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That's Icky, Kucinich

You know those jokes about how if you become left-wing enough you can actually circle all the way around and turn into a hard-core right-winger? Dennis Kucinich, the candidate we all might love if only he didn't happen to be loony, demonstrates with a press release that showed up in my inbox this morning entitled:

"CONGRESS, DEMOCRAT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES 'DON'T GET IT'"

Okay, Kucinich feels his fellow hopefuls are weak for not pushing the impeachment option. But ... Democrat presidential candidates? C-SPAN or State-of-the-Union watchers will recognize this as one of the most irritating Republican tics, meant to annoy Democrats by refusing to use their own preferred moniker and to belittle them by suggesting they aren't "small d" democratic.

As the Washington Post has put it, "The missing '-ic' has a long legacy. Dick Armey was fond of saying 'Democrat Party.' Commie-hunting Sen. Joseph McCarthy even used the phrase half a century ago." Dennis, I know you feel aggrieved these days, but ... Dick Armey and Joe McCarthy! You really want to go there?

--Eve Fairbanks