Following the campaign, October 22
From Karin Caifa:
EXPANDING IN IOWA
While some campaigns are winding down operations in Iowa, the Kucinich campaign considers its candidate to be the fifth major contender in the nation’s first caucuses. They opened another satellite office in Iowa City (home to the University of Iowa) today and plan to open another in Ames (home of Iowa State University) in just a few weeks. “With only five candidates taking Iowa and Iowans seriously, voters will have a better chance to learn about where each of these candidates stand on issues that matter to them. The unique role of the Iowa caucus is that it provides people the chance to really know candidates, to get beyond sound bites and 30 second commercials. The Iowa caucus should be about much more than who has the most money and who is leading the horse race. Iowa provides voters a rare chance to participate in Democracy at the grass-roots level, which is a golden opportunity to learn which candidate best represents our interests and beliefs,” said John Friedrich, the campaign’s Iowa political director. The campaign spent about $10,000 on radio advertisements in Iowa during the third quarter, according to FEC statements, and Kucinich has made about 30 visits to the state. He’s well-organized there, with perhaps his largest statewide network of staffers and volunteers. While his views on health care and social security resonate with Iowa’s large senior population and his labor-friendly platform is appealing, he’s not been able to bust out of the cellar. The campaign cites name recognition and lack of mainstream media coverage but there’s another huge obstacle facing Kucinich in the state: his stance on the war with Iraq. It’s a problem that’s even plagued top-tier candidates. The October Democracy Corps survey of Iowa Dems revealed that 59 percent said they wanted one who supported military action against Saddam, while only 37 percent wanted one who opposed war from the start. Kucinich’s extreme anti-war views may be too much for Iowa voters to swallow on Jan. 19.
VISITING THE GRANITE STATE
Lest that other early primary state feel neglected, Kucinich hits New Hampshire not once, but twice this week, perhaps picking up on the cue from state Democratic Party director Kathy Sullivan. Following the Manchester stop on his announcement tour, Sullivan told PoliticsNH.com last Monday of Kucinich, “Many of the things he says play well here in New Hampshire. He just has to make sure he comes here enough for people to hear his message and get familiar with him in order for him to hope to do well.” Ask and ye shall receive two days chock full o’ Kucinich appearances. The Kucinich campaign has offices in Manchester, Portsmouth and Keene.
ON HEALTH CARE
A few polls released this week — including the ABC News/Washington Post poll (54 percent) — showed that more Americans are in favor of a universal health care system, one of Kucinich’s key platforms. Unfortunately, this public opinion isn’t translating into better poll numbers for the congressman, who is one of two candidates (Moseley Braun is the other) proposing a universal health care plan. The Boulder, Colo., Daily Camera editorial page gives thought on why it’s happening. “’Credible’ candidates are too busy polishing an image to care much. In fact, only U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio advocates the kind of system that nearly two-thirds of Americans prefer. And he’s already been pronounced ‘unelectable.’ Maybe so. No, probably so. But that says more about our obsession with image than it does about Kucinich.” The campaign released a statement today reiterating Kucinich’s position on the issue and once again touting the support of 8,000 physicians nationwide for HR 676, the congressional legislation to create a universal, single-payer system. Kucinich has co-sponsored the bill with Democratic Rep. John Conyers of Michigan.
STANCE ON LATE-TERM/PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION
As the Senate cleared the first abortion ban of any kind since Roe vs. Wade for the president’s signature on Tuesday, a look at what Kucinich calls his recently “evolved” view on the issue of abortion: During the last vote on late-term/partial-term abortion in the House earlier this month, Kucinich voted against banning the procedure. “I don’t believe in abortion. I do, however, believe in choice,” says the congressman on his House Web site. “The decision to terminate a pregnancy is one of the most serious decisions a woman might make. It is a deeply personal decision. I believe that women have the right to determine their reproductive choices, and I believe that criminalizing abortion is unconstitutional.”
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