Dennis is a congressman who stands up for the little guy and the hard-working American manufacturing worker. The problem is that for all his rhetoric, those manufacturers he represents are now looking for work as their jobs are fleeing state and country.

As Pete Kotz said in the Cleveland Scene a few months ago, "Take a closer look at his record. Search for one slab of concrete he's laid, one shingle he's pounded to make any of this happen. You won't find any. That's because there's a very simple truth about Kucinich: The self-proclaimed workers' president' has a serious aversion to work."

Some writers have called Dennis a hero because he's willing to say what he believes, even if it isn't popular. But after 12 years in Congress, if no one listens or cares what he's saying (even in his own party), then what does it matter what he says?

Kucinich faces a real challenge from Republican Jim Trakas in November. I already knew I was voting for him, but because I know many of you might not know a lot about him, I sent out a few questions to a member of Trakas's campaign to show where they might differ:

Did your candidate spend millions of taxpayers' dollars continuing a quixotic presidential campaign even after receiving only 1 percent of votes in the Iowa caucus and even after the eventual nominee wrapped up the required number of delegates?

Did your candidate then vow not to run for president, but then did anyway?

Does your candidate cater to Hollywood celebrities while raising campaign contributions out of state, while ignoring the crumbling state of his district's economy?

Does your candidate support increasing the size of the federal government by trillions of dollars with socialist-laden plans for national health care and a federal Department of Peace?

Has your candidate embarrassed even members of his own party by introducing articles of impeachment against the vice president and president that had no chance at passing, despite the fact that party leaders warned him not to?

The answer to each of these questions is a resounding "no."

The voters in the 10th District have a choice to make. They can support a candidate who supports less taxes and opposes the over-regulation that is strangling our local economy. Or, we can keep giving where it doesn't help and re-elect Dennis.

It's why Congress has an approval rating lower than the president's, but we re-elect the same guys 98 percent of the time. It's why downstate conservatives vote for those who denounce gays and praise Jesus � and push economic policies that cut the faithful's knees. And it's why we keep electing Dennis Kucinich. He tells us everything we want to hear. But 12 years later, we're no closer to holding those pretty things in our hands.

You have to hand it to the guy. He plays us like Guitar Hero on the remedial setting. For yellow-dog Democrats, he's a fiery voice for jobs and health care, a fearless antagonist of that vague and ominous enemy, the wealthy special interest. For the cerebral left, he offers plums and cherries like the Department of Peace and the impeachment of Dick Cheney.

We lap it up like Labradors. He's the one guy who gives eloquent voice to our wishes, burning denunciation of our foes. Because in the parallel universe of politics, we've come to believe that talking and fighting are the same thing.

But take a closer look at his record. Search for one slab of concrete he's laid, one shingle he's pounded to make any of this happen. You won't find any. That's because there's a very simple truth about Kucinich: The self-proclaimed "workers' president" has a serious aversion to work.

Defenders will tell you it's hard for one member to do anything in Congress. True. It's a battle royal among 535 clinically alarming egos, perhaps the most competitive workplace on earth. Talking does no good. At any given moment, there are 100 guys talking louder and prettier than you.

So you do as you would on any job: Put your head down, work your ass off, make your bones. If you want to be someone, these are the rules of the working life.

Senator Sherrod Brown understands this. He's quietly made himself an expert on trade. Should there be an Obama presidency, and Washington rediscovers the golden chalice of American politics � secure jobs that pay enough to live � the Senate will turn to him for advice. Finally, an Ohio guy with Ohio sensibilities will be in a position to do something about manufacturing.

But Kucinich has made himself an expert on nothing. He's the flighty co-worker who leaps from one task to another, boldly announcing how he'd do things better, then moving to a different task. You know how these people are viewed on your job. It tends to involve a lot of expletives. And it's the same way his own party views him in Congress. They just want him to shut up and get out of the way.

So when Washington eventually decides to do something about health care, education, consumer protection, the war, Kucinich will be on the outside looking in. He'll have no more say in crafting these bills than you or I.

But let's forgive him for a moment. Let's admit he's not cut out for work. His gift is his tongue, his flair for the dramatic, his ability to shine light on what ain't right. The smart fighter plays to his strengths, and a congressman can pack a lethal punch if he has the will.

There is no shortage of righteous battles in Cleveland. When National City was on its predatory lending spree, Kucinich could have been outside corporate HQ protesting every day, embarrassing executives into forgoing the serial rape of their hometown.

He could be at government construction sites, shaming public officials into abiding by their own minority-hiring laws.

He could use his staff to investigate corruption in HMOs, campaign finance, the Cleveland schools, the Mike White administration.

He could do what Brown has done � use his campaign funds to rent buses, so old people could buy cheaper medicine in Canada.

He could be the one Democrat who stands up every time Jimmy Dimora buys land from Sam Miller at five times its value.

To simply do one of these would have doubled his list of accomplishments over the past 12 years. But here's another truth about Dennis Kucinich: He's a George Bush kind of fighter � a guy who bravely speaks from the safety of the officers' tent, never risking his own sweat and blood.

Which means we've spent about $10 million � including his salary and federal subsidies of his presidential campaigns � so Dennis can create fabulous symbolism. Peace would be good, but the Department of Peace hasn't gone anywhere. Cheney may be a shirt tail relative of Satan, but he still has a job. Kucinich doesn't have the juice or drive to push boulders like these. He just plays like he does on TV.

Meanwhile, winnable fights � the kind that might put bread on someone's table � are ignored. The problem is that they require real work, real tenacity, real bravery. Dennis doesn't have the stomach.

So vote for him if you will. And when you're short on rent, short on the doctor's bill, take solace that somewhere, Dennis Kucinich is talking about having your back. He's sure to get around to it. Just give him another 12 years.

In the meantime, see if you can pay the heat bill with symbolism. That's worked pretty well for us so far, hasn't it?

First, he says, “There’s a universal desire from the greater Cleveland business community, as well as the elites in town of all political persuasions, that Congressman Kucinich just hasn’t gotten the job done, so it’s time for somebody new. The question is can you win.” Trakas anticipates that today’s primary will show that he can, by revealing that Kucinich “has been tremendously wounded in the district.”

The primary has given influential Cleveland Democrats a chance to express their impatience with Kucinich’s antics. The Cleveland Plain Dealer endorsed Kucinich’s chief primary rival, Cleveland councilman Joe Cimperman, in an editorial that read, “Dennis Kucinich has finally faced up to reality and shelved his presidential fantasy for at least another four years. Now it is up to the Democrats of the 10th Congressional District to face up to reality and tell him his services are no longer required in Congress, either.” The cover story in the current issue of the left-leaning alt-weekly Cleveland Scene encourages readers to get behind the idea of “Dumping Dennis,” on the grounds that he’s an absentee congressman who has engaged in more quixotic crusades than winnable fights.

Were he Kucinich’s only challenger, Cimperman would probably have the votes to prevail. As it is, he’s just one of four Democrats vying for Kucinich’s seat. Kucinich will benefit from these lesser-known challengers splitting the vote, and it’s likely (though not certain) that his hard-core supporters — ethnic, working-class Cleveland Democrats who see him as one of them — will turn out in big-enough numbers to put him over the top.

Trakas will need a big portion of the Democrats who vote against Kucinich today to vote against Kucinich again in November — even if that means voting for a Republican. He says he plans to win these voters over by running as a “progressive conservative.”

“I don’t mean progressive in the leftist sense,” he adds quickly. “I mean progressive in terms of having different, dynamic ideas, and conservative meaning they have to match with what really works.” For instance, Trakas would depart from traditional conservatism by pushing for more import restrictions on products coming from China and other less-developed countries. Nor would he be shy about steering federal dollars to Ohio for investment in technologies to reduce oil dependence.

On the other hand, Trakas speaks out stridently against the Democrats’ health-care proposals and favors market solutions to the problems of rising costs; he would push for fewer regulations and a lighter tax burden on American businesses; and he opposes cap-and-trade proposals and amnesty for illegal immigrants.

These last two positions put him at odds with likely Republican nominee John McCain, but he says he’s happy to have McCain on the ticket: “Senator McCain helps me in my district, because he’s viewed as more moderate and willing to accommodate Democratic ideals, and this is a Democratic-leaning district,” Trakas says. As for progress in Iraq, McCain’s main issue, Trakas says, “I’m proud to run on the victory bandwagon.”

He says the people in his district “want to win. They may have disagreed with going to war, and maybe they don’t like the way the war has been prosecuted. But they don’t want to lose. And Dennis Kucinich and Barack Obama are trying to outbid each other as to how big the white flag of surrender is going to be.”

When I ask which Democrat he’d prefer to see at the top of the ticket, Trakas argues that it won’t affect his race that much. “My race is really with Congressman Kucinich… it won’t have the same trends” as the rest of the country. “I think the Democratic party could gain Senate and House seats, and I could win.

“The fact is, he’s got 100-percent name recognition and most of it’s negative,” Trakas says. “So you don’t have to raise $2 million. You just have to reinforce that you’re a viable alternative, and I won’t have to go a long way to point out flaws in Congressman Kucinich. He’s done that on his own very successfully.”

It’s not just Kucinich’s bizarre behavior, either. It’s things like his abrupt 180 “from being endorsed by Ohio right-to-life to supporting government-paid-for, partial-birth abortions,” Trakas says. “I don’t even have to talk about stuff like that. It speaks for itself.”

As we’re wrapping up the interview, Joe Cimperman, the Democrat challenging Kucinich, stops by the deli to shake hands with some men sitting at the bar, and soon he and Trakas are greeting each other like old friends and laughing over something that happened at one of their recent debates. When Trakas sits back down, he shakes his head, gives me a wry smile and says something to the effect of, “If that guy wins, it’s all over.”

And it’s true. Cleveland should be a safe Democratic seat, and probably will be even if Kucinich wins today. But Kucinich has alienated Cleveland voters on both sides of the political spectrum to a degree that is hard to grasp until you come here and talk to Clevelanders, who have had enough of the UFO sightings, the strange diets, the loony pacifism, and the hopelessly doomed presidential campaigns. Frankly, as they will tell you, the town has enough problems without being represented by a walking punchline.

Stephen Spruiell is an NRO staff reporter.

"Once again, Kucinich shows how out of touch he is with Cleveland and the 10th District," Trakas said. "A meaningless piece of legislation that is going nowhere seems to be the priority of our congressman while the constituents in the 10th District suffer.'

Trakas, a Republican, said Kucinich, who has twice run for President, does not have Northeast Ohio on his mind but higher office.

In 1991, Trakas won the first of two terms on the Independence City Council.

In 1998, Trakas was elected to the 15th, and later renamed the 17th District of the Ohio House of Representatives, where he served four terms; two of which as House Majority Whip.

Kucinich was elected Mayor of Cleveland in 1977.

In addition, Kucinich has served on the Cleveland City Council (1970-75, 1981-82); served as the Clerk of Courts for the Cleveland Municipal Court (1976-77); been an Ohio State Senator (1994-96); and in November 2004, was elected to his fifth term as a Member of the United States House of Representatives (1997-present).

Just shows that political games and not real policy discussion is the agenda of Cleveland's congressman. While we suffer from skyrocketing food and fuel prices, due in large part to bad policies from Washington and higher than tolerable unemployment, Congressman Kucinich pursues a bizarre political agenda with no change of passage and that in no way solves our very real problems.

Trakas also noted that when voters attempted to recall Kucinich during his mayoral term, Kucinich had argued that was a waste of time, deflecting him from his duties as mayor.

Kucinich introduced a resolution last year to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney. That resolution was killed, but only after Republicans initially voted in favor of taking up the measure to force a debate.

Kucinich won 50 percent of the vote in a five-way House Democratic primary in March, beating back critics who said he ignored business at home to travel the country in his quest to be president.

Trakas and Kucinich face off in November.

Although Kucinich, D-Cleveland, is likely to prevail in his heavily Democratic district, analysts think he has hurt himself among Cleveland voters for his long-shot pursuit of the Democratic presidential nomination.

Kucinich introduced 35 articles of impeachment against Bush, charging that the president created a "secret propaganda campaign to manufacture a false case" for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The House voted 251-166 to send Kucinich's articles of impeachment to a committee where they probably won't be heard from again.

Trakas was confused when learning of Kucinich’s vote, “I have a hard time understanding how anyone could vote against honoring the Boy Scouts of America. However, it makes sense when you understand that Congressman Kucinich voted against a resolution honoring the first responders and victims of The September 11th Terrorist Attacks as well as voting against implementing a nationwide Amber Alert system.”

Trakas continued, “Sadly, Congressman Kucinich has been spending too much time with his rich Hollywood friends to realize that those of us in Greater Cleveland admire the Boy Scouts and appreciate the values that scouting instills. They may not be weird Hollywood values, but they are Cleveland values!” commented Trakas, whose big brother was a Cub Scout.

Trakas is sending a letter to Scout Leaders throughout Greater Cleveland asking them to seek an explanation for this vote. “What part of The Scout’s Law of ‘A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent’ does Congressman Kucinich disagree with? Trakas noted that he frequently attended Eagle Scout recognition ceremonies as a Member of The Ohio House of Representatives.

“This is yet another example of Congressman Kucinich voting Hollywood values over Cleveland values,” Trakas concluded.

“By voting to raise food prices through support of the ethanol program and voting against investment in domestic oil production, Congressman Kucinich is directly responsible for the dramatic increase in the price of food and fuel prices. He should be ashamed of his voting record that has been consistently anti-consumer and the voters of the 10th District should hold him accountable on the 4th of November.”

Congressman Kucinich is part of the governing majority in the U.S. Congress and responsible for policy since January of 2007. “Congressman Kucinich is part of the problem. His policies have had negative consequences for his constituents and higher food and fuel prices are the most obvious.” said Trakas.

Trakas went on to say, “only by investing in fuel cell technology and implementing the Trakas Plan will America become energy efficient and more cost effective. Congressman Kucinich’s ideas were tried and were abysmal failures by the Carter Administration in the 1970’s.”

“Kucinich’s plan for a predatory tax on a single industry will directly lead to higher gas prices, failing miserably at its intended goal. This is Economics 101. His proposed increase in taxes will be felt by the consumer, not the oil companies. Prices will undeniably rise. We know this from history, and hope history does not repeat itself with terrible public policy heaped on really bad public policy.” Commented Trakas, who helped pass legislation in Ohio for Fuel Cell Technology Investment

While Congressman Kucinich wants to pass the “Dennis J. Kucinich Gas Increase Act of 2008,” let us apply common sense in our government and for Greater Cleveland consumers. “The people of Greater Cleveland understand that taking money out of the pockets of big oil will not put money into their own pockets. There are serious issues that need to be addressed in our nation and our city; and Congressman Kucinich has proven time and time again to not be up to the task.