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Dennis Runs For Dinner I will spare you a diatribe on local presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich, populist demagogue and unreconstructed buffoon; but you can say this for him, if he wasn't a Representative, he'd be poor - no wonder he got back into politics: U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who aligns himself closely with what he sees as working-class interests, yesterday released personal income tax returns disclosing a hefty congressional salary but little in the way of investment earnings or other outside income. As a Democratic member of the House, Kucinich made $150,000 last year - putting him in the upper strata of American wage-earners - and paid $37,931 in federal, state and local taxes after taking standard deductions. ....Kucinich, apparently, has no previously undisclosed fortune socked away. He listed interest and investment earnings of $183 from savings accounts with a Cleveland bank and the Congressional Federal Credit Union, and a dividend from a share in the American Croatian Lodge in Eastlake. [Cleveland.com] For more on the Menace, Cleveland Magazine has an interesting series of profiles culled from their pages: Dennis Kucinich has been the subject of Cleveland Magazine features and cover stories since the publication's very first issue. (Kucinich tips his psychedelic Uncle Sam hat on the cover of the April 1972 inaugural edition of Cleveland Magazine.) And now that the man with many a moniker — Denny The Kid, The Boy Mayor, Dennis The Menace — has set his sites on the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, Cleveland Magazine editors offer this six-article, four-decade retrospective of Dennis J. Kucinich and his impact on the city, the region and national politics. And Northern Ohio Live, in their annoying story teaser format offers the beginning of their current profile of the strange little man on their site: Mixing politics with star power can make for a powerful image-enhancer, as it did last August when musical icon Bonnie Raitt came to Blossom Music Center. During her performance, she dedicated the title track of her latest recording to Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who attended the concert. Afterward, an audience member was heard to remark, "It changed my opinion of him." That's sweet music to a candidate, especially one who has his eye on the Oval Office. ....If Kucinich thought the fight to save Muny Light back in 1978 had him pitted against the big guys, staring down the Bush Administration is tantamount to the safety patrol trying to stop an armored truck. Still, he doesn't back down. In his corner is a varied collection of personalities. He makes appearances with Marianne Williamson, the best-selling New Age author, and John Robbins, onetime heir to the Baskin-Robbins fortune and founder of EarthSave - a nonprofit group that, according to its website, "educates people on how food choices impact the environment, our health and all life on earth." Kucinich has no-nonsense blue-collar credentials, and his union supporters are legion (he's a member of IATSE Local 600 for camera operators). He's also the darling of liberal stars. His Federal Election Commission report lists Warren Beatty, Ed Begley Jr., Jeff Bridges, Casey Kasem and Norman Lear as contributors. Longtime pal and godmother to his daughter, actress Shirley MacLaine, was proclaiming "Kucinich for President" before he even announced. NOL's fawning over odious local leftists apparently continues unabated; nonetheless, it is clear from his tax returns why Dennis runs and runs - he'd be out on the street otherwise. |