Kucinich cinches local Democrat nomination
Originally published in the Watauga Democrat
Kucinich cinches local Democrat nomination
04/19/2004 By Scott Nicholson
Dennis Kucinich carried Watauga County’s Democratic caucus on Saturday, the favorite among those who cast ballots in the party’s vote to determine which candidate delegates will support at the Democratic National Convention in July.
Kucinich received 156 votes, over half the total, while Sen. John Kerry, who has a virtual lock on the party’s nomination, received 66 votes. The two were followed by Sen. John Edwards (64); Howard Dean (22); Rev. Al Sharpton (2); and one write-in vote for Gen. Wesley Clark. It was the first Democratic caucus in the county’s history, necessitated because of the closeness of the Democratic primary on July 20 to the national convention.
Statewide, with only one percent of registered Democrats voting, Edwards ended up on top with 51.1 percent, followed by Kerry (27.2%), Kucinich (12.2%), Dean (5.7%) and Sharpton (3.3%).
The caucus was followed by the county party’s annual convention. Sue Sweeting, chair of the party, said the coming General Election was important.
“We must give the White House back to the people. We must give the N.C. Senate and House back to the people. We must give the Watauga County Commission back to the people.” Sweeting attacked Pres. George Bush for failing to produce jobs, saying unemployment had risen from 4.4 percent to 6.6 percent during his tenure. She said Bush policies will lead to citizens’ paying more for health insurance, education, medical expenses and taxes while placing more burden on state and local governments. She also accused Bush of getting the country involved in war through misrepresenting facts.
“George Bush is a failed president,” Sweeting said, “He has created a $455 billion budget deficit where President Clinton had left a balanced budget.
Bush’s tax cuts did not help the local people. Sixty percent of Americans received an average tax cut of $304. The average tax cut for the people who made a million dollars was $113,000.”
Sweeting also said the Republican-led revision of Medicare would force senior citizens to pay more for health care and not allow them to have “Medigap” coverage.
“The new law prohibits seniors from getting their medication from Canada or other non-U.S. sources. Each of our older or disabled folks will only have two options for health care: they will have to buy into a private health plan or they must join a HMO (health management organization) filled with doctors and nurses that they have never heard of. The new law will add more than $400 billion to the national debt over the next 10 years.”
Sweeting also challenged the 150 Democrats in attendance to win seats on the Watauga Board of Commissioners. “We won’t win elections when we don’t support fellow Democrats. The time for internal strife is over. We have an opportunity in November to make a change in the local county commission and our national and state leaders and help society. We must join together and vote ‘Democrat’ and know your voice will make a difference.”
Several candidates also addressed the convention crowd. Dan Hense said he is running again for the N.C. House of Representatives. He said getting voters to the polls was the key in winning the election in the fall and urged people to “stand up and be counted.” “Things will not change in this county until voters get involved,” he said.
Cullie Tarleton is also running for the state House seat. He described himself as pro-business and said North Carolina had lost more jobs than any other state. He criticized incumbent Republican Gene Wilson’s record and effectiveness ranking and said, “We deserve to have a representative in Raleigh who will fight for this district.”
County commission candidate Billy Ralph Winkler said he was a Watauga native who had moved but came back at the earliest opportunity because he loved the people, the county and the area’s heritage.
He said with more spending burdens being placed on local governments, the county needed a commission that was up to the challenge. “We must have a commission that will listen to all its citizens,” Winkler said.
Commission candidate Winston Kinsey described himself as a Stony Fork farmer and retired Appalachian State professor. He said government should be more than just a policing authority and wants to preserve the rural heritage of the county. “Government is us, and what we make it,” he said, and appealed to the party to “change direction of government all the way from the county commission to the White House.”
Board of Education member Steve Combs said he recalled standing before the convention four years ago and announcing his candidacy. He said the board had accomplished a lot in the interim. He said that while the school system was faring well, it required support from the county commissioners, particularly in determining the future of Watauga High School.
The Democrats adopted resolutions regarding threats to freedom under the Patriot Act; supporting universal health care; supporting the passage of the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act, regarding new electronic voting systems; calling for a review of international trade agreements; supporting full funding of fire fighters and law enforcement; seeking the county lead in funding free or low-cost spay and neuter clinics; supporting governmental programs for sustainable enterprise and jobs creation; supporting sustainability education in public schools; asking that all depleted uranium weapons be renounced by the U.S. government; and calling for an end to the United States’ occupation of Iraq.
The party also reported that it spent $14,050 in the last election cycle.
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