The Real Reason Kucinich is Not on the Texas Ballot

by: Karl-Thomas Musselman

Thu Jan 03, 2008 at 01:41 AM CST

Yesterday, I reported that Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel had not made it on the Texas ballot. But today's Houston Chronicle sheds more light on the matter and oh boy, is it a tale to tell.

But anti-war Democrat Dennis Kucinich apparently will not be on the ballot because the party returned his application after he scratched out a portion of the oath pledging support for the party's presidential nominee if it was not him, said party spokeswoman Amber Moon.

Moon said Kucinich's aides wanted to change the pledge to say the party nominee had to promise not to use war as a tool of foreign policy, but the party staff could not change the oath.

Campaign spokesman Andy Juniewicz said Kucinich filed documents Wednesday in a federal court in Austin to challenge the requirement. He said Willie Nelson is a plaintiff, along with Kucinich.

Oh dear. Here's Willie's statement on the matter.

"Dennis Kucinich is a strong defender of the Constitution, the national security, and the civil liberties of the American people. He's right to challenge a blind loyalty oath to the Democratic Party because it's un- American. The irony is that the state Party is trying to exclude him from the ballot even though he's the one Democrat who's been the most loyal to this country and to what the Democratic Party should stand for. Dennis's loyalty is to the Constitution of the United States and to the American people - not to the Texas Democratic Party."

Other than scratching out the line on the application, Kucinich's paperwork was otherwise in order.