Kucinich brings campaign to Wisconsin
Originally published in the Sun Herald
Posted on Fri, Feb. 13, 2004
Kucinich brings campaign to Wisconsin
By JENNY PRICE
Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. - Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich said Friday that front-runner John Kerry won't get a "free ride" in his quest to wrap up their party's nomination.
Kucinich is stepping up his presence in Wisconsin leading up to Tuesday's primary. He planned campaign stops Saturday in Green Bay, Stevens Point and Milwaukee.
The Ohio congressman has a scant 2 percent in a recent statewide poll, but insisted in a telephone interview with The Associated Press that Wisconsinites will respond to his opposition to the Iraq War, the Patriot Act and the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Kucinich said he plans to challenge Kerry in Sunday night's debate in Milwaukee on his positions on trade and the war in Iraq. Kerry supports trade policies that contributed to the loss of tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs in Wisconsin, Kucinich said.
"Sen. Kerry, with all due respect, has been one of the leaders in this trade structure that cost Americans millions of jobs," Kucinich said. "He's going to have to explain why he supports that."
Kerry spokesman Bill Burton said that although Kerry supported NAFTA, he believes President Bush "has done an awful job" of enforcing the labor and environmental standards in the agreement.
"When it comes to trade he would be a much different kind of president," Burton said. "He would never support a trade agreement that did not include strong labor provisions that protect American workers and workers abroad."
Kucinich also plans to highlight his plan to turn over peacekeeping to the United Nations so American troops can come home.
"None of the other candidates have produced a plan to get out of Iraq," he said. "I don't think the people of Wisconsin are ready to exchange a Republican war for a Democratic war."
Burton said Kerry has a plan to bring stability to the Middle East and bring troops home by involving other nations in peacekeeping efforts.
Expect Kucinich to force both issues Sunday and throughout his weekend tour of the Badger State and all the way to the Democratic National Convention.
"There's no free ride here," he said.
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