Kucinich makes his pitch to teens
Originally published in the Concord Monitor
Kucinich makes his pitch to teens
At MV, talk turns to Patriot Act, Iraq, education
By ED PILOLLA
Monitor staff
PENACOOK - Dennis Kucinich leaned on the librarian's desk at Merrimack Valley High School yesterday and told students that the FBI, under the powers of the USA Patriot Act, has the ability to find out which books they are reading.
"If the FBI says, 'We want Jimmy Smith's library list,' then the librarian has to give them that list without telling Jimmy Smith," Kucinich said.
"No way!" a student hollered.
"Yes, way," Kucinich replied.
On the day that former Illinois senator Carol Moseley Braun dropped out of the presidential race, Kucinich told students in the crowded library that he now is the only Democratic candidate who favors a single-payer, universal health care system. The Ohio congressman is an outspoken opponent of the Patriot Act and favors pulling American troops out of Iraq, replacing them immediately with international troops.
Kucinich tried to keep his message to students upbeat, saying he wouldn't attack Bush. But five minutes later, he was asked about the situation in Iraq.
"A lot of Americans still believe Iraq had something to do with 9/11 and had weapons of mass destruction," Kucinich said. "The administration needs to keep that fiction going to justify (themselves)."
Then another student asked about President Bush's plan for space exploration.
"I have a theory why he wants to go to Mars: to find the weapons of mass destruction," Kucinich said.
Even as a former third-string high school quarterback, Kucinich claims he can differentiate between offense and defense. And the war in Iraq was not a defensive measure, he said. The American military presence in Iraq isn't fighting terrorism, but actually breeding anti-Americanism in the Middle East, he added, and he warned of an uprising in Iraq against the troops.
Kucinich is the first candidate for president to speak at Merrimack Valley High School during the 2004 campaign. Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman is scheduled to make an appearance next week.
Walking, and sometimes squeezing, between tables clustered with students, Kucinich said he supports free public college education and decriminalizing marijuana. One student asked why it is that students who test well are not graded solely on their test scores. Kucinich encouraged the young man to attend class and do his homework.
The war in Iraq is sapping funding for domestic programs, Kucinich charged. He would slash the Pentagon's "bloated" budget by 15 percent, and fund college tuition and a universal five-day-a-week pre-kindergarten program.
"There are school systems where a school doesn't get funds if (the students) don't pass a test. It's different in the military," he said. "When the military builds missiles that don't work, they still get funding."
Kucinich appealed to the teenagers to join his campaign. Even Republicans who might not agree with his policy positions should respect his integrity - he calls it how he sees it, especially in Iraq, he said.
Sophomore Andrew Sokol liked what he saw of Kucinich. Still, Sokol would like to see Kucinich develop a stronger reputation. "He needs a good public image," Sokol said.
Before visiting the high school, Kucinich spoke at the New Hampshire Veterans Home in Tilton, where he repeated his call to bring the troops home. After that event, Kucinich said Bush's ambitious space exploration proposal is another example of unilateralism and "he is moving to put weapons in space."
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