Kucinich stumps before crowd of students in Keene
Originally published in the Brattleboro Reformer
Kucinich stumps before crowd of students in Keene
By DANIEL BARLOW
Reformer Staff
KEENE, N.H. -- It may have been the first time a presidential candidate was introduced by the lead singer of a Metallica cover band.
Despite showing up more than three hours late, hundreds of college students and other youths turned out to hear Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich at Keene State College Friday night.
"How many of you think it is possible to change the world?" Kucinich yelled into the microphone. After the cheers from the mostly young audience died down, he added, "The energy you have in this room can transform this world."
Kucinich, a long-shot candidate for the Democratic nomination who is polling 1 percent, was the featured speaker of Primarypalooza, a political concert organized by the student Democrats group at the college.
Volunteers from the presidential campaigns of former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, retired Gen. Wesley Clark and economist Lyndon LaRouche were also present.
Representatives from several N.H.-based advocacy groups handed out literature, including Envirocitizen, an environmental group, the N.H. Hemp Council and Just 6 Dollars, a group pushing for campaign finance reform.
In his five-minute blistering speech, which interrupted a musical set by a local band, Kucinich painted a picture of the United States if he was president: no nuclear weapons, universal health care, free college tuition.
He also said he would work to rebuild the nation's relationship with the global community, a connection that Kucinich said has been severed by the foreign policies of President Bush.
In a speech that seemed tailored-made for the youthful audience, Kucinich claimed that he still had much in common with today's generation.
"I hold still in my heart that rebellious spirit of yours," he said. "A spirit that demands authenticity, a spirit that demands integrity."
Kucinich's appearance, initially scheduled for 5 p.m., was delayed after the Congressman left a rally in Manchester late and then attended a political house party in Jaffrey.
With only four days left to the New Hampshire primary, Kucinich kept an optimistic beat and asked his supporters to spread the message of his campaign.
"We have only a few more days and we need help getting my message through to the community," he said. "I need the young people to help me spread that message."
Approximately 14 Kucinich supporters who arrived in New Hampshire this week from California attended the event. They were part of the Democreation Project, a grassroots, youth-founded effort to unite young artists and progressive candidates.
The activists drove across country, making frequent stops with Kucinich, on a tie-dyed colored bus that runs on biodiesel fuel.
"I'm here because the system ignores people between the ages of 18 and 24," said Haley O'Neil of Petersham, Mass., who joined the group last week. "A week ago I didn't know anything about the candidates because I wasn't participating."
Now, she said, she supports Kucinich because of his humane social policies such as universal health care and free college tuition and his opposition to the World Trade Organization and the North American Free Trade Agreement.
"What don't I like about Kucinich would be a better question," she said when asked what is appealing about the Ohio Congressman. "Nothing. I agree with him completely."
Many members of the audience had Kucinich stickers on their clothes and carried signs promoting the Ohio Congressman.
But not everyone was there for Kucinich -- some were angling for votes for other candidates.
"I'm supporting Kerry because he's well balanced and has good plans for the country," said Tim Wilder of Fitzwilliam, who manned a table for the Massachusetts senator. "He's also the only one who can beat George W. Bush."
Jean Sebastien of Sunapee was pushing for LaRouche, an economist who is running for the Democratic nomination for president, but so far has been shut out of the debates.
Sebastien said the Democrats need to welcome LaRouche into the party and the debates in order to beat the political Washington, D.C., that is controlled by Republicans.
"The Democratic political candidates are dead meat if they don't let him in," he said. "The party is being torn to pieces by this faction."
Bryan Yunis, a member of Just 6 Dollars, said the group, which formed last summer in Newcastle and now has more than 1,000 members, is not pushing any particular candidate, but is concerned about the issue of campaign finance reform.
The group wants public financing of political campaigns, he said. He presented a mathematical breakdown of the proposed system, which would cost $1.8 billion annually.
"It comes to just $6 for each person in the country," he said. "That is a drop in the bucket compared to what campaigns are raising and spending now."
Andrew Sylvia, the president pro tem of the Keene State Democrats who organized the event, said he wanted to bridge the gap between politics and young people.
College students are notoriously apathetic to politics and usually don't vote, he said. The music from local bands such as Cars can be Blue and Anger Management Seminar will draw people into the event, he explained, but people will stay once they see what the candidates are speaking about.
"They really don't know how the political system works or why it is so important to vote," Sylvia explained. "I don't really care why they turned out tonight, as long as they listen to what is going on and leave with more knowledge than they came with."
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