Q & A with Dennis Kucinich

[dweller]

Fighting for recognition, finding an audience
by Bill Frogameni

In 1977, 31-year-old Dennis Kucinich was elected the mayor of Cleveland. He was voted out after one term because he
refused to sell the municipal power company to banking interests which, in turn, cut the city’s credit. His refusal to sell
ultimately saved Cleveland hundreds of millions. With the new popularity this earned him in the ‘90s, Kucinich was
elected to the House of Representatives in 1996. An unapologetic progressive, the Ohio congressman is perhaps the least
visible of the remaining Democratic presidential contenders; however, his usual 1 percent of the vote recently increased
to around 16 percent in Maine and 8 percent in Washington state. Most Toledoans know Kucinich as a strong critic of
NAFTA and the Davis-Besse nuclear plant. Kucinich is the consummate outsider, but his tireless struggling is affecting the
presidential race as we look forward to the Ohio primary on March 2.

Toledo City Paper: Your campaign’s been picking up. Do you think you have a chance of winning the nomination or are
you hoping to force a brokered convention (one in which no candidate has enough delegates to claim the nomination,
forcing the candidates to negotiate)?
Dennis Kucinich: I think it’ll be a brokered convention — I have no reason to believe the nomination will be over before
Boston. I need to get some more delegates and that will give me a chance at contention.

TCP: So you won’t withdraw?
DK: Not a chance.

TCP: Why do you think you’ve been marginalized by mainstream media?
DK: I don’t ask The New York Times for permission to run for public office. The things I talk about relate to people’s
practical aspirations — jobs, health care, education, retirement and peace. Big media monopolies generally aren’t
interested in seeing these things as part of the debate. I’ve also been very vocal in advocating media reform to break up
media monopolies so, naturally, I run the risk of being ignored or misrepresented.

TCP: What would the top three priorities of your presidency be?
DK: 1. Bringing in U.N. peacekeepers and getting out of Iraq to signal the end of unilateral foreign policy and
preemption. 2. Instituting a universal, not-for-profit health care system. 3. Saving our manufacturing base by withdrawing
from NAFTA and the World Trade Organization. We should go back to bilateral trade that’s contingent upon how workers’
rights, human rights and environmental quality principles are handled by our trading partners.

more here

peace,
dp

[mgc1961]

1. I love this part.

TCP: Why do you think you’ve been marginalized by mainstream media?

DK: I don’t ask The New York Times for permission to run for public office.

[LWolf]

3. Me, too.

My favorite response.

:kick:

[lams712]

2. A DK KICK!!!!

[Desertrose]

4. Why aren't people listening to this man??!

DK: We need a major investment in new energy resources like solar, wind, geo-thermal, green hydrogen and the like. My plan for universal health care will put money in the pockets of millions of American families and make it possible for more people to go into health care as a career. I want to extend the meaning of public education by creating a uni-versal plan to fully fund students at public universities. Also, I envision a new program similar to the Works Pro-gress Administration under President Roosevelt: We can put millions of people back to work while rebuilding America’s physical infrastructure.



who needs Nader anyway??

Peace& Hope
DR

[Th1onein]

5. God bless Dennis Kucinich

That man is a true American hero.