Carrboro celebrates Dennis Kucinich Day
Originally published in the News Observer
Monday, April 5, 2004 12:00AM EDT
Carrboro celebrates Dennis Kucinich Day
By ANN S. KIM, Staff Writer
CARRBORO -- Dennis Kucinich Day was a hopeful one for hundreds of people who turned out to support the Democratic presidential candidate.
The Ohio congressman decided to stump in town after Mayor Mike Nelson declared a Kucinich day in recognition of the progressive values the candidate shares with the town.
Kucinich admitted to the crowd that, although math isn't his strongest point, he understood Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts had enough delegates to clinch the nomination.
"I know that. I can count," Kucinich said.
But he urged voters in the states that still have primaries or caucuses to support his candidacy to move the Democratic Party in the right direction. North Carolina holds its Democratic presidential caucus April 17.
Kucinich was preaching to believers as he outlined his platform, which includes withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, universal heath care, repeal of NAFTA and the establishment of a Cabinet-level Department of Peace.
"Dennis Kucinich, of all the candidates, has spoken for change in this country and for the programs that are the closest to our values," said Lori Hoyt, a member of the Carrboro gaggle of the Raging Grannies.
Hoyt described the members as mature women with deep social concerns who make their point with satirical lyrics sung to old-timey tunes. (The Grannies warmed up the crowd with their rendition of the Hokey Pokey: "The right wing's in/Get the right wing out/Put good people in/To shake things all about.")
For some of Kucinich's supporters, participating in a Democratic caucus will be a novel experience.
Cullen Zimmerman, an English as a second language instructor, said the last time he voted for a Democratic candidate -- or at all, for that matter -- was in 1980, when he cast a ballot for Jimmy Carter.
But he's worried enough about President Bush's being re-elected that he has decided to be more pragmatic. He plans to support Kucinich in the caucus in hopes the candidate will have influence on the presidential nominee.
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