Peace Candidate
Originally published in the Monument
"Peace Candidate"
Activist Betty Wurtz joins NG supporters for Kucinich
By Chuck Mahaleris
New Gloucester--Dennis Kucinich is not the candidate with the most money, the most backing, the most media exposure or the highest polling numbers, but an eager group of New Gloucester Democrats is hoping that their grassroots efforts can help propel him into the White House.
Rep. Kucinich (D-OH) is considered a long-shot even by supporters. He is running against an impressive cast of Democrats all seeking to replace George W. Bush as President of the United States.
On February 8, Democrats across the state will caucus to select the nominee who will ultimately square off against Bush in the general election and activists like New Gloucester's Betty Wurtz are hoping their efforts between now and then will pay off for underdog Kucinich.
"He isn't selling a line," Wurtz said on Monday. "He speaks from the heart. He's a trustworthy, honest person."
Wurtz jumped on the Kucinich bandwagon after attending a house party early this past Summer organized by campaign volunteers in North Windham. She said she watched a video of a speech Kucinich gave and was sold after Kucinich outlined his position against the war with Iraq, his desire to cut the Defense Department budget, and to establish a Department of Peace.
"I'm a peace person," Wurtz said. "So someone who wants to set up a Department of Peace has my vote. He's a man who stands by his principles."
Following Bob Graham's (D-FL) decisions to drop out of the race, Kucinich remains the only candidate running for president who voted against authorizing the use of military force in Iraq. Presidential hopefuls Joe Lieberman (D-CT), John Kerry (D-MA), John Edwards (D-NC) and Dick Gephardt (D-MO) have all attacked Bush for his handling of the Iraq war but had voted to allow the action to take place.
Wurtz and others from the area heard the self-avowed "peace candidate" in person when he held a rally in Portland's Post Office Park at the end of August to 350 people. "He had the rapt attention of everyone," Wurtz said. A few days later, she opened her home for the first Kucinich house party in Gray and New Gloucester. Another is being scheduled for later this month or next month in New Gloucester.
Lu Bauer said that there have been more than 40 of these house parties throughout the state since June. Bauer, Kucinich's Maine Co-Coordinator, described the gatherings as an opportunity to fundraise and build awareness about Kucinich and his progressive positions.
Bauer volunteers between 60 and 80 hours per week organizing activist programs in Maine for the Ohio legislator. She said that there are more than 400 volunteers in Maine spreading the word with 5 in Gray and over a dozen in New Gloucester. "We're focusing on finding volunteers and setting up organizations in each county," Bauer said.
On Monday, volunteers from Maine headed to New Hampshire to be a part of his 11-state announcement tour. Kucinich was joined by Mimi Kennedy of "Dharma and Greg" during the tour. Last week, Mainers around the state held birthday parties for the 57 year old politician.
Building a large grassroots organization will be vital to Kucinich as the campaign does not have the resources of some of the other candidates.
Kucinich supporters were thrilled when he surpassed his fundraising goal of $1.5 million this past quarter. Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, however, raised over $15 million during the same period. Kucinich's strong pro-worker positions should be attracting the support of national labor unions but Gephardt has led the field by pulling in the endorsements from 17 national labor unions. While Kerry has been picking up the backing of such political leaders as Ted Kennedy and Gary Hart, Kucinich has pulled in the support of Actor Ed Asner and singer Willie Nelson. Below, Candidate Kucinich with Singer Willie Nelson.
Retired General Wesley Clark (D-AR) received so much media attention that he entered the race and instantly became the front-runner, Kucinich has been campaigning vigorously for months and the most recent Newsweek Poll of Democrats and Independents who lean Democrat show only 1% voting for him.
Bauer admitted that the first challenge volunteers have in recruiting new activists is assuring people that Kucinich can win. "I hear over and over that they love Dennis, but they don't think he's electable," she said. She sits down with them and asks them simply who they would vote for if the only two names on the ballot were George W. Bush and Dennis Kucinich. When they instantly say they would vote for Kucinich, she brings them back to the primaries and caucuses. "I'm wicked confident," she said enthusiastically.
"We see people everywhere who are passionate about this campaign." The biggest challenge is convincing people that they should be supporting Kucinich instead of Dean. "A Dean supporter is someone who hasn't met Dennis yet," she said. She said she is glad Dean has been so successful in bringing out new voters, but feels that a lot of Dean's activists will come to realize that "he isn't the person they thought he was."
Wurtz is also optimistic about Kucinich. "I always think that the long-shot can come through."
Subscribe to this blog's feed