Kucinich forced out of Debate

KucinichDems battle in court, debate and voting booth
Three presidential rivals face off tonight in Las Vegas, but not Kucinich
The Associated Press
updated 5:17 p.m. PT, Tues., Jan. 15, 2008

LAS VEGAS - Democratic presidential rivals and their supporters vied for advantage in the courts, on a debate stage and at the ballot box on Tuesday in an unsettled race for the party's nomination to the White House.

The debate lineup included Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois as well as former Sen. John Edwards, but Tuesday evening the Nevada Supreme Court rejected an effort by Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich to join in, too.

The day's only primary, however, promised little or nothing of consequence, an election in Michigan that state party officials insisted on holding earlier in the campaign than the Democratic National Committee wanted.

The result was a primary that drew no campaigning from the major contenders and offered no delegates to the winner. Alone among the major contenders, Clinton's name was on the ballot, and her biggest concern appeared to be from supporters of Edwards and Obama pushing for a large vote for "uncommitted" to embarrass her.

Clinton will be joined on the ballot by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, former Sen. Mike Gravel and "uncommitted." There is also a write-in option.

The Democratic National Committee stripped Michigan of all of its delegates due to the early primary. Several Democratic presidential candidates requested in writing to have their names pulled from the ballot.

The court case was in Nevada, where a few of Clinton's supporters sought to force a change in groundrules for next Saturday's caucuses.

Their objective was to prevent several caucuses along the Las Vegas strip, where thousands of Culinary Workers Union employees — many of them Hispanic or black — hold jobs.

The rules were approved in March, when the former first lady was the overwhelming national front-runner in the race. But the union voted to endorse Obama last week, and the lawsuit followed.

The courts also figured in an evening debate in Nevada, where a state judge said Kucinich must have a place on the stage. Otherwise, Clark County District Court Judge Charles Thompson said he would issue an injunction canceling the event.

But Tuesday evening, the state's Supreme Court rejected the judge's ruling.

Earlier, Kucinich learned of the judge's decision when he was handed a note during an interview in Ohio with Fox Business Network's Neil Cavuto.

"Holy smokes! I just found out. I have to get off the phone now. I have to make plans to go to Nevada," Kucinich said.

MSNBC, with plans to televise the debate on cable television, had decided to exclude Kucinich after his poor performances in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. Jeremy Gaines, a vice president for MSNBC, said the network would appeal the ruling.

(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

MSNBC and the Democratic Party are calling the 9 p.m. EST debate a chance to hear issues from Nevada's minority communities. NBC's Brian Williams and Tim Russert are moderating.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22656153/