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Kucinich: 'Hello, Bath!'(Kucinich's promotional 'samizdat'video makes the rounds in Maine)
TimesRecord.Com ^ | 01/22/2004 | Bob_Kalish

Posted on 01/22/2004 10:47:49 PM PST by fight_truth_decay

Democratic presidential hopeful lays out his vision for America before 400 enthusiastic listeners

BATH,MAINE - If you think Dennis Kucinich's campaign for president of the United States is not serious, try explaining that to the more than 400 people who overflowed the sanctuary of the United Church of Christ Congregational on Congress Street Wednesday evening to listen to Kucinich speak.

The Democratic presidential candidate stopped in Bath as part of a bus tour of the state that began in Orono earlier and would end late Wednesday night in South Portland.

The crowd had to wait more than an hour for the guest of honor's rented bus to arrive, and while there were a lot of gray hairs and bare scalps in the audience, there were also young people sporting Kucinich T-shirts and buttons.

One young person was Carrie Bell Hoerth, a freshman at Morse High School, who told the waiting audience that even though she isn't old enough to vote and doesn't yet pay taxes, she has read up on the candidates.

"I decided to support Dennis Kucinich because he would bring an end to the war in Iraq and create a Department of Peace," she said.

Rosalie Paul, a long-time peace activist and Georgetown resident, said Kucinich's campaign "is the beginning of bringing wisdom and courage to politics in the United States."

Shadi Towfighi, a new resident of Bath, was at the church to hear the candidate's plans for peace. A native of Iran, she liked Kucinich's emphasis on disarmament.

"To disarm the world, that would be wonderful," she said.

Warming up the crowd

By the time the candidate arrived, the crowd was ready. They had listened to local Kucinich supporters, sang and swayed to drumming and music, sampled refreshments, and sat through a showing of a Kucinich promotional video, which has been making the rounds in Maine like samizdat — underground literature —in the days of the Soviet Union.

The organ played John Lennon's "Imagine" as Kucinich arrived. When he made his appearance, the long wait was over and the sanctuary shook with cheers.

"Hello, Bath," Kucinich shouted.

The former mayor of Cleveland and four-term U.S. representative from Ohio has been criticized for sounding like a political self-help guru, an idealistic leftover from the 1960s. But in a room full of both curious and rapt listeners, he speaks the language of the introspective, a language that describes a world of possibilities.

Vision for peace

Anyone who has read the mystical works of Carlos Castenada might have experienced a synapse of recognition at Kucinich's opening remarks:

"I can see the energy here — so peaceful," he said. "We are a people who can see the world as one, a world in which we can settle our differences without killing each other."

Kucinich sees himself as the candidate with the clearest vision for how to create a culture of peace. "We need to act from that vision that sees the possibility of a world in which we abolish all nuclear weapons," he said.

What surprises some people who meet Kucinich is the lack of "new age" embellishments. This is a man who showed up after a day on the bus dressed in a dark suit, white shirt, a modest tie, and shoes on his feet. He could have passed for a Bible salesman.

"We need to reconnect to the world," he said. "When I am president, I will sign the global warming treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, and set the country on a path that by 2010 will see us having a renewable energy portfolio that will include wind, solar and hydrogen."

His fans seem attracted to his ideas rather than his personality. Dr. Bill Clark, who introduced Kucinich, told the audience he was attracted to the candidate because "he was a guy who could dream," and because of his advocacy of a universal, single-payer health care plan. Other parts of Kucinich's progressive plan, as outlined on his Web site, include:

— Full Social Security benefits at age 65.

— Withdrawal from the North America Free Trade Association and the World Trade Organization.

— Reproductive rights, maintenance of privacy and civil rights.

— Economic changes favoring workers.

— Guaranteed education from pre-kindergarten through college.

— Renewed commitment to peace, including the establishment of a Cabinet-level Department of Peace that would establish nonviolence as a governing principle in domestic and international affairs.

— Restore rural communities and family farms.

— Renew environment and support clean energy.

"My campaign aims to lift the country out of the morass of fear," Kucinich told the audience. "I plan to do that with the truth. And I would love a chance to share the truth with George W. Bush during a debate. I would ask him this: 'Where are the weapons of mass destruction?'"

Kucinich's speech and question-and-answer session lasted 15 minutes, then it was time to get back on the bus and head for South Portland, where there was another auditorium waiting.

One woman who didn't want her name used, rushed out the door of the church saying, "He changed my mind."

Cyndy Carney of Phippsburg said she liked Kucinich's message.

"It was hopeful and it reflected my beliefs," she said.

But the question remains, is his a serious campaign? Does he have a chance at being elected?

Shortly after the bus arrived, a reporter cornered Kucinich on the way into the church and asked him what his response is to critics who question the seriousness of his campaign.

"It's only members of your business who doubt the seriousness of my campaign," he said.

Meanwhile, the crowd in the church stood, swaying to the tune, "Imagine," singing along to the words: "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."

Over his shoulder, about to step into the fray, Kucinich reiterated his point by saying, "Look at them, look at this crowd. That's not serious?"


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Maine
KEYWORDS: kucinich; maine; samizdat
Under communist control, the regime-controlled media would not broadcast certain information; thus was the reason for 'samizdat'. Voices were heard through Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. When certain media groups can attack the President 27/7, one might ask why the analogy to the Soviet Union and communism in the dissemination of Kucinich's material. Maine, one of the most liberal states in the country as well? Portland, Maine where the 9/11 hijackers,Atta and Alomari, departed on their 6:00 AM Colgan Air flight to Boston.
1 posted on 01/22/2004 10:47:50 PM PST by fight_truth_decay
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To: fight_truth_decay
I just want to ask all of you to please say a prayer for my Grandma who just passed, My Dad went to the Hospice center, I could not get there, but I wanted to remember her as a funny - kooky old lady and not a Alzhiemer patient, that was wrecked in the last days.
She was b.t.w. a Republican in her day, God Bless Ellen Carlson. I hope you do too.
2 posted on 01/22/2004 10:56:18 PM PST by carlson
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To: fight_truth_decay
"I decided to support Dennis Kucinich because he would bring an end to the war in Iraq and create a Department of Peace," she said.

Poor little young dope. Hope her mind will grow up one day.

3 posted on 01/22/2004 10:59:39 PM PST by beaversmom
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To: fight_truth_decay
I had to keep looking to see if you copied this from a parody site. Wow. You can't make this stuff up.
4 posted on 01/22/2004 10:59:51 PM PST by Billthedrill
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To: fight_truth_decay
"Hello, Bath,"

...a phrase rarely uttered by most Kucinich supporters.

5 posted on 01/22/2004 11:01:45 PM PST by Redcloak (Cat: The other white meat.)
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To: Redcloak
LOL.
6 posted on 01/22/2004 11:13:30 PM PST by Republican Wildcat
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To: carlson
May God bless you and your family with comfort and peace through this time of sorrow. May the good memories stay with you always even as the sad ones fade away.
7 posted on 01/22/2004 11:15:02 PM PST by skr (Pro-life from cradle to grave)
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To: Redcloak
"Hello, Bath," ...a phrase rarely uttered by most Kucinich supporters.

Yep, that one was a chest-high fastball right over the plate.

8 posted on 01/22/2004 11:16:20 PM PST by dfwgator
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To: dfwgator
Evidently none of his supporters actually think through the crap he's proposing. A future with this POS as president would not be worth sticking around for within the US.

Where's the Barf Alert? Right here.


9 posted on 01/22/2004 11:31:02 PM PST by 11B3 (Let's get as much of our nation back as we can in 2004.)
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To: fight_truth_decay
the crowd in the church stood, swaying to the tune, "Imagine"

Doesn't that song have a line in it about "imagine there's no religion"? What kind of "church" is this? Bizarre....

10 posted on 01/25/2004 6:01:32 AM PST by Theo
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