43 percent believe he should be impeached. The same poll found 55 percent of voters believe Bush has committed an impeachable offense, although only about one in three believe he should be impeached. Wednesday night's Webcast will unveil the campaign's "New Constitutional Convention Initiative" that aims to spark debate on a variety of issues, according to an e-mail to supporters from Kucinich's campaign manager Michael Klein. The campaign plans to "outline the ongoing assaults on the constitution." Participants will "discuss in detail what can be done collectively and individually to restore crucial constitutional principles," and Kucinich hopes the event will "provide a venue which will lead to a coordinated and sustained national effort to renew the Constitution and restore accountability in government," Klein wrote. Featuring a live Web cast hosted by UStream is Kucinich's latest attempt to engage voters directly. Last week, so many supporters flooded a Kucinich-hosted conference call on impeachment that switchboards were overloaded. Kucinich also has been using his YouTube page to air "campaign updates" that look like regular newscasts but were produced by the campaign. And he began promoting his "Text Peace" initiative early in the campaign.



