Is Dennis Kucinich tilting at windmills?

Perhaps, but I don’t care. In a world where children are setting the example and shaming adults into action, where our man-child and chief pouts in bed with his Diet Coke and McDonald’s cheeseburgers, where our congressional representatives scurry for cover like cockroaches when the lights come on in the kitchen at 2:12 a.m., where a Russian president does what a long line of first secretaries could not, where a few fossil-fuel-loving billionaires are allowed to roast our planet, fuck it has become a sonnet.

Less than two weeks ago I said that I would be backing Richard Cordray. I was wrong. I was stupid.

Events in Parkland, Florida, and the reactions of students there, have convinced me that the safe Democrat is no longer safe.

Dennis Kucinich is not safe, but he is right.

Two pieces, one local and the other national, tell the story.

First, Sam Allard, reporting in Dennis Kucinich Wants to Ban Assault Weapons Across Ohio for Scene, writes:

Dozens of rain-soaked rallyers gathered in a meeting room at the downtown DoubleTree Hotel Monday afternoon as Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dennis Kucinich and his running mate, Akron City Councilwoman Tara Samples, alongside a roster of speakers and sign-wielding supporters, promoted a grassroots effort to ban assault weapons in Ohio. The massacre that left 17 people dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, last week prompted the rally. The school shooting has riled Republicans as well as Democrats. Student survivors have called out their elected representatives on social media for failing to create gun sensible gun laws. Even Ohio Governor John Kasich has changed his tune. He deleted a pro-gun portion of his website, and on a CNN appearance this weekend, he called for gun regulations and pressure on city and state legislatures. If local entities enact gun control legislation, Kasich suggested, Washington would follow. “If you’re a strong Second Amendment person you need to slow down and take a look at reasonable things that can be done to answer these young people [from Parkland],” Kasich said. [Too little, too late, John. JH That position is something of an about-face for Kasich, who has been a dear friend to Second Amendment enthusiasts and who has passed six pieces of pro-gun legislation since his tenure began in 2011. Among other things, those laws have allowed guns in Ohio bars and restaurants and reduced the hours of training required for a concealed handgun license. But his stated position, to pressure local governments, is precisely what Kucinich’s #BanAssaultWeapons rally was all about. Kucinich called the current national moment a “tipping point” and characterized the effort, which has already garnered nearly 2,000 signatures on his website, not as a political campaign but as a social movement.

Second, Zaid Jilani, reporting in Dennis Kucinich Vows to End All Oil and Gas Drilling in Ohio If Elected Governor and Then Take the Industry to Court for The Intercept, writes:

In a press conference in late January, [Kucinich] unveiled one of the most cutting-edge environmental platforms of any candidate in the country. Kucinich called for a total end to oil and gas extraction in the state of Ohio. To accomplish this, he would deploy a battery of radical policies. He would, for instance, utilize eminent domain to seize control of oil and gas wells throughout the state and then shutter them. He would block all new drilling permits and order a total ban on injection wells. Kucinich would also deploy the Ohio State Highway Patrol to stop and turn away vehicles that possess fracking waste. Under a Kucinich administration, Ohio would give subsidized health screens to residents living near fracking sites; that data would then be used to file a class-action lawsuit against fracking companies similar to how states took Big Tobacco to court in the ’90s.

The minions of the fossil-fuel billionaires are not happy.

A spokesperson for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, which represents a number of oil and gas companies, derided the plan in an interview with The Intercept. “Misguided policies such as these threaten Ohio’s future and would destroy billions of dollars invested in our communities,” the spokesperson said. The organization has promoted an analysis that argues Ohio could lose 400,000 jobs by 2022 if the state enacts a ban on fracking. Mike Chadsey, a spokesperson for the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, was even harsher in an interview with the local media. “For being the person who touts himself as the candidate for the average guy, he sure is anti-worker and anti-union,” Chadsey said. “These bold and unrealistic statements show how desperate his hopeless campaign is.”

While the short version of Kucinich’s reply echoes Emily Gonzalez’s refrain, his response to the billionaires’ minions was direct to the issue: “No one has taken the time to monetize the value of fresh water, but ask the people in Flint about that.”

With these two vital issues—gun control and environmental protection—Kucinich has set himself from the pack of other democrats. Jilani continues:

Kucinich is competing against four other Democrats, including former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau chief Richard Cordray, for the nomination. In interviews conducted with the local press, none of the others joined his call to eliminate fracking and oil drilling.

Our choice in May is clear and our choice in November will be even clearer.