Presidential hopeful visits Laney College
Originally published in the Oakland Tribune
Presidential hopeful visits Laney College
Kucinich speaks against recall, Prop. 54, tax cuts and heavy defense spending
By Matthew Green, CORRESPONDENT
OAKLAND -- From slashing military spending to protecting the environment, Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich brought his liberal gospel to Oakland's Laney College Monday.
He addressed about 200 students and supporters.
Kucinich, a Democratic Congressman from Ohio and former Cleveland mayor, is arguably the most left-wing candidate in the race. He fielded questions in the Laney campus quad for nearly an hour on everything from file sharing to Middle East peace.
He criticized the Bush administration's defense spending and tax cuts and pledged an about-face on foreign and domestic policies.
"Let's create a new America," he said, promoting his self-described "holistic world view," which includes defending the rights of workers and immigrants, repealing the Patriot Act and guaranteeing universal health care and quality education from pre-kindergarten to college.
"I'm dedicated to making sure we have jobs for all, health care for all," he said.
Kucinich said he aims to cut the defense budget by 15 percent and transfer the resulting $60 billion into the education budget.
The rally was organized by opponents of Proposition 54, an initiative that would prevent California government from tracking citizens and students by race. Kucinich spoke against both the measure and the statewide recall effort against Gov. Gray Davis.
Kucinich is considered a longshot in the 2004 presidential race, trailing far behind most of his Democratic rivals. He insists his relatively minuscule campaign budget is devoid of corporate funding,
"I don't take it, but given my politics, they wouldn't give it," he told the crowd.
Many in the crowd were receptive to Kucinich's message. "Now is the time to support a candidate we believe in," said Oakland resident Mary Barnes, a nurse.
Kehinde Apara, 20, a sophomore, said she didn't know anything about the candidate before the event. Now, she plans to vote for him.
"I think he's awesome. He's talking about a whole new world vision," Apara said.
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