PROVO, UT (AP)- Congressman Dennis Kucinich fired heavy-handed criticism at political opponent Carl Duzett yesterday, accusing him of socialist roots.
"I ask you, what kind of man does it take to be King of the Internet?" Kucinich asked yesterday at a fundraising event on an eBay forum. "You want a man who will be fair, just, and democratic. There are certain opponents of mine who, if you look at their record, have clear socialist ties. But I will bring integrity and democracy to the Internet as your High Ruler."
The attack occurred just two weeks after Kucinich announced his candidacy for King of the Internet.
Duzett's Running Mate, college sophomore Chase Adams, claimed that the allegation was "false" and "stupid," and demanded that the Kucinich campaign retract the statement and offer a public apology.
Kucinich refused to retract the statement, and offered more details in a press conference this morning.
"Duzett has been involved with digital socialist distribution from his early youth," Kucinich explained. "From the youngest age he's been trained up in socialism. Napster, kazaa, all types of filesharing. This reminds me of the beginnings of the U.S.S.R."
The Duzett campaign declined to comment.
Two weeks after Kucinich's announcement, the public's eye has turned to comparing the two candidates.
"There is a clear fundraising issue for the Duzett campaign," ABC senior analyst Mark Halperin said. "I don't know that Duzett will be able to raise much money from his target support group, college-age adults. I don't know that he's raised any money at all, actually. Meanwhile, Kucinich has the leftover funds from his campaign for President. If it comes down to who can pay for the most pop-ups and facebook ads, Kucinich has the clear advantage."
However, Kucinich has not been able to increase his coffers significantly since his surrender from the Democratic primary. Here are the fundraising totals for major political candidates for the month of March:
Barack Obama: $30,200,000
Hillary Clinton: $19,700,000
Dennis Kucinich: $6,023
Carl Duzett: $20
John McCain: $5
Others note a waning of support in Duzett's camp. What initially seemed to be a surging campaign, gaining 37 members in its facebook group in its opening week, has fallen flat.
"Duzett's campaign has certainly peaked early," writes Washington Times columnist Stephen Dinan. "His facebook group actually dropped from 37 members to 36 the other day. That's not exactly a sign of picking up steam."
Running Mate candidate Chase Adams responded optimistically to questions about the drop.
"We're confident that Duzett will continue to gain support," Adams said. "There are actually 39 members right now, and that number will just keep getting bigger until Carl is King."
In response to questions about the identity of the member who left the group:
"We know who it is," Adams said, smiling. "We don't refer to him or her by name anymore, of course. Let's just say that it was an act of betrayal, of the likes of Judas Iscariot."
Duzett is beginning a seven-day stump through the Internet tomorrow to raise funds and support, including major battleground websites such as facebook.com and myspace.com. The trip is also said to be an effort to win support in the gamer demographic days after Kucinich's controversial comments two days ago that "gamers cling to their violent games and antipathetic views as a way to explain their social frustrations." Campaign insiders predict that Duzett will use the opportunity to showcase his international capabilities, speaking occasionally in Spanish, and showcasing his command of "leetspeak" while visiting major gaming site ign.com.
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