Andrew Zajac
Cleveland congressman and former two-time Quixotic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich had what passes for a close call for an incumbent federal lawmaker, collecting 50 percent of the vote against four challengers in yesterday’s Democratic primary.
Kucinich dropped his latest presidential bid in late January after a well-funded challenger, Cleveland City Councilman Joseph Cimperman, took Kucinich to task for neglecting his district to indulge in a far-left presidential candidacy featuring positions out of step with the Reagan Democratic sensibilities of his district.
Here are the totals from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections:
Kucinich, Dennis — 68,156 — 50%
Cimperman, Joe — 47,891 — 35%
Ferris, Barbara Anne — 8,780 — 6%
O’Grady, Thomas 6,780 — 5%
Palmer, Rosemary 3,982 — 3%
Cimperman drew first blood with a snarky video that mocked Kucinich’s purported neglect of congressional duties because of his presidential campaigning:
http://www.youtube.com/v/Pd-8nwj7GWY
Kucinich lamely complained about the videoing to the Federal Protective Service — he said it violated constituents’ privacy.
But he soon found more solid political footing, painting Cimperman as a corporate tool reliant on campaign money from downtown developers.
More Top Picks Best Laptops For Homeschool
It’s an old standard from the Kucinich songbook, but it worked to the extent that it helped neutralize Cimperman’s charge that Kucinich was dependent on money from Hollywood liberals. Kucinich didn’t hide his Tinseltown ties, making the rounds in his district in the waning days of the campaign with Sean Penn.
Kucinich’s staying power probably isn’t due solely to the power of incumbency. His career in Cleveland politics stretches back more than 30 years beginning with stints as a city councilman and then as mayor presiding over one of the more contentious chapters in local political history. He has universal name ID, to the point that much of his campaign signage refers to him simply as “Dennis”.
Kucinich, 61, also is a fanatic about constituent service and has a fiercely loyal staff and core of supporters. Stick around for six terms, as he has, and you will have a chance to pry loose veterans benefits, round up late Social Security checks and guide the completion of confusing Medicare forms on a scale that builds mountains of goodwill.
To the point that, combined with a crowded field and other advantages, you’ll get comfortably re-nominated by your socially conservative, traditionally patriotic, working-class constituents, even if you support gay marriage, want to impeach Dick Cheney, set up a Department of Peace and claim to have seen a UFO.