Kucinich campaigns in Detroit
Originally published in the Detroit News
Decision 2004
Kucinich campaigns in Detroit
Congressman, announcing candidacy for president, pledges health reforms, U.S. troop pullout in Iraq
By George Hunter / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Democrat Dennis Kucinich, a liberal congressman from Ohio, kicked off his presidential campaign here Monday by pledging health care reform and an immediate removal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
Kucinich, who has served four terms in Congress, addressed a gathering of about 40 people at Wayne County Community College's Eastern Campus in Detroit as part of a three-day, 14-city tour to announce his candidacy.
"The American people know the truth," Kucinich said. "They know the manufacturing base in this country is in trouble. They know Bush lied about getting us into a war with Iraq. They know what's going on in this country."
Kucinich cited a story that appeared in Monday's Detroit News to illustrate what he said were "serious problems" that need to be addressed.
"We're seeing this all over the country: Sewerage systems and other parts of the infrastructure need to be fixed -- but there's no money because of tax cuts for the wealthy and the Iraq war," he said.
If elected, Kucinich said he would look into offering reparations to compensate African-Americans for the nation's history of slavery.
In addition, he promised to establish a federal Peace Department, which would study nonviolent ways to settle conflicts.
"That's something Martin Luther King would have embraced," longtime local activist Grace Lee Boggs said. "I think (Kucinich) has a vision for a new America you don't find with other Democrats."
U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit, addressed whether a long-shot like Kucinich could be elected.
"The central question is: Can he win? Well, (in 1988), everybody asked the same question about the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and he ended up winning (the Michigan primary). Kucinich can win," Conyers said.
That's the hope of Birmingham resident Phyllis Livermore.
"He's the person I want to win, but I thought there was no way he could win. But we have to start thinking in a new way," she said. "He can win if enough people vote for him, and I'm voting for him."
Kucinich was elected mayor of Cleveland in 1977 when he was 31. Two years later, Cleveland became the first city since the Depression to go into default.
He survived a recall election, but he lost his re-election bid by a landslide.
Kucinich made a political comeback in the 1990s, winning a state Senate seat, then getting elected to the U.S. House in 1996.
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