Dennis Kucinich Is a Very Silly Person

Dennis Kucinich, in an interview with the Boston Globe
"Everything I said back then was right today.”
http://www.boston.com/news/local/politics/primarysource/2006/12/kucinich_says_k_1.html

Dennis Kucinich Is a Very Silly Person

We all know this to be true. He's very very silly. His silliness has nothing to do with whether he's right or wrong. I don't know if he's really been right about everything, but he's certainly been right about more important stuff in recent years than most of the people on Tim Russert's rolodex. Still, he's a phenomenally silly person, so silly that when he's covered in the media there's tangible eye rolling by the reporters in the copy.

Since his silliness doesn't have much to do with his judgment on important things, it's worth exploring why he's so silly. As we know, you can be wrong about absolutely everything and still be a Very Serious Person Who Is Not Silly At All. Still, poor Dennis. He's very very silly.

He's silly because he talks outside the bounds of acceptable discourse which have been established by The Serious People. He doesn't try to work within these clear boundaries, but instead steps outside of them.

Howard Dean was also branded a very silly person by the Wise Old Men of Washington. He had the temerity to suggest crazy things which were not supposed to be said - the Iraq war was a bad idea, the capture of Saddam Hussein wouldn't make us safer, etc... etc...

http://atrios.blogspot.com/

the very silly party, to restore governance by adults.

it was used as an endearment; somehow there is an eerie essence of truth in calling kucinich "silly".

SILLY - O.E. gesælig "happy" (related to sæl "happiness"), from W.Gmc. *sæligas (cf. O.N. sæll "happy," Goth. sels "good, kindhearted," O.S. salig, M.Du. salich, O.H.G. salig, Ger. selig "blessed, happy, blissful"), from PIE base *sel- "happy" (cf. Gk. hilaros "gay, cheerful," L. solari "to comfort," salvus "whole, safe"). The word's considerable sense development moved from "blessed" to "pious," to "innocent" (1200), to "harmless," to "pitiable" (c.1280), to "weak" (c.1300), to "feeble in mind, lacking in reason, foolish" (1576). Further tendency toward "stunned, dazed as by a blow" (1886) in knocked silly, etc. Silly season in journalism slang is from 1861 (August and September, when newspapers compensate for a lack of hard news by filling up with trivial stories). Silly Putty trademark claims use from July 1949.

somewhere in the history of the word selig is also the meaning wise. i used to do a training for hospice in which i encouraged care givers and family to "be silly", to include humor and laughter in their interaction with someone who is ill and dying. coincidently, codeine, a dose of laughter yields measurable pain relief to someone in chronic pain.

What a silly idea! The very idea makes me dizzy with silliness!

"genius"! We'll form the Genius Party!

Slightly Silly candidates that will receive no votes at all.

Ive been trying to read the original atrios post as anything but stupid and keep coming up with it as stupid.
kucinich is in no way silly--he's been right all along as the writer plays so coyly around. What we have here is atrios beeing too enamored with his own snarkiness and cleverness, doing a reverse snark that we're supposed to figure out. Kucinich is silly----NOT!! Thanks for the brainfart, atrios.
And what it loks like is more reinforcement that Kucinich and other anti war types are "silly." Don't read between the lines, just read the lines.
I hate posts where the point is sompletely opposite to whats being said. We see this here and on daily kos in posts, like "I love Bush" and then when we click on the post we see inside "NOT!!"
Do these people think theyre frightfully clever? why don't they say what they really mean? Or is that too hard to write?

I see a lot of the same thing here at DU about Kucinich. I happen to like him and think that if more people would listen to what he has to say rather than what he looks like they might find him to be refreshingly honest.

I won't make that stupid mistake again. He was right all along.
Atrios is full of it, or his own precious self

Unless we come up with someone better he'll get my vote this time. I do think bot Gore and Kerry have improved over the past couple years, but Dennis has been consistent all along.

Atrios is NOT being serious, he is mocking the MEDIA for NOT treating Dennis seriously. It's is a satirical piece on Atrios' part.

Any careful reading catches that quite quickly.

I'm sick of people here attacking good progressive folks, because of their own inability to actually understand satire.

Like the folks who miss the point again and again here about Colbert.

And I think Atrios used it quite well in that little post of his. Without irony we wouldn't have some of the most eloquent criticisms of our government including half of the Daily Show and all of Stephen Colbert.

treatment. NOTHING. I have never felt so much disgust and hatred for anyone on tv in my entire life.

He had him on recently, and I couldn't bring myself to listen long enough to see if he tried to treat him with the respect due a human being. Chris is one vile, sadistic "man."

This is an awesome post.

It amazes me that so many talking heads have been discredited, debunked or caught flat out lying and they keep getting invited back on TV shows as "experts".

And yet people like Kucinich and Dean are labeled as looney nutcases who are silly and they have been dead on correct about everything.

What an upside down world we live in today.

and tragically insane? (answers own question) Look at who occupies 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. A dangerous moran is the most powerful man on Earth.
AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!:banghead:

Rec'd.

Egads! Will that Bush toady Blair stop at nothing?!

That he has a hot, smart British wife who is nearly a third his age ;)

It gets better and better.

Can't he get British nationality and sort out Labour? We'll take him if the Democrats won't.

:) :hi: :)

60 and 28 are the relevant numbers here.

I was mesmerized. I screamed right along with him. Love that man. :loveya:

Dennis Kucinich and Howard Dean could terminate our silly, silly press.

and keep electing megalomaniacs.

Don't ya know?

War is Good.

He's right, but never taken seriously.
x(

let's support a REAL candidate in 08

:shrug:

How could he be elected as emperor, to serve the interests of the empire?

Of course, if this were a republic he could serve the interests of the public very well.

Alas, we can be either an empire or a republic and the decision has already been made by generations past. Our forefathers have committed us to be dis-empowered collaborators with empire and until someone of this or some future generation reads the Declaration of Independence and understands it, we will be dominated by pretenders to power.

In a completely non-gay, heterosexual way.

No, really.


Maybe if he was taller... No, wait! What am I saying?!

;)

--which probably needs to end before it ends us. It may or may not be possible.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/eridani/5
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/eridani/6
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/eridani/7

I agree with you followthemoney. Follow the Money we must.....

....that's why I absolutely refuse to vote for anyone BUT Dennis Kucinich for President.

Any candidate running for President that is taking Corporate Money for their campaign will be corrupt by default (no matter how well-intentioned they think they are or appear to be), IMHO.
We have to ask ourselves the question:
Do we want our President to continue to be held accountable to the Corporate Fascists that have taken over our country or do we want a President who will be held accountable to We the People?

What with those BIG BLACK BOOTS WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL SEAL ON THEM, not to mention the twentygallon all-poke-no-cow boy hat; and lets not forget that Texas drawl w/ the Princeton inflections and that most SERIOUS OF SERIOUS chimp-in-the-headlights expression




The very serious Mr. Bush:

he is seriously fucked up.

If we weren't all silly we would go insane, like W.

... the Monster Raving Loony Party had silly ideas but they made some sense. W makes the MRLP look like a serious political force.



Mark

I believe all People are equal, I believe we can slow global warming, I believe we all should have universal health care, I believe in alternate fuels, I believe in fair wages for all......silly me.

:silly:

:D

:silly:

:silly:

:)

Silly silly silly

non-violence is so silly :sarcasm:

The silliest idea of them all.

I love being silly!

:toast:

Dennis is a great guy with lots of wonderful ideas, but I'm saying that because I'm much more politically left than the rest of America. The rest of America would NEVER vote for Dennis.

Sure it sucks, but the candidate for 08 has to be able to win great swaths of the populace and sway centrists (I'll put it in terms that DU can understand: "selling out.")

be forced to take notice

Of course, silly little ole me will support whoever we nominate in '08 - whether they be silly or not.

:silly:

Where is "The Center"?
Here is what the MAJORITY of Americans (Democrats AND Republicans) want from OUR government!




Sounds like DK to me.


Beware of Democrats selling "Affordable HealthCare". It is not.

The Democratic Party is a BIG TENT, but there is NO ROOM for those
who advance the agenda of THE RICH (Corporate Owners) at the EXPENSE of LABOR and the POOR.

everytime the DC/NY Pundits try to push "Their Agenda" on us. Like they are trying to push Hillary/Obama down our throats before they tear them apart.

Thanks for posting the reminder.

there's no reason in the world for dk not to be electable (except all the meme-repeaters)

...Is the perfect answer to those that claim a patient is "too liberal" "too unrealistic" or yes, even "too silly."

I'm in the middle (my temporary blonde moment)

For a second I thought you might be the hot English wife that is about a third his age.

:D

:P :blush:

This is the kind of thinking that accomplishes a little short term gain but ultimately loses everything we stand for.

If your driving in the ditch you really can't put one road up in the gravel on the side of the road and then celebrate that as a victory in automotive operation.

just because of a silly little detail like being "right" about current events and issues.

:silly:

I saw Dennis speak in the winter before the 04 elections.

Travelled for three hours to another state to catch his lecture.

He put down his notes and spoke for forty-five minutes with his eyes closed.

The man has charisma enough to cause an aircraft carrier to float in midair.

I've been hopelessy silly ever since...

In fact I find myself getting sillier and sillier as time goes on.

Corp. Media Conglomerate he was sabotaged by that Corp Media. The same is happening to Kucinich.

was the best of the three for dealing with issues in an informative and sincere way during the 2004 Campaign...after Dean went down. I only heard dean on TV but heard the others in person.

Kucinich is a good person with good ideas. And, comes off much better in person than the "image" one sees on TV.

If we lived in a different time when Media Image and Corporate America pushing charisma didn't matter....Kucinich might be President, imho. Of course in another age he would have still had to deal with the "BIG MONEY and OLD GUARD" who always took control of candidates. But, if it was left up to "the people" who heard him speak he would win.

Savvy, Intelligent & Learned Leaders of Yahoos




I chose yahoos because of the 'Y' of course but after reading the definition, have to say it seems more than appropriate unfortunately.

Anyone else have a suggestion for the acronym SILLY?

and a Hunk

:woohoo:

It's always far harder for a politician at one extreme of the spectrum of opinion represented by politicians to win an election than for someone who can "triangulate".

Kucinich will never win an election himself, and I suspect he knows this, but by presenting himself as a candidate he makes it possible for canditates further left to win than would otherwise be the case.

That doesn't justify supporting him, though - his victory in the presidential primary would be a catastrophe. But we should be grateful to him for running even so.

"Kucinich will never win an election himself.."


& IMO calling people "unelectable" is a self fulfilling ah.. prophesy.

See post #48.

The REAL Center of America is right with Dennis.

What people say they want in single-issue polls, and what they will actually vote for, are very, very different.

candidates. I think the point of this thread is that Kucinich is marginalized by the corporate -owned media, not by the fact that his policies are out of step with the majority of Americans.

The only reason people consider Kucinich "unelectable" is because that's what the MSM has told them to think. Kucinich's policy positions are indeed in-step with most Americans, and of course he has the benefit of being proven right on pretty much everything since 2000. But this doesn't stop the media from covering him as if they're covering a clown at a kid's party. "There goes Kucinich again! Haha! Such a fringe unelectable goofball! Back to you, Ted."

This is because the MSM regularly takes is cues on what to report and how to report it based on opinions from political machine operatives who are always on their phones and pundit shows, like the Ken Mehlmans and Rahm Emanuels who both represent interests (corporate) who see no benefit in allowing Kucinich to have a fair hearing.

Unfortunately, however, this may mean in the end that he is, in fact, unelectable because of the forces promoting the idea in the MSM. This I believe is a perfect example of the media actively shaping public opinion instead of reflecting it.

GW Bush is at one extreme of the political spectrum

them -- on the first few pages at least -- were about his father.

When I put "Kucinich is silly" in Google I got zero hits. Apparently the word is not out about Kucinich being silly....maybe we should keep it a secret.

But when I put "Bush is a liar" into GOOGLE I got 92,000 hits. Kucinich got zero.

"Kucinich has been right" -- only shows up 8 times... in the Huffington Post, Daily KOS, and Dem Underground.

"Bush has been right" shows up 965 times...mostly people saying how the war in Iraq was such a good idea.

Oh well.

That reminds me of that great front page newspaper headline -- it went something like, "how could 50,000,000 people be so stupid?" or something like that.

If they were silly instead of stupid -- this country would be GREAT again!

:silly:

be counted in the open, with public observation (and THEREFORE on physical paper ballots).

IMAGINE a guy, a Congressman at that, who does not wish FOR HIS OWN RE-eLECTION to have his votes counted in secret on electronic voting machines and actually wants the public to be able to supervise the election vote counting and verify the result for themselves. What does Kucinich think this country is, a representative democracy?

Next Kucinich will probably introduce some real anti-corruption measures with more than just "teethiness" and then the corrupt bozos running the media will really call him "silly" -- silly for taking representative democracy seriously???

because anyone who uses 'very very' as a writer of serious content knows, they won't be taken seriously.

You say that all "serious" writers avoid using "very very" so you couldn't take this article seriously?

How about:
Dana Milbank: Washington Post: Senators so Very Very Not Contrary Toward Gates
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/05/AR2006120501239.html

Senior Democratic Senators? "Very, very pleased," added soon-to-be-chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.).

The Boston Globe? "Not necessarily the best in class in any one area, but very, very good overall." http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=174508

24,900 Google News Hits on "very very" as a search

But especially when an article is intended to be ironic and sarcastic, and the thought is attributed to others, the use of "very very" could well be justified, as it is in this case.

Silly to believe that people will ever see what needs to be done to bring about peace.

fortunately, he will be the only presidential candidate that will keep the others honest. The so-called MSM better cover him and what he says, but most important the OTHER Democratic candidates better NOT ignore him

I'd rather my candidates be silly than stupid :D

I love Dennis, he's an amazing speaker and will keep the rest of the Dem field honest about the war.

....is truly refreshing. I love every word the guy utters. Sadly, there's a Perot-vian aire about him that you have to confess, will keep him from ever being mainstream. He'd get my vote in a heartbeat, but sadly, I'll never get the chance to give it to him. :(

feel compelled to trash him at every turn.

They're trying to have it both ways.

If he's irrelevant and unelectable, why spend so much time making snide remarks about him?

If he's relevant and electable, why not support him?

How Kucinich Found Love, by Evelyn Theiss
Published Sunday, October 30, 2005 by the Cleveland Plain Dealer

On May 4, Elizabeth Harper walked with her boss into Dennis Kucinich's Capitol Hill office for a meeting and immediately noticed three things. In the reception area, she saw a visiting nun in white robes. In his inner office sat a shelf bearing an illustration depicting "light consciousness" and a bust of Gandhi. She studied the lean and intense congressman and felt an attraction. "Now this is an interesting man," she thought.

Dennis had also closely observed Elizabeth, a statuesque Englishwoman with waist-length red hair. "I saw her eyes go to the light consciousness picture, then to the Gandhi bust, then to me," he says. "It was like one, two, three. That's when I knew."

Within an hour, he called his friend, actress Mimi Kennedy, best known for playing Dharma's mother on "Dharma & Greg." "I met her," Dennis said. Kennedy knew exactly what he meant. She gave a little yelp of joy.

http://kucinich.us/node/1194

Thinking inside the box is not only profundly stupid and wrong; but , taking the world to the brink. Thank god we have those who will dare challenge those who demand restraint in order to protect their special interests.

I'm the silliest person they know. And after reading this thread, it sounds like Kucinich is the best candidate for me!

Silliness over insanity any day :-)

Many see the Coral snake as one of the prettier snakes (color coordinated and all that) but it's infamous for being poisonous not it's beauty. Get a clue already, evasion of issues is the first order of business when others need to confuse and deceive. Humor has a way of making it okay to focus on issues without having the need in solving them. Dennis is silly because he wants solve complex issues that others think they can avoid.

If being silly is how to solve the puzzle sign me up too :shrug:


http://www.everwonder.com/david/snakes/coralsnake.html

:kick: