Speakers shape choice of undecided voter
Originally published in the Portland Press Herald
Monday, February 9, 2004
Speakers shape choice of undecided voter
By JOSHUA L. WEINSTEIN, Portland Press Herald Writer
Not even a week ago, Lena Weiner-Sorgman didn't think much of U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, the Ohio congressman who wants the Democratic Party's nomination for president.
"I can't even say his name," she said five days ago.
As for former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, forget it.
"Too conservative," the 67-year-old longtime Democrat proclaimed.
So when she arrived at the Portland Democratic caucus Sunday afternoon, she had pretty much written off those two candidates. She sort of liked retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, didn't mind Sen. John Edwards and felt some warmth toward Sen. John Kerry. The Rev. Al Sharpton had said all the right things as far as she was concerned, but she didn't think he could beat President Bush.
Even when she arrived at the caucus, though, she had no idea who would get her vote.
Then the speakers began.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. addressed the 2,000 or so people in the Deering High School gymnasium on behalf of Kerry.
Weiner-Sorgman loves Kennedy. She grew up in Dorchester, Mass., and has always admired the family. And during the summer, she met Kerry at a restaurant. In fact, when Weiner-Sorgman, who has been disabled since birth, went over to shake his hand, she began to trip.
"He picked me up," she said. "We had a nice little conversation."
But hearing a surrogate - even one named RFK - isn't the same as hearing from the candidate. And the only two actual candidates to speak were Dean and Kucinich.
Much to Weiner-Sorgman's surprise, she liked what she heard.
She liked Dean's message of being an outsider, of moral leadership, and was rapt when he said: "You have the power in the next hour-and-a-half to take back . . . our country, so the flag of the United States no longer belongs to (Attorney General) John Ashcroft and (Vice President) Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh."
"He's good," she said. "I kind of like his tone of voice, and he's not screaming at us," she said.
Still, she didn't know who she'd vote for.
"I take a long time in the (voting) booth," she said.
Kate Roberts, a Maine social worker who spoke on behalf of John Edwards, lost Weiner-Sorgman - and her enthusiasm - early.
And then Kucinich took to the lectern.
"If he becomes president," Weiner-Sorgman said before the congressman spoke, "I'll invest in a new hairstyle for him."
Yet she listened.
Democratic politics always has been important to her family, and until a few years ago, she was reasonably active in party politics in Portland. In fact, plenty of people recognized her at the Portland caucus, called her by name and paid attention to her thoughts - even if she didn't know who she was going to vote for.
Somehow, Kucinich grabbed her attention.
He is a long shot who, before Maine's votes were counted Sunday, had not gotten more than 8 percent of the vote in any state and had two delegates compared to Kerry's 274.
But she liked what he had to say. Very much.
When he talked about the North American Free Trade Agreement, she found herself cheering.
"We haven't fixed NAFTA," Kucinich said. "But NAFTA . . ."
Sitting in a wheelchair in the gym, Weiner-Sorgman finished the congressman's sentence.
". . . fixed us!" she shouted.
When Kucinich delivered his line about weapons of mass destruction - "Poverty is a weapon of mass destruction! Poor health care is a weapon of mass destruction! Poor schools are weapons of mass destruction!" - she was cheering.
And when he left the room, walking inches from her, she nearly gushed.
"I could have touched the next president of the United States," she said.
And then she wondered why she hadn't heard more about Kucinich.
"How come the press has written him off?" she asked. "I'm very, very impressed."
So impressed she'd give him her vote?
"I don't know yet," she said.
It was between him and Dean.
Ultimately, Weiner-Sorgman joined 52 others in her precinct and voted for Kucinich.
"I just liked what he said," she explained.
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