Kucinich campaign seeks minority votes in south state sweep
Originally published in the Contra Costa Times
Posted on Sun, Feb. 29, 2004
Kucinich campaign seeks minority votes in south state sweep
By Susannah Rosenblatt
LOS ANGELES TIMES
LOS ANGELES - Rep. Dennis Kucinich, fresh from an unexpectedly strong second-place finish in Hawaii's caucuses, cut a swath through Los Angeles on Saturday, hoping to win some votes in California's primary Tuesday.
The Ohio congressman brought his message to a South Central community garden, an immigrant rights rally and a local mosque as he addressed issues of particular importance in California -- such as immigration and the negative impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement on U.S. and Mexican workers.
Perennially shrugging off the inattention of the national media, Kucinich -- who said he aimed to meet "a cross-section of the community" Saturday -- was welcomed by supporters who embraced his message of peace and human rights.
Starting the day with a breakfast at the United Autoworkers Local 250, Kucinich made remarks on his own blue-collar upbringing that brought the crowd of about 250 to their feet.
Many of his most ardent supporters, however, preferred to hear the Democrat's ideas in a more intimate setting, such as the 30-person fund-raising brunch at a Long Beach home.
There, Kucinich told some of the progressive faithful that his candidacy would "provide the people of California with a real choice in this election -- not a choice between the Republican version of the war in Iraq and a Democratic version of the war in Iraq," highlighting his signature issue.
Speaking softly from his perch on a living room stool, Kucinich explained his ideas to bring peace to Iraq by immediately withdrawing U.S. troops, instituting a universal single-payer health-care system and replacing NAFTA with bilateral trade partnerships to bring jobs back to Americans.
"I'm presenting to the American people a vision of what can be," Kucinich said during his 20-minute speech to a rapt audience who, after munching on scrambled eggs and fruit, nodded their heads along with his talking points and intermittently broke into hearty applause.
"He just talks to my heart," said Delia Hardy, 36, a library employee and Cal State Fullerton student from Huntington Beach.
"I'm so sad and disgusted by the way our country is going."
Hardy and her husband, Robert, who donated $200 to Kucinich's campaign Saturday, aren't discouraged by the national delegate tally -- Kucinich has 9 of the 2,162 Democratic delegates needed to win the party's nomination.
"At least people are opening their eyes. ... It's encouraging that he's getting his voice out there," Delia Hardy said.
Powered by vegan snacks scarfed down in the campaign minivan, Kucinich then spoke at a community garden in South Central.
South Central Farmers Feeding Families is 14 acres of chain-link-bordered communal plots of fruits and vegetables farmed by more than 300 families, many of whom are low-income Latinos.
The gardens, a shock of green bordered by railroads and industrial sites, were established for free use by the city after the 1992 riots; the plots are now in danger of being replaced by city soccer fields and a commercial warehouse.
"I think what you have done here is an example of what should be done in cities all over the United States," Kucinich told a mostly Latino crowd of about 65, many of whom wore garden-muddy work boots and leaned on rakes and hoes.
"Cities should allow people to feed their families, not take food out of the mouths of people's families," he said, sprinkling his remarks with Spanish phrases as Rufina Juarez, a garden organizer, translated the rest of his words into Spanish.
Gardeners then presented Kucinich and actor James Cromwell, who joined him onstage, with large baskets of freshly grown produce, including calla lilies, cabbage and sweet potatoes.
Kucinich has made a point of appealing to minority voters. The campaign, with a war chest of about $10 million, has spent $30,000 on Spanish radio ads in the state.
The candidate wrapped up his Southern California stumping with a Beverly Hills fund-raiser featuring Sean Penn and other actors in town for the Academy Awards ceremony today.
Subscribe to this blog's feed