Kucinich is the left's version of Ron Paul. The only defenders of the Constitution among the 545. Also the most marginalized by the MSM in the 2008 primaries. If the MSM doesn't approve of them, you can bet they are the best candidates from the people's perspective.

Looks like the pressure from MoveOn got to him - Kucinich Switches Vote on Health Care
http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/17/kucinich-switches-vote-on-health-care/

The reason he held back his vote was because he doesn't think the bill does enough, not because he's .opposed to a health reform bill. Kucinich has always been in favor of a national health plan. In fact, The Kucinich Amendment would allow individual states to ability to create single-payer health care systems even if Congress fails to create a nationwide bill.

I just want to make that clear since your statement that he opposes the takeover of health care is false.

Oh, one more comment (sorry) In case anyone here has amnesia, when Kucinich voted against the bailouts, it was in 2008 under the other administration when the other guy said it was important to keep the country from going into a depression.

I've been a big supporter of this man for a long time and was hoping he'd run in 2008. It was Kucinich who co-sponsored the National Health Insurance Act introduced in 2005 by Rep John Conyers in 2005 asking for "Medicare For All."

When you get to be 59 and paid for insurance all your life but can't afford the premiums any more, let me know how you feel about it. I'm also opposed to the current plan, but it's a step in the door. The eligibility age for Medicare should be lowered which would cover a large percentage of the people who have worked hard for 40 years but are being penalized because of age, health, or both. The problem is you don't pay into a private insurance plan. So you can pay and pay over $100,000 in 10 or 15 years, never use a dime of it, and then change plans or be canceled and have nothing to show for it. You can work for a company for 25 years, lose your insurance and be unable to afford the COBRA payments. If all these people paid into a national health care system, it would cut the deficit by billions.

I wish people were this passionate about spending billions in Iraq instead of fighting to deny millions of Americans a chance to live with dignity, or at least the chance to live.

@jxp: I think most of us agree that the system needs reforming, the issue is that many of us have looked at this bill (not just the marketing of it) and think it makes things worse.
If you read the blogs regularly, you will find some of us still talking about the wars we are in and the lies that led us there.

@t*t, good reply. Couldn't have said it better myself.