Dennis Kucinich

Kucinich: Targeted Killings 'An Assault On The Constitution'

Sahil Kapur | March 9, 2012, 5:38AM

Outgoing Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) -- who lost a brutal primary battle on Tuesday to Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) -- vehemently criticized the Obama administration's program of targeted killings of US citizens abroad without due process, declaring it a "dangerous" violation of the Constitution that ought to meet resistance from Democrats and Republicans alike.

"Any assault on the Constitution ought to be challenged," Kucinich told TPM in a Thursday interview at his Capitol Hill office. "This is absolutely an assault on the Constitution."

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Dennis Kucinich

Kucinich: 'Defeat Has Never Had Power Over Me'

Sahil Kapur | March 8, 2012, 5:36PM

Less than 48 hours after suffering defeat in a brutal primary contest, a pensive Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) says his political career isn't necessarily over. In an interview in his Capitol Hill office, Kucinich told TPM he's "open" to new possibilities but hasn't made up his mind about what he'll do next.

Kucinich pointed out that of the 40 elections he's contested, he has won 32 of them and lost eight, including four unsuccessful bids for Congress before he finally came to Washington in 1997.

"I'm no stranger to defeat," he told me. "But defeat has never had power over me. It's never changed me. Nor has victory. So I'm at peace with where things are with respect to me. And I'm open for whatever possibilities are out there."

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Rich Iott

Nazi Reenactor Iott Accused Of Exaggerating His Own Military Record

Jillian Rayfield | October 22, 2010, 2:00PM

Rich Iott

Ohio Congressional candidate Rich Iott (R) likes to spend his free time as a Nazi reenactor, replaying the experiences of the 5th SS Wiking Panzer Division, a unit in the German army during World War II.

So what about his own military record?

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Rich Iott

Iott Accuses Opponent Of Orchestrating 'Coordinated Attack' On His Nazi Reenacting (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | October 13, 2010, 5:28PM

Ohio Congressional candidate Rich Iott (R) accused his opponent, Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, of being behind the "coordinated attempt at character assassination" related to his Nazi reenactment hobby.

Iott also made the bold claim that "this coordinated attack has shown so much more about you and your character than it does about me."

Iott has become the subject of national attention in recent days, and Republicans have scrambled to distance themselves from him, even as Iott defends his hobby of dressing up like a Nazi as a member of the 5th SS Wiking Panzer Division, a group of Ohio World War II reenactors.

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Rich Iott

Republican Responds To Revelation Of His Nazi Reenacting Past

Eric Lach | October 9, 2010, 8:44PM

Rich Iott

Rich Iott, the Tea Party Republican running against Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), has responded to the publicizing of the fact that one of his hobbies is dressing up and pretending to be a Nazi in reenactments.

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Republicans

Republicans Scrub Nazi-Impersonating House Candidate From Young Guns Website

Brian Beutler | October 9, 2010, 4:21PM

Rich Iott

That didn't take long.

We learned yesterday that the Republican running against Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) has the unique hobby of donning an SS costume to honor fallen Nazis. Until last night, the GOP included the candidate, Rich Iott, on a list of promising potential members called Contenders -- a notch below their so-called Young Guns. Now he's gone, without a trace.

You can get away with a lot in conservative politics these days, but it turns out spending your weekends dressed as a Nazi, celebrating the brave Waffen 5th SS Panzer Division is still a bridge too far.

Screengrabs of the cached version of the Young Guns site from October 3, and the site as it currently reads, appear below. Click on them to enlarge.

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OH-09

Ohio Tea Partier Spent Weekends Playing Nazi Games (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 8, 2010, 10:40PM

Rich Iott

The Atlantic's Josh Green reports that millionaire businessman Rich Iott, the Republican nominee challenging Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D) in Ohio's Ninth District, has an unusual hobby: He likes to pretend he's a Nazi.

Iott, a tea party-backed candidate, spent time fighting another battle before he hit the campaign trail against Kaptur as a member of the 5th SS Wiking Panzer Division, a group of Ohio World War II reenactors.

According to their website, the Wikings strive to "salute" the "idealists" from occupied northern Europe who saw the Third Reich as "the protector of personal freedom and their very way of life" and signed up to fight for the Wermacht and "gave their lives for their loved ones and a basic desire to be free."

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Health Care

Rep. Marcy Kaptur: I'm Voting Yes On Reform

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 21, 2010, 10:46AM

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) is a yes on reform today, according to an interview she gave to a local ABC station in Ohio this morning.

Kaptur votes yes on Stupak and yes on reform back when it passed the House the first time last year. In recent days, she's aligned herself with the Catholic Bishops, who have urged a no vote on the Senate bill in the House over the Senate bill's language regarding abortion funding.

Today, Kaptur appears to have changed her tune, coming down on the side of other Stupak amendment supporters who now plan to vote for the Senate bill. Check out the video of Kaptur giving her reasons for voting yes after the jump.

Health Care

Kaptur: Catholic Hospitals May Support Health Care Bill's Abortion Language For Business Reasons

Brian Beutler | March 17, 2010, 1:12PM

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) is an adamantly pro-life Democrat, who says the Senate health care bill's abortion language is unacceptable to her. Though she voted "yes" on the House package in November, she's now suggesting she might vote "no" on the final legislation.

That position puts her on the side of the Conference of Catholic Bishops, who oppose the Senate bill on the grounds that they believe it would expand federal funding of abortions. But earlier this week, another influential Catholic institution--the Catholic Hospital Association--came out in support of the Senate language. Yesterday evening, speaking to several reporters in the halls of the Capitol, Kaptur explained why she leans toward the Bishops' position--and in doing so took a veiled swipe at the Hospitals.

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