Interesting. While Labor unions definitely have a seedy element, they are no worse than some of the other characters are the other politicos are hanging with, may I name a few such as Enron, the entire military industrial complex, etc. Pharmaceutical companies are some of the largest contributers to both political parties and look at some of the shady dealings they do. For example, deliberately closing a plant in Michigan (even with the usual tax incentives) because Michigan doesn't have enough Pfizer drugs on their Medicaid formulary. You can't do politics in Ohio, Chicago, or many towns without getting involved with the Mafia or Unions. Just like you can't do politics in Florida without the realtors and developers. Beth t the OT -----Original Message----- From: St. John's University Cerebral Palsy List Subject: Re: civil war, was re. earthquake Dennis K. is from the industrial northeast sector of Ohio. He was/is a very liberal democrat and the bulk of his constituency is labor and minorities. Congressman Kucinich has had ties with some very seedy characters (e.g. Youngstown mafiosa)--especially when he was involved in local and state politics. Even if I were liberal in my politics, I would be wary of Dennis and any other democrat that had roots in the organized labor element of northeast Ohio. KC