Following the campaign, October 3
From Karin Caifa:
WORKING THE HILL
Kucinich stayed put in Washington this week, turning his priorities to his work in the House of Representatives. Though he’s not been on the trail, Kucinich is attempting to assert leadership potential and fighting the Republicans in other ways. He often boasts that he led the House Democrats who voted against the resolution to use force against Iraq last October. Now he’s attempting to put his mark on a similar cause, rallying Democrats to vote “no” on the proposed $87 billion Iraq supplemental appropriation. He took to the House floor for the second day in a row Thursday. “Today, while we are being told to vote for $87 billion to support the troops we find that those who will benefit from this money are the army of lobbyists who have ties to this administration,” Kucinich said. “What we see is a hostile takeover by those with influence on this administration. Let us support the troops, not administration cronies and Washington lobbyists. We should support the troops, not war-profiteering.”
STILL PUSHING FOR LABOR
In his continued push for labor support, Kucinich also weighed in on the White House’s proposed change to overtime rules. “The result of these changes is that least 8 million workers will no longer be eligible for overtime. Among the unlucky 8 million are paramedics, firefighters, air traffic controllers, social workers, and architects, “ Kucinich said on the House floor Thursday. “In 2000, overtime pay accounted for about 25 percent of the income for these workers. Their families will now have much less money to pay the bills, while their employers will have a great incentive to make them work longer hours.” Sponsored by fellow Democrat David Obey, a motion to take the Senate’s position on overtime rules, rolling back the Labor Department’s proposal to rewrite them, received a majority of the House’s support.
HEADING SOUTH
Kucinich heads to the Palmetto State on Friday, where he’s the cellar-dweller of most recent polls. In some he barely polls 1 percent. Hoping to remedy that, this is the second trip he’s made to South Carolina as a presidential hopeful, where about 100 volunteers are working on his behalf. South Carolina state directtor Michael Berg says name recognition has been the biggest battle for the congressman from Ohio. “People don’t know who he is,” Berg admits.
ON THE TRAIL
Saturday: Speaking to DNC in D.C.
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