Presidential candidate in town
Originally published in the Green Bay News-Chronicle
Presidential candidate in town
Kucinich rallies the crowd at the Radisson (photo by Tina Gohr).
Kucinich says his race is going to the convention
By Anna Krejci
News-Chronicle
Lagging the front-runners in the race to capture the nomination to challenge President Bush, Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich painted himself as the clear alternative to the remaining Democrats in the field during a Saturday morning rally.
Kucinich distinguished himself from the other candidates based on his early opposition to the war in Iraq and his flat-out rejection of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization. Following a performance by guitarist Tim Reynolds, who has played with the Dave Matthews Band, Kucinich delivered a speech in which he outlined plans for universal, single-payer health care.
His initial opposition to war in Iraq and the Patriot Act sets him apart from his rivals, Kucinich said to the crowd gathered in a conference room at the Radisson Hotel.
He said he never believed there would be sufficient evidence against Iraq to justify war, and while the other candidates supported Bush at the time, he did not.
"You literally take into your hands the lives of people," he said. "It was wrong to go and it's wrong to stay," adding that he is the only candidate with a plan to bring troops home.
If elected, Kucinich would ask the United Nations to take control of Iraq and its assets until the nation's new leaders are able to govern the country themselves.
"The U.S. must renounce this privatization scheme," he said, later adding that the United States would provide financial support for a U.N. peacekeeping mission.
He said NAFTA and the World Trade Organization serve corporations by allowing them to operate with cheap labor that threaten jobs in the United States. He said he will "cancel" NAFTA and the WTO, not amend them.
Under a new free-trade agreement, Kucinich said he will push for workers' rights to organize and strike to earn decent benefits and wages. He will support rules against slave, prison and child labor. Standards to protect the environment and organic farms would be included.
Kucinich supports a universal, single-payer, not-for-profit health care system. The biggest question Kucinich said he has heard while campaigning is how to pay for his health plan, but he said the country already is paying for it. Of the $1.6 trillion poured into the health care system from the government and private sector, $400 billion a year is tied up in stock options, executive salaries, advertising and marketing costs, he said.
If the full $1.6 trillion were directed to health care, it would cover medically necessary treatments, dental and vision coverage, mental health, long-term care, fully paid drug benefits and preventative medicine, he said.
At the close of his speech, Kucinich said he is not influenced by special-interest groups, not even those that influence his party. He stood at the front of the room with his arms extended horizontally at his side as he slowly turned around.
"No strings," he said three times, sparking applause from the audience. Prior to the speech, Kucinich supporters said his pro-peace, pro-environment agenda is attracting a following - for those who know him.
"You don't hear him enough in the media so you don't know enough about him," said Emma Schartner, 17. "Once you learn about him, you can't help but love him," she said.
Reynolds said he supports Kucinich, and will continue to do so even after the race.
"We've never had a candidate that just straight up tells the truth," he said.
Jerome Anderson said Kucinich will have his vote because he has proven that he is not bullied by big corporations. As mayor of Cleveland in the late 1970s, Kucinich maintained city ownership of the power utility, Muny Light, when another company sought to buy it.
"He was not interested in his political career then, he was interested in the people he represented," Anderson said.
While supporters praise his principles and agree with his stance on the issues, some of them admit the likelihood Kucinich will not win the Democratic nomination.
"He's not gonna win, but we need this voice in American politics," said Bill Appel, a League of Conservation Voters member who said he supports Kucinich because of his environmental stance.
Other supporters, however, disagree on the electability issue.
"If you vote for him, he's electable," said Ben Ingaldson.
Even though polls are showing Sen. John Kerry in the lead in Wisconsin, Kucinich said he is not giving up.
"I have never woken up a day in my life feeling discouraged," he said. "You gotta stay in it to win."
After his speech, he said, "This campaign will go all the way to the convention."
Patti Johnson, Outagamie County coordinator for the Kucinich campaign, said the grass-roots campaign has garnered nearly $9 million in donations nationwide. The average donation is $88, she said.
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