Mills College WeeklyKucinich who?
Despite his far-left leaning campaign and Mills’ reputation for
being predominantly liberal, you’d be hard-pressed to find many
students on campus that know much about presidential candidate
Dennis Kucinich.
Kucinich, who has received far less media attention than some of
his counterparts, did poorly in the recent Iowa and New Hampshire
caucuses.
“At the risk of sounding too ‘Berkeley’, a lot of it has to do
with the corporate media not being supportive of him,” said Melissa
Roberts, Asst. Director of Admissions, who heads a small group of
Kucinich supporters on campus. “I think corporate people are afraid
of what would happen if someone like Dennis came into office.”
Kucinich’s top priority is getting the U.S. troops out of Iraq
and replacing them with U.N. peacekeepers. He also seeks to develop
a Dept. of Peace, which he says would emphasize non-violence in our
communities as well as in foreign relations, and try to change the
view that war is inevitable.
He plans to cut the Pentagon budget by 15 percent, to allow for
improvements in the quality of public education, as well as to
offer public education for pre-kindergarten students. Additionally,
Kucinich aims to provide “tuition-free higher education to millions
of students in state universities,” according to a press
release.
Kucinich has a plan for universal health care, similar to that
of Canada, where the government would be the single payer.
According to Kucinich, under this plan, private insurance companies
would eventually be removed from the system.
Some view him as too extremely liberal and idealistic, while
others are attracted to his ambitious plans.
“Kucinich has a quality that is more genuine, to me, than any of
the other candidates,” said Lisa Calderon, junior.
He has received criticism for wavering on the issue of abortion
before taking a pro-choice stance prior to declaring his candidacy.
During his Congressional career, he voted for restrictions on
abortion, but according to Kucinich, his stance changed after
consulting women in his life and coming to the conclusion that the
right to an abortion is central to a woman’s freedom.
“In our society, all women and all men have a right to make
difficult moral decisions and make personal choices,” said Kucinich
in a statement on his campaign’s web site. “But women will not be
equal to men if this constitutionally protected right is
denied.”
Some compare Kucinich to Ralph Nader and worry about supporting
him, for fear of Bush being re-elected.
“It is time for Americans to vote with integrity and not out of
fear,” said Calderon, “It is not who can be the best bully, but who
can lead the Americans out of global animosity to a cleaner, safer
and more respected environment.”
Despite only earning one percent of the votes in the New
Hampshire primary, Kucinich continues to press on, citing a quote
from Ghandi: “First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then
they fight you. Then you win.”
