Kucinich's stance on war in Iraq attracts supporters
Originally published in the Arizona Daily Sun
Kucinich's stance on war in Iraq attracts supporters
By CHRIS MARKHAM
Sun Staff Reporter
01/19/2004
Some like Dennis Kucinich for his political platform. Some like him because he's a vegan. And others seem to like him simply because he's not Howard Dean or Wesley Clark.
But it's the Democratic presidential candidate's message of peace and anti-war beliefs that have 10 or so hard-core Kucinich supporters keeping the faith -- even if their candidate is often labeled unelectable. [ed. note: it's not clear where the "10 supporters" figure comes from since later in the story they mention a students for Kucinich group that has a larger membership than that by itself. It may refer to the number of campaign volunteers in Flagstaff]
"That doesn't faze any of us," said Judy Springer, northern Arizona coordinator for the Kucinich campaign.
Springer jumped on the board the campaign after meeting Kucinich last June in Phoenix. At 37, she's never been involved in a political campaign.
"I've always been kind of leery of politics," she said.
But the Ohio Democrat impressed her with his willingness to speak with anyone.
"He actually spent more time talking to my 5-year-old than me," she said.
To Springer, the race is more about a political movement than it is a campaign. Win or lose, the Flagstaff group is determined to try and change the way politics are done.
"It seems like today we vote for who we dislike the least instead of for someone with integrity," she said.
She figures she spends about 20 hours each week keeping the rest of the Flagstaff supporters informed of campaign events. It's a big job she juggles with being a botanist at the Ecological Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University and with being a parent and wife.
"My husband's watching my 5-year-old a lot right now," she said.
Springer spends about an hour each morning and several hours on Saturday sifting through mounds of political material to use in weekly newsletters she e-mails to supporters.
And on Sunday, she was in New Mexico, where Kucinich was scheduled to make an appearance before heading to Tucson.
Dan Frazier, another Kucinich supporter in Flagstaff, was first drawn to the candidate for his vegan appetite.
"There are a lot of reasons I agree with him," said Frazier. "But what got me interested in the first place, it's kind of a silly thing but it's very personal, is I heard he was a vegan."
Frazier, a vegan for the past 10 years, doesn't eat any animal products, including meat, dairy and fish.
"It's symbolic of a philosophy and a way of life that has to do with a concern for the environment, concern for personal health, concern for the welfare of animals," Frazier said. "It touches on a whole lot of things that are important to me right there."
While he maintains a Web site for the northern Arizona group and has produced a couple of bumper stickers, Frazier said he hasn't devoted as much time as he would like to the campaign.
He also appreciates Kucinich's desire to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq and replace them with U.N. troops.
"Of course, it's hard to disagree with a person like Dennis, who is championing peace as one of his platforms."
If Kucinich does not win the Democratic nomination, Frazier said he will certainly vote for whoever runs against Bush, but he won't be passionate for anyone else.
"It depends on which candidate it is, I guess," he said. "But to be honest with you, none of the other candidates have excited me nearly as much as Dennis has, maybe with the exception of Al Sharpton."
Flagstaff residents Susanne Severeid and her husband, Tony Van Renterghem, consider themselves activists for many of the causes Kucinich stands for.
"It was Kucinich who from the very beginning and without ever wavering, totally opposed going in and attacking Iraq."
Severeid, a former radio journalist, was asked by the Kucinich campaign to be its state media coordinator. She turned down the position because of personal commitments.
Kucinich also has support at Northern Arizona University.
Officially, the Students for Kucinich Club at NAU has 15 members, although club leaders say there are probably more. Last semester the club regularly staffed a table in the University Union and distributed fliers in common areas. So far, the club has not gotten a regular schedule down for the spring semester.
"Many people at NAU have yet to hear about Kucinich, something we must change if Kucinich is to turn around the current Arizona poll numbers," said club Co-President Chaston Blum in an e-mail interview
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