Following the campaign, October 8
From Karin Caifa:
DEMOCRACY RISING
Kucinich appeared Tuesday at the Democracy Rising rally at the Metropolitan African Methodist Church in Washington. The event was the 18th in a series of nationwide rallies. Despite the presence of a handful of Dean supporters giving out fliers on the sidewalk, this was decidedly a Kucinich event. The entrance to the church was a sea of the campaign’s navy blue T-shirts and campaign volunteer Alan Heymann had a huge roll of stickers he wanted to get rid of by the end of the evening. From the looks of the crowd, he didn’t have any problems.
INVASION OF THE DEAN SUPPORTERS
“Aren’t you guys in enemy territory?” I asked the Dean volunteers. “I love Dennis Kucinich. I think he’s done a great job in the Congress,” admitted one of the folks sporting a Dean for America button. “I love everything he says. But I don’t think he stands any chance of winning the nomination. And I think Howard Dean does stand a real chance of taking back the Democratic Party.”
BACKSTAGE: NOTHING IS EASY
Downstairs from the hall, Maryland campaign coordinator Yu-Lan Tu zipped back and forth in anticipation of the congressman’s arrival. Black Entertainment Television had requested an interview with the candidate and she was going to great lengths to find a proper venue in the church. First she tried making a classroom look “presidential” with the addition of a small lamp, some faux flowers and a vase full of flags from foreign countries. She tried desperately to find an American flag to use as a backdrop but it wasn’t meant to be. Crew and correspondent were finally moved upstairs to a board room. Also a debacle was Kucinich’s arrival. The campaign staffers on site, in addition to security, were expecting the congressman to come in through a back door of the church. Despite numerous phone calls, everyone got caught off guard when the congressman merely made his way through the front door with everyone else.
THE MAIN EVENT
Other than the speakers, which included as a surprise to many a visit from Democratic Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the hundreds who crowded the pews (a diverse and eclectic bunch) were treated to the sounds of African drums and hip-hop artists and the lithe beauty and iridescent energy of traditional African dancers. With a lead-in from Conyers, Kucinich took the stage and left the crowd wanting more. Not because he was super-engaging, but because he spoke for less time than the crowd was anticipating. Kucinich seemed a little road-weary and, from what I witnessed backstage, not his zippy self. Perhaps it was jet lag, perhaps it was the funeral he attended in Cleveland on Tuesday morning — clearly not his best day. But folks leapt to their feet anyway. Kucinich kicked off his speech with his health-care proposal. “People are finding they can’t afford to be well and they can’t afford to be sick.” He maligned the closing of D.C. General Hospital and the recent closing of a hospital he fought for in Cleveland, his points punctuated by “Right on’s!” from the crowd. He addressed the importance of libraries, noting that “if I didn’t have a library to walk to growing up, my whole life would have changed and not for the better.” He also mentioned the support Ralph Nader gave him during his “power struggle” as mayor of Cleveland 25 years ago. His voice at the full crescendo we reporters have come to expect from the candidate, he saved his trademark issue for last. Seizing on the theme of the evening, he said we need to see “Democracy rising in Iraq.”
ENDORSEMENT
The campaign says Winona LaDuke will officially endorse Kucinich for president soon. LaDuke was Ralph Nader’s running mate on the 2000 Green Party ticket.
CHATTING WITH RALPH NADER
Before his appearance, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk to him about the current crop of presidential candidates, whether Dems are still angry at him about 2000 and if he’ll make a run on his own. I asked him about Kucinich, the candidate sharing the bill with him. Nader said, “I think he’s an authentic progressive, Democratic candidate for President. He doesn’t just say things that are progressive. He’s done ’em. He’s got a record going back 30 years first as a city councilman, then mayor of Cleveland, all the way to the House of Representatives, where he has ‘walked the walk,’ as they say.” After the interview, Nader showed me a photocopy Kucinich had handed him earlier in the evening. It was a letter that Kucinich had written to him in 1975, on Kucinich’s Cleveland City Council letterhead, praising him for his work on several consumer initiatives. I also asked Nader what he thought about the other “progressive” candidate in the race, Howard Dean, but he sidestepped any direct comment on the doctor from Vermont. “I’ve never been one to prejudge any candidates this early in the campaign,” he replied. “Because it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and that’s not fair. Let them all compete on a level playing field, share in the debates, make their points on their merits and we’ll see how it all works out in February and March.” As far as the big question — will he run again in 2004? — Nader says he’ll make a decision at the end of this year.
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