Kucinich tells St. Louis crowd plans for campaign
Originally published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Kucinich tells crowd at Crown Plaza Hotel plans for campaign
By JO MANNIES
Post-Dispatch
10/15/2003
Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich was shocked, but not surprised, when striking grocery workers told him Wednesday that they were fighting a proposal that would give health care benefits to new workers only after they'd been on the job two years.
Kucinich said that proved his point that a government-run health care system was the only way to guarantee coverage for all Americans. "Health care is being used as a tool to strip you of your economic vitality," he told about a dozen strikers picketing outside a Shop N' Save on St. Charles Rock Road in northwest St. Louis County. "It shouldn't be something you have to beg for at a bargaining table."
Kucinich's plan to, in effect, put all Americans in a Medicare-type program was among several of his proposals that touched off cheers at an early morning rally at the nearby Crown Plaza Hotel.
The audience of about 100 also was enthused about Kucinich's promise to abolish the death penalty, if elected, and his opposition to the war in Iraq.
"This path of unilateralism is a failed path!" Kucinich declared, adding that support for the United States is declining worldwide. He emphasized his opposition to the Bush administration's request for an additional $87 billion for the war effort, and to rebuild Iraq.
A congressman from Ohio, Kucinich is among the nine Democrats vying to challenge President George W. Bush. Most polls have put him near the bottom of the pack, but Kucinich said he's confident that his low-budget grassroots campaign will "be the surprise of the 2004 season."
Kucinich says Missourians will see more of him, since he plans to compete in the state's Feb. 3 presidential primary.
Citing his low-income background as one of seven children, who lived at times in cars, Kucinich said, "My experience has put me in tune with the aspirations of the people."
"I am an FDR Democrat," he said, referring the many programs created by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. "FDR created Social Security. FDR created the agencies that regulate the engines of capital.
"Many people can't tell the difference between the two parties. My candidacy helps them do that."
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