Anyone who’s followed Dennis Kucinich’s political career shouldn’t be surprised by his decision to run as an independent for Congress this year. He’s a former Cleveland mayor, eight-term congress member and presidential candidate whose opposition to U.S. involvement in foreign wars, among other issues, has long pushed him outside the mainstream of the Democratic Party.
Democrats and others have criticized him for trips in 2007 and 2011 to Syria, where he met with President Bashar Assad, a move some saw as giving political cover to the controversial leader. That’s an issue that will no doubt be raised by his opponents in this year’s race for the 7th congressional district.
What has not changed about Kucinich is his brand of populism. During his announcement Wednesday, he again portrayed himself as a fighter for the middle class, which was obvious in his “For America” theme. He touted his fight to save a steel mill, a hospital and Cleveland’s city-owned power company, though such career highlights were not enough to propel him to victory in his 2021 bid for Cleveland mayor.
Asked specifically how much the White House’s support for the wars being fought by Israel and Ukraine played into his decision to break from Democrats, Kucinich stayed on message.
“We have to understand that there is a link between the war and the economy,” he said. “So the number one issue is the economy, but it’s linked firmly to America’s choices that have put us on a path toward war.”
What was missing from his announcement was the usual Kucinich fanfare. By design, he delivered his speech in front of several American flags and a banner. He was not surrounded by local officials, by followers wearing windbreakers with “Dennis” emblazoned on the back, or by his family, though his wife, brother and sister were in the room.
As often is the case, Kucinich was going it alone.
