KucinichWatch 2011: Is the Liberal Don Quixote Coming to Washington State?

Dennis Kucinich, the man they used to call "the Boy Mayor" and "Dennis the Menace" has kept up his suspiciously Western Washington-focused travel schedule, encouraging already rampant speculation that he's packing his carpet bag for a run at a Washington congressional seat.

Kucinich's home state of Ohio will be losing two congressional seats in 2012, and most observers of Ohio politics (including Kucinich himself) expect the redistricting process controlled by the conservative state government to all but end Kucinich's prospects in his native Cleveland. With Washington's lax residency requirements for candidates, an open seat in the First District, and a new, 10th District being created, Washington presents a prime opportunity for an out-of-state politician looking to stay in Congress.

However, Kucinich's most recent visit provided a reminder that while he's been a tireless, unapologetic voice for the Left, and has a national profile that is equaled by few in the House of Representatives, he also has a much less palatable side. His speech to a group of local liberal activists on July 11th was largely composed of an attack on the Federal Reserve and fiat money that wouldn't have been totally out of place at a Tea Party rally, or even a Populist rally from about 1890. But Kucinich was speaking with Jay Inslee, not William Jennings Bryan or Ron Paul, and the response to the speech was tepid and a little confused. Such idiosynchratic causes have been a hallmark of Kucinich's career. He's principled and extremely dedicated to his causes, but often at the exclusion of more traditional congressional work, which has led to accusations that he's a better activist than congressman. While the average Congressman was spending most of his or her time doing the mundane work of interfacing between their district and the Federal Government, Kucinich was trying to impeach President Bush, or establish a Department of Peace, or introduce Canadian-style universal health care in America. Conventional wisdom says that these issues are above a Congressman's pay-grade, but Kucinich's constituents in and around Cleveland didn't seem to mind: they re-elected him 8 times.

So: is he coming? Kucinich is frank about his desire to stay in Congress, but less so about any plans for Washington State specifically. He even refuses to answer any questions about local issues, ostensibly because he doesn't want to sound like a candidate prematurely, but there's no guarantee he could answer them at this stage. Kucinich says he has support here, but if he does, it's certainly all grassroots, because local elites have been nothing but hostile. Washington Democratic Party officials have flatly said he shouldn't run. Coverage in the local media has ranged from politely negative, to openly contemptuous of the idea. History wouldn't be on his side either: politicians contesting elections in new states have only won in the rarest of circumstances; no one has done it in over a decade. Despite all of these obstacles, a run is plausible. If Kucinich is adamant that he stay in Congress, there are few opportunities as feasible as Washington, with both the 1st and the new 10th as possibilities, and plenty of both the literate, urban liberals, and unionized, blue-collar workers who Kucinich sees as a possible base.

Though a run may be in the cards, a Kucinich win is unlikely. There are no shortage of Washington pols lining up for a run at those seats, people with roots and connections in their communities that an outsider, even a frequent visitor and political celebrity, would need years to cultivate. Even in the age of cable news and internet communication, politics is still local. It's possible that voters could elect a crusader like Kucinich over a more traditionally effective candidate, but chances are that a race in Washington would be Dennis Kucinich's last. The Ohio voters who have repeatedly re-elected Kucinich have known him since he was elected to the Cleveland City Council at the age of 23 in 1969, here in Washington, he's mostly just known for his pie-in-the-sky presidential bids, and some of the more Daily Show-friendly aspects of his biography (UFO-sightings, gorgeous wife, strange diet, small stature etc.)

It's too soon to completely write Kucinich off. He may not have traditional political skills, but the fact that he's been in public life for 41 years should tell you that he has staying power. But his odds certainly don't look good. For a figure whose career has been defined by picking fights with forces bigger than himself, one last quixotic fight against inevitable political oblivion might be a fitting final act.