U.S. presidential candidate Dennis J. Kucinich spoke to a largecrowd in the Hinson Campus Center on Wednesday. Conference Room Awas packed with De Anza students and Cupertino citizens of varyingages to hear Kucinich, a U.S. representative from Ohio.
Kucinich has centered his campaign on developing a Department ofPeace. He believes that systematically addressing violence in thehome, such as child abuse and spousal abuse, along with hate crimesand eventually global violence, such as the war in Iraq, will helpreshape America and the world.
“We have so much potential as a nation,” he said.”The only way we can tap it is to believe in our capacity tocreate peace and work with other nations.”
Of the nine candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for the2004 election, Kucinich seems to be a long shot to get the nod.While other candidates such as Senator John F. Kerry ofMassachusetts raked in over $7 million in the first quarter of2003, Kucinich pulled in a lackluster $173,000, coming up short onthe financial spectrum of the campaign trail. Also, in the midst ofhis fourth term in Congress, the Kucinich name is not yet ahousehold name.
De Anza student Megan Nafke said, “If I had to vote rightnow, I would go with (Senator Joseph) Lieberman, but I’m moreinterested in candidates who are not that wealthy. I just want tohear what he has to say.”
Kucinich is a strong adversary of the Bush administration and hason numerous occasions criticized the war effort in Iraq.
On the House floor he recently said, “The Secretary of Statepresented _______ he said were proof. Today, despite havingtotal control in Iraq, none of the various claims that theadministration made to this Congress, to this nation and to theworld have yet to be substantiated.”
He is also willing to take on corporate monopolization of themedia. With the FCC on the verge of announcing new deregulations ofmedia ownership, Kucinich took a shot at Clear Channel, a companythat controls over 1200 radio stations nationwide.
Kucinich said, “Clear Channel’s national and dominantpresence, a direct result of deregulation, threatens an imbalancein the public discourse, an imbalance caused by the governmentgranting one corporation the power to dominate the public airwavesand the privilege to amplify its voice on publicproperty.”
About the ailing economy, Kucinich promised to increase jobs byimproving the American infrastructure.
“We must rebuild our roads and our cities. We need Americansto manufacture goods and services. This is how we will be able togive Americans jobs, from home.”
While discussing his plans for healing the economy, Kucinichalluded that every U.S. citizen should be entitled to a collegeeducation and that a college education should be free and a part ofthe economy.
While there seemed to be more skeptics in the Conference Room Athan Kucinich loyalists, it appeared that Kucinich left animpression.
On the seemingly insurmountable task of reaching the White House,Kucinich said, “I am used to doing things that people say areimpossible. I have learned throughout my whole life that you canturn it around.”