|
 Dennis
Kucinich
 excerpts
from
the Iowa Daily Report
June
2003
Headline
from yesterday’s The Union Leader: “Kucinich
says Bush created climate of fear” The
coverage by senior political reporter John
DiStaso said “Kucinich’s prime target
is Bush…’I’ve read George Orwell.
And I’ve watched what this administration is
doing, and I think it is inconsistent in a
democracy to have fearful people. We need to
break the spell of fear, which has enveloped
this nation.’ The Bush administration,
he continued, promotes fear among Americans
‘because they don’t have a domestic
agenda, because there are 8 million people out
of work, because you have millions more who
are working part time and want to have
full-time jobs, because you’re giving tax
cuts to the wealthy and you’re crowding out
the rest of the priorities, because they’re
cutting veterans benefits, because they’re
increasing the military budget. And they
couldn’t get away with it unless they made
people fearful.’…’They’re making
this nation fearful. They’re becoming more
powerful as the American people become
fearful. And you know what” That’s not
a democracy. They can call it what they
want, but they can’t call it a democracy.’
Kucinich declined to say what he could call
it.”(6/1/2003)
Under
the headline “Gephardt, Kerry Miss the
Most Hill Votes…Two Draw Focus of
Republicans Tallying Absences of White House
Hopefuls,” the Washington Post’s Juliet
Eilperin wrote that Gephardt is “hardly a
member of Congress anymore, at least if one
judges him by the 85 percent of House votes he
has missed this year. As House minority
leader between 1995 and 2002, Gephardt spent
most of his waking hours toiling in the
Capitol or traveling on behalf of fellow
Democrats, hoping to regain the congressional
majority his party lost in 1994. He held news
conferences, rounded up votes for major bills
and helped craft Democratic policy on issues
from technology to education. All that
changed last fall, when Gephardt decided to
seek his party’s presidential nomination.
He stepped down from leadership, announced
he would not seek reelection and hit the road
to raise dollars and woo primary voters in
Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
But he did not retire, choosing to keep his
seat until the end of next year. That has
attracted some political adversaries,
including the Republican National
Committee.” The report said the RNC has “focused
much of its attention” on Gephardt and Kerry,
who has skipped 37% of all recorded votes this
year. One more excerpt: “Only Rep. Dennis J.
Kucinich (D-Ohio), a long-shot
candidate, has maintained a perfect voting
record.”
The Washington Post account also was
headlined in The Union Leader online this
morning: “Democrats draw fire for missing
votes” (6/2/2003)
Headline
from this morning’s Des Moines Register: “Kucinich
farm policy supports packer ban…The
Democratic candidate also supports a breakup
of ‘agribusiness monopolies.’”
Register’s Beaumont reported from Ames
that Kucinich “proposed sweeping
changes in the nation’s farm policy during a
campaign visit to Iowa. A key element of
the plan outlined by the Cleveland congressman
would be a national ban on livestock
ownership by meatpacking companies.
Supporters of that move say it would help
address the growing corporate control of
agriculture. ‘A defining issue in this
campaign is packer ownership of livestock, and
I’m stepping forward to say that is a
central part of my effort to break up the
agribusiness monopoly,’ Kucinich said
Sunday at the far, of Joe Lynch, who grows
organic vegetables near Ames. ‘I’m
going to challenge every candidate in this
race to take a stand on behalf of family
farmers,’ said Kucinich, who is a
vegetarian, but says he is not
anti-meat.” (6/2/2003)
Weekend
coverage by The Union Leader’s senior
political reporter, John DiStaso, of Kucinich’s
most recent New Hampshire campaign visit:
“Who is Dennis Kucinich? He’s a
Democratic four-term Ohio congressman and
former Cleveland mayor who is running for
President. Mention of his name caused blank
stares among a few passers-by on Kelley Street
yesterday as the candidate ate oatmeal inside
Chez Vachon and accused George W. Bush of
being ‘dedicated to war’ as a
half-dozen New Hampshire Veterans for Peace
nodded in agreement. But, just maybe,
this lack of recognition won’t last long.
Kucinich is a vegan. He consumes no
meat or dairy products, but he offers up
plenty of staunchly liberal ‘red-meat’
rhetoric on the campaign trail – the sort of
tirades that makes news and attracts attention.
That’s especially true when it comes to the
Bush administration…Regarding his Democratic
rivals for the Presidential nomination, ‘There
are Democrats and there are Democrats,’ Kucinich
told an ethnically diverse group at the
New Hampshire Minority Health Coalition.
‘I’m a Democrat like Franklin Roosevelt,
who started the New Deal to lift everybody
up.’
(6/2/2003)
Making
his second visit to the first-in-the-nation
primary state, Kucinich refused to address his
Democratic rivals.
But he did offer, ‘I’m the only candidate
who has stepped forward to say it’s time to
cut the military budget because it is
strangling our domestic agenda.’ He also
pointed out he is the only Democrat running
for President who wants to scrap the current
health insurance system and set up a fully
nationalized, single-payer program.” (6/2/2003)
Report -- headline “Kucinich tells Pentagon to
release Lynch tape” – from today’s The
Union Leader: AP coverage --
“Kucinich called on the Defense Department on
Tuesday to release the unedited footage of the
rescue of Pfc. Jessica Lynch from an Iraqi
hospital and to answer questions about her
injuries. ‘Nothing the administration has
said about Private Lynch has been verified by
private news reports,’ Kucinich,
D-Ohio, said Tuesday. ‘It’s time to find
out the truth.’ Attention has been drawn
to the April 1 rescue since a British
Broadcasting Corp. report and Associated Press
interviews with Iraqis who were present
suggested the dramatics surrounding Lynch’s
rescue were unnecessary…Kucinich,
ranking Democrat on the House Government
Reform subcommittee on National Security,
Veterans Affairs and International Relations,
asked Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in a
letter to release unedited footage of the
rescue” and answer several questions.
(6/4/2003)
… Avid and
outspoken anti-war activist Kucinich was
one of two House members to oppose a
resolution commending the U.S. Armed Forces
and the nation’s allies for participating in
Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and
Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq. The
proposal was approved on a 406-2 vote with
Gephardt among the 17 listed as “not voting”
and the five IA House members – obviously
– supporting the resolution. Another eight
congressman voted “present.” (6/6/2003)
… Headline
from yesterday’s Des Moines Register: “Caucus
race offers surprises… Edwards is
off to a slower start than expected after
frequent visits in 2002…Kucinich’s
quick organization, nine trips since February,
have impressed activists.” The Register’s
caucus-watcher, Thomas Beaumont, wrote: “The
race for the 2004 Iowa caucuses has produced
two surprises in the campaign’s early going,
according to Democratic officials and
activists. Sen. John Edwards’
caucus campaign has gotten off to a slower
start than expected, especially considering
the U. S. Senator from North Carolina visited
the state regularly in 2002 and made generous
contributions to Iowa Democrats that year…Edwards
said visiting Iowa only once in the first
three months of 2003 was part of a plan that
focused more on raising money and hiring staff
than visiting early nominating states.
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio,
among the least known in the field of nine
Democrats two months ago, has impressed some
activists with his nine trips to Iowa since
February and his quick work putting together
an Iowa staff and headquarters. But the
former Cleveland mayor so far has not acquired
the state Democratic Party’s voter file,
considered the road map to caucus activists
and a gauge of a candidate’s seriousness in
Iowa.”
(6/8/2003)
… The
Burlington Hawk-Eye reported yesterday
that Kucinich “couldn’t have planned
the ending of his campaign rally here Friday
any better. As he got ready to answer the
final question of the night in the Little
Theater at Southeastern Community College,
the man who would be president discovered a
little girl, clad in pink, at his feet.
Uninterested in the political
question-and-answer session that followed his
speech, 4-year-old Rachel Patejak of
Burlington rolled across the floor,
bumping right into Kucinich. Looking
down to meet the child’s gaze, he put out his
hands and picked her up into his arms. ‘We’ve
been talking about your future,’
Kucinich told her, to an audience of about
50 listeners. The girl’s father, Marek Patejak,
said they got to the meeting late. So he
missed a lot of what the candidate had to say.
He heard enough, however, to want to find
out more…If elected, there are a great
many things Kucinich said he would do.
His first act as president, he said, would be
to cancel the North American Free Trade
Agreement, a pact that he said has cost the
U.S. too many jobs and too much of its
manufacturing base. His next act would be to
pull the United States out of the World Trade
Organization, which he said threatens American
sovereignty by putting local and national
interest at odds with international trade.
He called steel, automobiles and aerospace
vital to national security, but said those
American industries are at risk because the
federal government hasn’t been putting the
nation’s interests first in trade agreements.
‘We’re losing the capacity to make things,’ he
said.” (6/8/2003)
Most news
organizations skipped standard coverage of
the “Take Back America” conference held in
DC late last week – in favor of general
stories about the growing divisions within
the Dem Party. Only a handful included
actual coverage (and quotes) by the Dem
wannabes, but Iowa Pres Watch has compiled
some of the coverage – and comments – from
the latest anti-GWB rally. Some of the
coverage and the wannabe’s comments:
KUCINICH
“who got a standing ovation when he said
housing, education and other domestic
priorities should be funded with money taken
out of the defense budget.
He called for peace and demanded the Bush
administration disclose its evidence for
claiming that Iraq has weapons of mass
destruction. ‘Iraq did not have those
weapons of mass destruction. This
administration went in anyway,’ he said,
‘This war was wrong and we must expose this
administration.’”…Brownstein coverage: “Kucinich,
in an impassioned speech repeatedly
interrupted by standing ovations, called for
federally run, single-payer health care and
sweeping cuts in defense spending. ‘We
don’t need World War III; we need peace for
the first time,’ he said.” (6/8/2003)
… Quad-City
Times online yesterday reported on
Kucinich’s Friday visit to Davenport:
Headline – “Kucinich pushes environmental
plans while in Q-C” Times’ Ed Tibbetts
wrote that “Kucinich proposed an
environmental policy that would push for new
air and water protections, require states to
develop pollution plans, help farmers who
practice good land stewardship and spend
federal money to help willing communities buy
back private water systems. Kucinich, a
congressman from Ohio, made his proposal
Friday in Davenport on the banks of the
Mississippi River, noting its importance and
the 10-year anniversary of its flood. Many
environmentalists believe the flood was due,
in part, to the loss of wetlands and building
on the river. Kucinich also blasted the
Bush administration for a retreat from
environmental standards. ‘Protecting our water
is a conservative thing to do,’ he said…He
said he would increase enforcement of
environmental regulations, shift money toward
watershed protection and planning and make
major investments in water and sewer systems.
He added he would commit to providing healthy
drinking water to people around the world. ‘Water
pollution is a weapon of mass destruction.’”
(6/9/2003)
… Dems spend Sunday
afternoon bashing Bush at Guv Vilsack’s
family picnic in Mount Pleasant.
Excerpts from this morning’s coverage: …Kucinich
said GWB’s “handling of the issue was
fraudulent and demanded a full explanation of
reports that some intelligence workers worried
that data they were reporting was misused.
‘They took this country into a war that we did
not have to go into,’ Kucinich said. ‘They
lead this country into a war that was
unnecessary.’”(6/9/2003)
… Headline on
David Yepsen column in this morning’s Des
Moines Register: “Reality time for
back-of-the-pack Democrats” Some excerpts:
“Dean is within three points of
catching Kerry to win second place in
Iowa. His numbers illustrate that he’s more
than just some anti-war candidate and that his
constant campaigning in Iowa is connecting
with Democrats here. (Dean has even
slowed his speaking pace so we Midwesterners
can more easily understand him.)…Gephardt
is doing what he has to do: win Iowa…Lieberman
and Edwards are falling. Lieberman
dropped six points, Edwards fell four.
Edwards was at 8 percent in the March
poll, so this survey suggests he’s lost half
his support…Ohio Congressman Dennis
Kucinich remains back of the pack at 1
percent. For all the time and effort
Kucinich is devoting to Iowa, he’s not
harvesting much…Florida Senator Bob Graham
is also back in the pack at 1 percent.
Graham is a respected U. S. senator who is
putting together an experienced campaign team
in Iowa. But he got in late and has little
charisma. Graham’s folksy, hesitant
speaking style may not be clicking either.
(At Gov. Tom Vilsack’s family picnic in
Mount Pleasant over the weekend, both Graham
and Kucinich sang short songs. Sorry, singing
is entertaining, not presidential.)…Almost
a third – 29 percent – of the likely
caucus-goers say they are undecided….But
the campaign has gone on long enough that
there is little reason to think the third of
likely Democratic caucus-goers who are
uncommitted will behave that much differently
from the two-thirds who are expressing a
preference…Lieberman, Edwards, Kucinich,
Graham, Sharpton and Moseley Braun are in
danger of being winnowed out. Throughout
the history of the caucuses, only the top
three finishers in Iowa remain viable
candidates. No one finishing worse than third
in Iowa has even gone on to win a major party
presidential nomination.” (Iowa Pres Watch
Note: The poll numbers referred to in Yepsen’s
column are from a Research 2000 poll conducted
by Iowa TV stations KCCI and KIMT –
which were noted in a Pres Watch Daily Report
last week.) (6/10/2003)
… Sidebar
from Mount Pleasant wannabe roundup.
Thomas Beaumont, in a sidebar in yesterday’s
Register, wrote: “Of the four Democratic
presidential candidates who attended
Vilsack’s picnic Sunday, only former
Vermont Gov. Howard Dean was among those
Vilsack placed in the top tier during an
interview he gave last month.” Gephardt
and Kerry were the others on the
guv’s top-tier list. Here, according to
Beaumont, is what the other three at the
Vilsack picnic said about the governor’s
observations: Graham: “We’re not
striving to reach the top tier. We’re striving
to reach No. 1.” Kucinich: “My emerging
campaign is going to be a comfort to the
governor.” Lieberman: “In Iowa, it’s
all about exceeding expectations. I told
Governor Vilsack, ‘Thank you for being so
generous.’”(6/10/2003)
… Kucinich
opposes pro-biotech resolution. The U. S.
House Tuesday night – on a 339-80 vote –
passed a resolution “supporting United
States efforts in its efforts within the World
Trade Organization (WTO) to end the European
Union’s protectionist and discriminatory trade
practices of the past five years regarding
agriculture biotechnology.” Kucinich
voted “nay,” while Gephardt missed
another vote. All Iowa congressmen –
except Leach, who was recorded as “not
voting” – supported the resolution.
(6/12/2003)
… When the
House voted 253-170 yesterday afternoon to
move virtually all national class-action
lawsuits from state courts to federal courts –
a bill Dems called corporate welfare to allow
big businesses to abuse the public – alleged
blue-collar champion/wannabe Gephardt was
missing. Not surprisingly, Kucinich,
along with IA Dem Congressman Boswell,
opposed the bill. The four Iowa GOP
congressmen voted for it. Supporters hope the
measure – which was sent to the Senate – will
curb frivolous lawsuits, although opponents
fear it will allow big business to escape
multimillion-dollar verdicts for misdeeds.
Businesses long have complained about the
threats from liability suits and have made
changing the way such cases are tried a
priority. Opponents say the bill would make it
harder for individuals to seek grievances
against powerful defendants and would add to
the caseload of the already overburdened
federal courts. (6/13/2003)
… PRES
WATCH SIDEBAR: Two of the Dem wannabes –
Graham and Kucinich – apparently have some
work to do in Texas, especially in San Antonio
and, more specifically, with the San Antonio
Express-News. In yesterday’s coverage of
Gephardt’s visit there on Wednesday – which
was pretty much introductory boilerplate
Gephardt fare – the wannabes were listed.
Three senator-wannabes were named in one group
– Edwards, Kerry and Lieberman – and then the
“others” running were identified: Dean,
Moseley-Braun and Sharpton. (6/13/2003)
… Kucinich
gets applause in Dubuque with commitment to
close Fort Benning training facility. The
Dubuque Telegraph-Herald – headline: “Kucinich
brings anti-war words…Ohio congressman
says he would close ‘School of Americas’” –
reported: “Introduced as the man who said, ‘I
see the world as interpendent, and that leaves
no room for war,’ Dennis Kucinich enjoyed
an enthusiastic reception Friday afternoon, on
his first visit to Dubuque. In a large
field of Democratic presidential contenders,
the congressman from Ohio is making sure
Democrats identify him as the anti-war
candidate.” The T-H’s Mary Rae Bragg wrote
that the “Dubuque audience saved its
strongest response for when he vowed that
if elected president, one of his first acts
will be to close the training facility at the
Fort Benning, Ga., Army base, formerly known
as the ‘School of the Americas.’ Among
those standing to applaud were Sisters Gwen
and Dorothy Hennessey, OSF, who served time at
a federal prison in 2001 for protesting at the
site. Closing the facility, which its critics
say trains Latin American militarists to
persecute their own people, would, ‘Relate to
getting us back to the path for real justice,’
Kucinich said. He also received loud
applause by calling for the United States to
‘lead the world toward total nuclear
disarmament,’ and ‘begin steps toward
sustainable culture’ by signing the Kyoto
Treaty to combat global warming.” (6/15/2003)
… On
Wisconsin…Dem hopefuls, convention delegates
share new experience in Milwaukee. The
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Steve Walters – a
former IA political reporter – reports in
yesterday’s edition about the Dem state
convention. Excerpts: “Introducing
themselves to Wisconsin Democrats adjusting to
their new role of helping to pick their
party’s candidate against President Bush,
three Democratic presidential hopefuls railed
Friday against Bush’s foreign and domestic
policies… Kucinich said he led
Democrats who refused to authorize Bush’s war
in Iraq. ‘Our party is not the war party,’
he said. He said Bush used fear to authorize
that war and said Hussein never had weapons of
mass destruction, despite the president’s
warnings. ‘There’s no proof,’ Kucinich
said. ‘Show me the evidence, Mr. President.
Show the American people what you have.’”
Walters, noting that Wisconsin recently
advanced the state’s Dem primary to 2/17 next
year, said the party’s wannabes were “trying
to enlist the first army of local workers” for
their campaigns – a new experience for the
Badger Democrats. (6/15/2003)
…
House committee denies Kucinich push for Iraq
intel.
Headline – “Congressional
Committee Rejects Bid to Force Administration
to Release Iraq Weapons”
From VOANews (Voice of America) report: “A
congressional committee has rejected an
attempt by a Democratic lawmaker to force the
Bush administration to release intelligence
information it used to justify military action
in Iraq.
The
Republican-led House International Relations
Committee voted unfavorably along party lines
on a ‘Resolution of Inquiry’ proposed by Ohio
Congressman Dennis Kucinich, saying other
investigations made it redundant.
In early June, Mr.
Kucinich
announced he would use a rarely-employed
procedure to force the administration to
release all intelligence it had on Iraq's
weapons of mass destruction. However, since
then the House Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence has already begun its own inquiry
involving classified information. A similar
inquiry is underway in the Senate…Mr.
Kucinich,
who is a Democratic candidate for president in
2004, was not present for the session.
However, other Democrats spoke in support,
arguing that the committee could not go on
record simply rejecting the resolution…A
resolution reported unfavorably to the full
House of Representatives means it will not be
taken up by the full chamber unless Mr.
Kucinich
presses the issue and requests it be placed on
the House schedule.
Even if the
international relations committee had given a
favorable recommendation to Mr. Kucinich’s
resolution, the congressman is barred from
seeing classified documents because he has
refused to sign an ‘oath of non-disclosure.’”
(6/19/2003)
.… And that
should make for two Kucinich votes at the
Democratic National Convention – his and
Congresswoman Woolsey’s since they both will
be super-delegates to the convention.
Associated Press’ Sarah Freeman reported:
“Democratic national presidential candidate
Dennis Kucinich picked up his first
congressional endorsement from fellow liberal
activist Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif.
Woolsey represents a northern California
district where Kucinich has been
stumping in his underdog bid for the
nomination. The two are active in the
Congressional Progressive Caucus and held news
conferences together to criticize the war with
Iraq. ‘If my district were the whole
country, Dennis Kucinich could certainly be
our next president,’ Woolsey said in a
statement. She also said she helped Kucinich
make his recent transformation from abortion
opponent to abortion rights supporter. ‘He
has always supported women,’ she said. ‘Now,
he supports their reproductive rights as
well.’” (6/20/2003)
…
Kucinich endorsed by Ben of Ben & Jerry’s.
Saturday’s Iowa Pres Watch Report included an
item about Ben and Jerry’s featuring the
“Maple Powered Howard” sundae tomorrow in
conjunction with Dean’s formal announcement –
but now there’s more to the story. An
Associated Press report: “Presidential
candidate Howard Dean may have his own Ben &
Jerry's sundae, but one of his Democratic
rivals got the endorsement of his home state's
ice cream company founder.
Ben Cohen, who with Jerry Greenfield founded
Ben & Jerry's Homemade ice cream in
Burlington, Vt., said Friday that he is
supporting Rep. Dennis Kucinich of
Ohio. Describing himself as a vermonter,
entrepreneur, Grateful Dead fan and longtime
peace advocate, Cohen said only Kucinich
represents the values most important to him.
‘While others discuss incremental change, only
Dennis Kucinich advocates changing the
way our government is run in order to reflect
the values of America's people,’ Cohen said.
Cohen added that his endorsement was an
individual decision and does not ‘imply
that there will soon be an ice cream flavor
named Kucinich Kreme.’ Kucinich
said Cohen's endorsement sends a signal to
progressive activists that his campaign is
gaining momentum.”
(6/22/2003)
… From the
Newton Dem outpost – a political Little Big
Horn. The thousands of central Iowa
Dems and union activists anticipated in
Newton yesterday to scrutinize the
five Dem wannabes didn’t materialize, but
about 350 and AP’s Iowa caucus-watcher, Mike
Glover, did. Headline from this morning’s
Orlando Sentinel online: “Democrats attack
Bush on trade, health care” Excerpt from
Glover’s coverage in the Sunday News: “At a
forum focused on the economy and job creation,
five Democrats running for the White House
said Saturday they favored tougher trade rules
and universal health coverage. They joined
in attacking Bush administration economic
policies they said had driven American jobs to
low-cost countries and lowered the U.S.
standard of living. Ohio Rep. Dennis
Kucinich said his first act as president would
be to repeal the North American Free Trade
Agreement, which is unpopular with labor
groups. Kucinich argued that trade
deals have meant ‘not only a loss of jobs,
it's meant communities breaking up, it's meant
a loss of dreams. It's caused a transfer of
wealth out of this country.’” (6/22/2003)
… From
Minneapolis, the Star Tribune – headline,
“6 Democrats audition in St. Paul” –
reported: “They didn't get the number of
personal appearances they had hoped for, but
the nation's top Democratic Party leaders
auditioned two-thirds of their field of
presidential aspirants Friday in St. Paul. Six
of the nine candidates made 45-minute pitches
to about 200 members of the Association of
State Democratic Chairs in its annual summer
meeting -- the meeting that in 1991 in
Chicago helped propel Bill Clinton's
campaign to the nomination and the presidency
the next year. Two candidates expected to
attend stayed in Washington for a vote on a
prescription drug bill. Although there were
nuanced differences on some issues, all six
panned President Bush's repeated tax cutting,
his economic stewardship, his execution of and
rationale for war in Iraq, his education and
health care policies, his opposition to
abortion, and the ideological bent of his
judicial nominees. Ed Gillespie, senior
adviser to the Republican National Committee
and Bush's choice to replace Marc Racicot as
its chairman, said the trend is for all
Democratic candidates to move to the left,
with a negative message. ‘That's
consistent with the entire party,’ Gillespie
said. ‘I don't suspect you'll hear much
about what they are for,’ he said. Three
candidates -- former Vermont Gov. Howard
Dean, Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio
and the Rev. Al Sharpton -- addressed
the members and about 200 other guests in
person, while three -- Sen. John Kerry
of Massachusetts, Sen. Joe Lieberman of
Connecticut and Rep. Dick Gephardt of
Missouri -- spoke through satellite video
feeds. Kerry and Lieberman,
considered ‘first-tier’ candidates, had to
cancel at the last minute because of the
Senate vote. Still convinced that Bush's
campaign-style stop in Fridley on Thursday was
meant to divert attention from their meeting,
the Democrats vented over what they called a
deliberate Republican plot to keep
congressional candidates marooned in the
nation's capital. ‘They're not no-shows --
they've got to be in the Senate,’ Minnesota
DFL Party Chair Mike Erlandson said, referring
to Kerry and Lieberman. ‘The Republicans
deliberately did this. It's the third or
fourth time they've scheduled votes when they
knew we were having campaign events.’“(6/22/2003)
…
Minneapolis Wannabe Roundup: In addition
to the general coverage (above), the Star
Tribune also posted online summaries of the
comments by the respective wannabes. The
summary headlines follow: “Howard Dean: Not
willing to concede issues to GOP…Dick
Gephardt: He’d shift from tax cutting to
health-care funding…John Kerry: Not
willing to take back seat on patriotism…Dennis
Kucinich: One of first to step up against
Iraq resolution…Joe Lieberman: Wants
another shot at Bush…Rev. Al Sharpton:
Brings levity along with passion”
(6/22/2003)
…
Affirmative action takes center stage at Jesse
Jackson’s wannabe forum yesterday in Chicago.
Headline from this morning’s Quad-City Times
online: “Democrats renew affirmative action
vow” Excerpts from coverage by AP’s Nedra
Pickler: “Democrats running for president said
Sunday if elected they would promote
affirmative action even if the Supreme Court
rules against policies that help minorities in
college admissions. The Supreme Court is
expected to rule any day whether affirmative
action programs at the University of Michigan
are constitutional, and the case was a main
topic of discussion at a Democratic
presidential forum sponsored by Jesse
Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. ‘When I'm
president, we'll have executive orders to
overcome any wrong thing the Supreme Court
does tomorrow or any other day,’ said Rep.
Dick Gephardt of Missouri. Ohio Rep.
Dennis Kucinich also made a pledge to
put affirmative action into U.S. law.
President Bush opposes the University of
Michigan's policies, and several candidates
cited his position as a reason he should be
voted out of office. ‘We deserve a
president of the United States who doesn't
call fairness to minorities a special
preference,’ said Massachusetts Sen. John
Kerry. Kerry said he was
committed to have people of color in positions
of power in his administration and pointed to
diversity in his campaign staff. Al
Sharpton responded that Supreme Court Justice
Clarence Thomas is a black man who may vote
against the university's affirmative action
program. He said Democrats shouldn't be
talking about getting more blacks in high
places, but getting the right blacks. ‘If we
doubt that, just look at Clarence Thomas,’ he
said. ‘Clarence Thomas is my color, but he's
not my kind.’” (6/23/2003)
… Three for the road –
Kucinich, Moseley Braun and Sharpton.
Headline from yesterday’s The Union Leader: “Three
‘unknowns’ jockey for position” Coverage,
datelined Des Moines, by Lawrence M. O’Rourke
of the McClatchy Newspapers: “Rep. Dennis
Kucinich has succeeded in positioning himself
at the left of the field of candidates seeking
the Democratic nomination for President.
‘This is a grassroots campaign to take back
America,’ he declares, promising a ‘workers
White House’ with his camera operator’s union
card on the Oval Office desk. Former U.S.
Sen. Carol Moseley Braun says it’s time for
the nation to consider a woman as its leader.
‘Everything has a time,’ she says. ‘I believe
it’s time for a President who is a woman.’ The
Rev. Al Sharpton, the New York
activist, is the campaign’s master of
one-liners that crack up the audience. ‘I’m
the brokest guy in the race running against a
lot of millionaires,’ he says. ‘I’m the only
one who ever spent time in jail.’ He
served 90 days in federal prison for
protesting the U.S. military bombing of the
island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. As
Kucinich, Braun and Sharpton stump across
Iowa, where the first Presidential caucuses
will be held on Jan. 19, they are the long
shots, barely registering on the public
opinion polls. Although they have
participated in the debates, Kucinich, Braun
and Sharpton come across as outside the
mainstream pack. And even though political
activists wonder why they’re putting effort,
time and money into a losing cause,
Kucinich, Braun and Sharpton show not the
slightest sign that they’ll drop out even if
they draw few votes in Iowa or the Jan. 27 New
Hampshire primary.” (6/24/2003)
… Kucinich
claims he has 3,000 Iowa volunteers – and
expects to win in New Mexico. Leftover
from the weekend, a Washington Post profile on
Kucinich. A relevant excerpt: “On one
level, Kucinich is running a
conventional campaign, traveling 20,000 miles
during a recent campaign swing, complete with
a camerawoman trailing him to capture scenes
for future television ads, and a Des
Moines headquarters opening with red,
white and blue balloons. But he lags far
behind other Democratic candidates in
fundraising. He raised slightly more than
$250,000 on the Internet in the first few
months of his campaign; Edwards and Sen. John
F. Kerry (D-Mass.) collected $7 million each
during that same period. The Ohio
congressman has two paid staffers in Iowa;
although it's two more than Al Sharpton
has right now, it pales in comparison to the
14 Dean has in the state. For the past
six years, Kucinich hasn't spent a
penny on paid media. He plans to employ a
similar approach in Iowa, where he has 3,000
volunteers. ‘I will have the largest
grass-roots campaign that the Democratic Party
has ever seen,’ he said. If there's one place
it will work, it's Iowa -- and perhaps New
Mexico, whose caucus Kucinich predicts he will
win. ‘What matters here is not money,’
said Gordon R. Fischer, the Iowa Democratic
Party chairman, who came to watch Kucinich
and several other candidates make their pitch
at the state's Polk County dinner. ‘It's
organization and people being fired up about
your message.’ But it is clear to everyone
that money is a problem. ‘It's kind of like
going into a gunfight with a pocketknife,’
said Mark Smith, the AFL-CIO's president in
Iowa…And in an era of blow-dried
candidates, Kucinich exudes a unique charm.
He's a mix of working-class ethnic and New Age
visionary, a vegan who jokes that although
he doesn't eat pork, he consumes plenty of
corn and soy, two of Iowa's major crops.
He actually pauses a few beats before
answering reporters' questions, and is just as
likely to quote Percy Bysshe Shelley in
response as JFK. With a seemingly endless
reservoir of energy, he outlasts his own
aides, and he rises early and talks late into
the night with prospective voters about how he
would change the country. Still, even his
natural ideological allies said they would
have to think twice before voting for him.”(6/26/2003)
…
Apparently, the Washington Post’s Linton
Weeks couldn’t resist the temptation –
hands out awards for a Dem event
attended by 7 of the 9 prez hopefuls.
The headline: “Democratic
Candidates Chew Over Their Chances”
The report from yesterday’s Post:
“Only two of the Democratic hopefuls --
Sens. John Kerry and Joe Lieberman --
were missing last night at the
Democratic National Committee's
presidential candidates dinner at the
Mayflower Hotel. Everyone else was
there. More than 650 tickets were sold
for the event, which raised $1.7
million, according to DNC spokeswoman
Debra DeShong. The money will go into
a pot to be used by the candidate who
emerges from the primaries as the chosen
one. Last night, in the cramped
quarters of the hotel's Grand Ballroom,
it was kind of hard to tell just who
that frontrunner might be. DNC
Chairman Terry McAuliffe ran the show,
recalling days of Clintonian glory and
taking pokes at President Bush. ‘He has
put a big old For Sale sign on the U.S.
Capitol,’ McAuliffe said. With so many
candidates and so little time, McAuliffe
tried to hurry things along…he handed
out awards to big-dollar Democratic
donors like Haim Saban, creator of the
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. As each
candidate rose and gave a brief speech,
we, too, wanted to hand out awards…
• Most Self-Deprecating: Rep. Dennis
Kucinich of Ohio. ‘In the back, there,’
the diminutive Kucinich said,
signaling to the C-SPAN cameras, ‘I'm
already standing up.’ President
Bush, he said, changed the subject of
the 2002 midterm elections by launching
a war (6/27/2003)
… “Kucinich won’t quit
despite tepid support” – headline from
yesterday’s The Union Leader. Excerpts from
Malia Rulon report: “Democratic
presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich, who
set the end of June as the time to decide on
whether to stay in the race, said Friday he
will continue his White House bid, with plans
to make his candidacy official around Labor
Day. ‘We're taking this campaign to the
next level and we are preparing for a formal
announcement,’ the Ohio congressman said. ‘We
are right on schedule to move toward a very
competitive position in the early primaries.’
Kucinich has opened campaign offices
in California and Iowa, two states where he is
hoping for a strong showing. The lawmaker
said his underdog bid for the nomination is
gaining momentum, with endorsements and
volunteers. Kucinich has hired a
professional campaign staff, and expects
campaign finance reports, which are due July
15, to show that he has raised more than $1
million. The second quarter for campaign
fund raising ends Monday. ‘I'm seen as a
long shot and an insurgent, I understand
that,’ said Kucinich, who usually
places near the bottom in public opinion polls
of the nine Democratic candidates. The money
he raised in the first three months of the
year - $173,080 - also put him in the lower
ranks. If Kucinich raises $1 million, that
should give his campaign more legitimacy, but
it won't put him in the front of the pack in
money raised. At least four of the nine
candidates expect to raise between $4 million
and $6 million in the second quarter.”(6/28/2003)
… Six Dem
wannabes go after the Latino vote in Phoenix.
Associated Press’ Mike Glover, usually
assigned to cover IA politics, reported from
Phoenix. Headline from yesterday’s The Union
Leader: “Six Democrats court Hispanic
voters in Ariz.” Glover’s report: “Six
rivals for the Democratic presidential
nomination, courting the large and growing
Hispanic community Saturday, promised to
overhaul the nation's immigration policy and
enlarge economic opportunities for newcomers. Rep. Dennis
Kucinich of Ohio offered to join his
audience and ‘work together united for social
and economic justice,’ said Kucinich.
(6/30/2003)
… In
Connecticut yesterday, Kucinich said he’s
raised more than $1 million, hired pro
campaign staff and is gaining momentum.
Headline from today’s Union Leader --
“Kucinich envisions a ‘Department of Peace’”
Although the “Department of Peace” has been a
mainstay of Kucinich’s congressional
career (and presidential campaign agenda), the
Associated Press coverage from Fairfield, CT,
suggests it’s a new development: “Speaking
before more than 200 people at a forum at
Sacred Heart University, the four-term Ohio
congressman, said he would establish a
‘Department of Peace.’ An early and vocal
opponent of the war in Iraq, Kucinich said the
department would have various function to
prevent violence both domestic and
internationally. He said the department
would work with the United Nations and other
countries before conflicts arise. The
lawmaker said his underdog bid for the
nomination is gaining momentum, with
endorsements and volunteers. Kucinich
has hired a professional campaign staff, and
expects campaign finance reports, which are
due July 15, to show that he has raised more
than $1 million. He dismissed the notion that
he would run as an independent if he did not
win the Democratic nod. ‘I'm a Democrat.
I'm attracting people to vote -- disaffected
Democrats, Greens, Libertarians,’ he said.
The forum, sponsored by Cultural Creatives in
Action, a Connecticut-based peace group, had
the feel of a 1960s peace rally, although most
of the crowd was middle-aged.”(6/30/2003)
Kucinich
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