Kucinich pushes jobs, health care
Originally published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer
Kucinich pushes jobs, health care
02/18/04
Mark Naymik
Plain Dealer Politics Writer
Standing before the twisted metal and crushed concrete of a recently demolished Cleveland hospital, Dennis Kucinich on Tuesday declared health care the No. 1 domestic issue in the presidential campaign.
"This is a defining issue of what we stand for in the U.S.," the Democratic hopeful and Cleveland congressman said at the site of the former Mt. Sinai Medical Center on Cleveland's East Side.
Though Kucinich's candidacy has been defined nationally by his anti-war stance, he tried to rev up his long-shot bid for the White House by highlighting his plans for creating jobs and increasing access to health care.
Jobs and health care will get plenty of attention here from candidates.
The issues play particularly well in industrial states like Ohio, where thousands of manufacturing jobs have been lost during the past three years.
On Tuesday, Kucinich began a two-day Ohio campaign swing in Cleveland, where he made nearly a dozen short speeches and meet-and-greet appearances. Today, he campaigns in Dayton, Yellow Springs and Cincinnati.
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic front-runner, also campaigns in Ohio today, holding rallies with union workers in Dayton and Columbus. North Carolina Sen. John Edwards visits Ohio this weekend.
Kucinich said he is the only Democratic presidential candidate to propose creating a government program to provide free health care to everyone. He accused for-profit health care companies of wasting billions of dollars on paperwork alone while closing hospitals to save money.
Pointing to the rubble behind him, he said, "Mt. Sinai would have not been torn down if we had a nonprofit health care system."
Kucinich proposes paying for his plan, which is based on a bill he introduced with Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, by shifting government health care spending and charging employers an additional 7.7 percent tax. He said the tax would cost less than the premiums that the average employer already pays for health care plans.
Despite having won only a couple of delegates in the presidential contests so far, Kucinich insisted he has a shot at winning the Democratic nomination, albeit a long one.
"I might be a longer shot than Seabiscuit at this point," he said in an interview, referring to the popular racehorse known for comeback wins.
Kucinich said he needs to pick up "dozens" of delegates in the March 2 "Super Tuesday" primaries, when Ohio joins nine other states holding contests with 1,151 delegates up for grabs - more than a quarter of the total.
He said he's optimistic that Ohio and parts of California, Texas and Florida will support him.
He said he has an advantage in this state because "nobody knows Ohio better than I do."
He's relying on trade issues to draw a sharp distinction between himself and Kerry. Kucinich said he would repeal the controversial North American Free Trade Agreement.
Kerry voted for NAFTA but is promising to ensure that U.S. trade partners enforce the agreement's labor and environment obligations that are supposed to create a level playing field for workers.
"I will make trade an issue in this debate," Kucinich promised.
Asked if he could be embarrassed in his home state by a poor showing in the March 2 primary, Kucinich quipped:
"Once you've been mayor of Cleveland, you can't be embarrassed."
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