Posted by Tim Shoemaker on 03/17/10 10:05 AM Last updated 03/17/10 09:35 AM   [Newer: Jobsgate: Obama's Watergate?] [Older: No more salt for this man!]

In the past, particularly during the '08 Presidential campaign, people (including myself) often described Dennis Kucinich as the "Ron Paul of the left".  This comparison was shattered today when Kucinich announced he will be voting in favor of the health care bill.

"Some have speculated that I may be, this time, in the position of casting a deciding vote,'' he said at a Capitol Hill news conference this morning. "The vote on the final healthcare bill will be close... I take this vote with the utmost seriouness.... I know that I have to make a decision, not on the bill as I would like to see it, but as it is...

"I have doubts about the bill,'' he said. "This is not the bill I wanted to support.... However, after careful discussions with President Obama, Speaker Pelosi'' and his family, he said, "I have decided to cast a vote in favor of the legisation....''

Read the rest.

If Kucinich were really as principled as he believes himself to be, he would have cast a "no" vote on this legislation for precisely the same reasons he articulated on 'Countdown' last week.

Kucinich had a chance to prove that he "walks the walk" but instead let the intense pressure from the powers that be sway his opinion. 

(Remember when Dr. Paul voted against his own "Audit the Fed" bill because it was attached as an amendment to the horrendous financial regulatory reform package?  That's the kind of vote Kucinich had the opportunity to make this week.)

Posted 03/17/10 10:28 AM frozenfiresoul pittsburgh, PA

I'm sure he'd like to hear what we think about his decision. kucinich.house.gov/Contact/

Posted 03/17/10 10:33 AM sweetliberty San Rafael, CA

Ouch.

Posted 03/17/10 10:44 AM redshirt Philadelphia, PA

Wow, the left continues to crumple. Dr. Paul stands alone as a man of principle in the age of cronyism.

Posted 03/17/10 10:44 AM mirand sharma Celebration, FL

I have lost all respect for the man.

Posted 03/17/10 10:50 AM Mike in Virginia Fredericksburg, VA

While disagreeing with much of what Kucinich believes in, I have always respected him. No longer.

Posted 03/17/10 11:47 AM NickLaw21 West Springfield, MA

Dennis Kucinich is and will probably always be an uncorrupted, principled politician. He has differing views from Dr. Paul about Health Care, but for you guys to so quickly write him off as a valuable ally on the left because of this one vote isn't right. With the current administration, some sort of National health care plan is going to pass. It's inevitable. Kucinich and other principled democrats want to make sure it's about getting every American proper health care while keeping costs low and not just another government bailout, this time for Big Insurance. I think even Dr. Paul, who clearly believes health care isn't a natural born right, seems to believe that if we could get out of these endless nonsense wars we could spend more money on taking care of each other at home. So, go ahead and express your disapproval, but don't forget all the good Kucinich has done and that he is in fact a good friend of Dr. Paul's and fellow champion of the constitution.

Posted 03/17/10 11:54 AM BruceKoerber Cedar Rapids, IA

Ron Paul is a statesman. Dennis Kucinich is an ambitious politician. Sometimes ambitious politicians may vote similarly to a statesman. That does not make that politician a statesman.

Posted 03/17/10 11:55 AM Liberty and Freedom Barnegat, NJ

I am deeply disappointed and surprised that he would give in,even Adler will not.

Posted 03/17/10 11:57 AM Deb Wells Kansas City, MO

Very sad. He's usually at least in line with the U.S. Constitution. Not this time.

Posted 03/17/10 12:02 PM Major C Sharp garden grove, CA

Incrementalism. It may not be the ultimate goal of a person but as long as it is in the right direction, they will go for it. Dennis Kucinich has always been in favor of health care reform, even though his ultimate goal is single-payer. To say that he betrayed his principles is a misnomer. You may disagree with his positions but he is still staying true to them at the very least.

Posted 03/17/10 12:39 PM American Epirus Omaha, NE

Kucinich!! NOOOO!!!!

Posted 03/17/10 12:50 PM boygenis South Riding / Chantilly, VA

Kucinich is contradicting himself and what he used to believe in. I wonder what kind of personal or Political deal Obama and Pelosi offered him so he is changing his vote; but it sure is sad :(

Posted 03/17/10 12:53 PM AuthenticAuthor Canutillo, TX

I agree with Sharp. He's always differed with Ron Paul on domestic policies. It's the foreign policies they most closely agreed with. Since when was Kucinich considered a major ally for the Campaign for Liberty? In his talking points on Countdown, he expressed his belief that healthcare is a right, and that somehow government provision of healthcare is possible without waste and mismanagement. He may be principled, but he's sorely mistaken. However, in spite of this one vote Kucinich is more trustworthy than much of his other counterparts. He can still redeem himself.

Posted 03/17/10 1:02 PM Break your chains Byron, GA

Kucinich, like Nader, is a person who I rarely find agreement with, but at least WAS a person I could respect. I'm disappointed in him over this decision. I managed to catch news footage of Obama and Dennis at a rally, where Obama kept saying "Do you hear that, Dennis?!" and the sheeple cheered him on, and the whole charade looked like 'a stranger leading a child to candy.' Run away, Mr. Kucinich. That candy is poisioned.

Posted 03/17/10 1:09 PM Tim Shoemaker Mechanicsburg, PA

It's not that Dennis Kucinich was ever an ally for the Campaign for Liberty on health care. He's not. Rather, I was pointing out that in the Countdown interview he expressly stated that the current legislation would do nothing more than help out the insurance companies by forcing more people to buy into them. By supporting this legislation he has betrayed his stated principles that he would not support the "for-profit" nature of the insurance companies. I've never agreed with his view that health care is a right or that a public option is the way to go. Nevertheless, since Kucinich has stated both of these countless times, by supporting this legislation he has gone against his stated principles & beliefs.

Posted 03/17/10 2:00 PM BillNM Carlsbad, NM

Just another self interested politician. Didn't I hear that his wife works for the Obamanations? Let them go ahead and pass the &%$^ thing. Just hang on to your guns against the certain collapse.

Posted 03/17/10 3:43 PM tguererri Waterloo, NY

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. I find it necessary to dissolve the political bonds that once connected me to Mr. Kucinich. Mr. Kucinich believes health care to be a right, but he ignores the fact that ones life can be taken from them, by imprisonment ,if they refuse to purchase health care. I therefore find it necessary to separate my self from Mr Kucinich. I find LIFE to be a unalienable Right worthy of the utmost protection.

Posted 03/17/10 4:47 PM MichaelBarry Sebring, FL

I am not surprised.

Posted 03/17/10 7:19 PM Joey Batz Brooklyn, NY

This shows that even the most principled people can be bought if they are offered/pressured enough. I've always disagreed with Dennis Kucinich on certain things (such as health care), but I've always respected him as a man of principle. I found myself nodding in agreement some months ago when he gave an interview stating that he believed the American people should have received bailouts instead of the politically connected corporations (you could see that his loyalty was placed with We the People, not big business). This shocks and disappoints me. It should also serve as a wake up call to all of us to make sure that we keep pressure on Ron Paul himself to keep to his principles. I'm not saying that RP is about to sell out to the corporations or anything like that; simply that we should remember that RP is a human like anyone else and is subjected to the same pressure, obstacles, etc., that everyone else in Congress is subjected to. Anyone can be bought and sold, pressured and intimidated. I don't know which happened to Kucinich, but we cannot simply assume that RP is impervious to it. I'm not saying we should distrust RP, but, well, you get what I mean. Also, we shouldn't jump and call Kucinich a traitor to the people based on this one vote. Unlike the Bush/Obama crowd, I honestly think that Kucinich actually have the American people's best interests at heart, even if I don't always agree with him. I wish I can say the same for Nancy Pelosi.

Posted 03/17/10 10:49 PM Gardentoolnumber5 San Diego, CA

Kucinich is part of the Progressive Caucus. How can any be let down by Kucinich? These are among the people who take one phrase of the Constitution (promote the general welfare) and ignore the rest unless it suits their purpose.

Posted 03/18/10 01:21 AM jwfox1965 Las Vegas, NV

"Kucinich is part of the Progressive Caucus. How can any be let down by Kucinich? These are among the people who take one phrase of the Constitution (promote the general welfare) and ignore the rest unless it suits their purpose." Yep, no kidding Kucinich is, was and always has been a repugnant little progressive nut-case that would have made Josef Stalin proud and he's about as "principled" as Lucifer.

Posted 03/18/10 04:22 AM galtgulch9 Southborough, MA

Unfortunately the Constitution is open to interpretation. Those in favor of individual freedom will read it one way and those who favor statism will find ways to interpret it to justify their disdain for the rights of the individual. Levy's book, The Dirty Dozen discusses the twelve most egregious Supreme Court decisions which have eroded our freedom and extended the role of big government. The indoctrination of the children in the public schools continues right up into the universities. I imagine that when the tea party movement throws out the bums who voted for the health takeover many displaced politicians will find refuge as teachers in colleges. Truly a battle for man's mind. See Atlas Shrugged for the antidote! The likes of Kucinich are probably so brainwashed that they have blinders on and are unwilling to check their premises.

Posted 03/18/10 06:28 AM Godspeed Cressona, PA

Hey this is exactly why some people here at c4l have been very critical of certain people on the left and right(those in the political lime-light that have never advanced the cause). No one has any right to another man's service. Its that simple, and Kucinich is dead wrong. Actually this is a good thing, because perhaps now some of you who have favored people like Palin, and Beck will finally understand why we are critical of them here at c4l. You can't trust these "yellow-bellies" to back you up in a bar fight; they are all talk!

Posted 03/18/10 07:40 AM JohnF Lake Mary, FL

None of this matters. I've said it before and I'll say it again: the Democrats can't read the handwriting on the wall. The dollar is collapsing and the world is decoupling from us. Health care reform is the least of our worries; they're re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Congress can pass all the big government programs it wants. They can expand the wars if they want. What does it matter? One day soon, they'll have to pay for it. The state is so far removed from reality right now, it can't imagine what that even means.

Posted 03/26/10 1:59 PM Mark Thomas Willis, VA

Chris Floyd has more on this: http://www.chris-floyd.com/component/content/article/1-latest-news/1948-p rogressive-front-well-done-thou-good-and-faithful-servant.html The left seem pretty upset about it too... Can't wait until the Dems start losing big swaths of the grassroots the way the Repubs have!