Dennis Kucinich Excluded from Des Moines Register Debate Despite High Polling Numbers Among Progressive Democrats

Dennis Kucinich has been excluded from the Des Moines Register debate. The campaign claims that it is because his Iowa campaign manager operated from a home office, rather than a store front. This did not meet the Register's standards for a campaign office or full-time staff, according to a statement from the newspaper. Marcos Rubinstein is the campaign manager and State Coordinator for the campaign. He does work from a home office in Dubuque, and is assisted by approximately a dozen other staff who have traveled the state during the past several months. This decision was made despite Kucinich's popularity among progressive Democrats, including being polled as the top-ranked Presidential candidate according to Democracy for America (DFA), Progressive Democrats for America (PDA), and The Nation.

Both the DFA and PDA have been busy recently promoting the leading candidates according to their online polls. The DFA plans to feature Kucinich in a full-page ad, and also run ads featuring John Edwards and Barack Obama, who came in second and third respectively. The PDA, which boasts 90,000 members, is using e-mail to spread the message that Kucinich scored first with 41% and Edwards was far behind at 26%.

The Iowa caucuses are being promoted as a major political event that may decide the fate of the Presidency. However, they have chosen to exclude a leading Democratic contender due to a technicality, says the campaign. "The Des Moines Register's arbitrary and unreasonable exclusion of Congressman Kucinich is consistent with the treatment that the Congressman has received from the entrenched political and institutional interests in Iowa," also according to the Kucinich campaign. (PRNewswire).