What are you up to this week?
I’ll be in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday, and then in Pennsylvania.

You’re in Washington to do voting?
We have votes this week that I’ll be there for.

Which specific planks of the Democratic platform do you feel you have the best chance of influencing?
I think the issue relating to Iraq, health care, trade and the [USA] Patriot Act. What I’m doing is rallying Democrats around the county to take a more progressive stand on bringing our troops home. My plan has been posted on my web site http://www.Kucinich.us. I’ve been advocating for a national health care plan. I think there’s a disconnect between the American people and Washington. People know there’s a need to change the system and deliver health care for all Americans. This for-profit health care system is a disaster. We need a non-profit system that offers benefits for everyone. On trade, we’ve got to get out of NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement] & the WTO [World Trade Organization]. And we’ve got to repeal the {USA} Patriot Act.

How do you think your relationship with Stephanie Tubbs Jones (who chairs the Democratic National Committee, and co-chairs the Platform Committee) will affect your ability to influence the platform?
I think that it’s wonderful for Cleveland and the country that she’s in that position, and I look forward to talking with her. We may have different roles in this, so, we’re going to talk. I can’t say that because we’re friends that we’re necessarily going to agree all the time, but we’re friends.

Explain how you feel your continued candidacy as a Democrat affects voters who might affiliate with the Green Party, or the Independent Party, or vote for Ralph Nader, or possibly even boycott the election.
We have to demonstrate that the Democratic party has the ability to reach out to everyone, to listen, and take into account what people are saying. Our ability to win the election will depend upon our ability to listen, reach out and respond. What I’m advocating is something that will be important for the

Are you ever tempted to bolt the Democratic party and run as an Independent?
No, not at all, not in the least. I’m a Democrat. I made a decision to bring change from within the party.

You’re friends with Ralph Nader, have you have any discussions with him?
I’m friends with him, but no discussions whatsoever.

Do you feel that was one of the factors in 2000? Did Al Gore lose because of Nader’s candidacy?
Let’s be clear. The Democratic party lost because we didn’t reach out to more people and because we didn’t reach out soon enough. You don’t reach out in November. You reach out now. You let people know with respect to what we stand for as a party.

You’re still fighting for Deaconess Hospital to become operational, even though the bidder Diamond Health Care Holdings didn’t make a real effort on their own behalf. You’ve been known to fight the good fight. Is this simply a way for you to gain favor with the voters?
The fact is that Metro Hospital bid up the price, won the bid, then turned around and made the announcement that they had no intention of running a hospital. They shouldn’t be in the business of closing down hospitals. I’ve been very consistent in my career in keeping hospitals open.

Do you plan to work with the four residents who are challenging the restart of the Davis Besse nuclear plant?
I’ve been more involved in this issue than most people because I’m very concerned about the safety issues there. And the lack of oversight by the NRC [Nuclear Regulatory Commission].

A lot of people are very concerned about the safety of Davis Besse.
It’s not a surprise, because the NRC doesn’t protect the American people, the NRC protects the nuclear industry. The question is, who protects us from the NRC? I guess that’s my job.

Before this Presidential campaign you've waged, your voting record was among the top in the nation, in terms of how many votes you cast in Congress. But you've obviously missed a few votes while you're campaigning around the county. What has your voting record been?
Overall my voting record is well over 90%. People know that I’m very committed to public service, and that anytime there’s something in the district when people need help, I’ve been there. They know they can count on me when they can’t count on anyone else.

Because your campaign has taken you away from the District, do you think you’ll have any serious challengers for your seat?
We had a primary, and I was fortunate to get 86% of the vote, for which I’m grateful. That seat belongs to them, it doesn’t belong to me. Look at it this way, it’s because I’ve been responsive to the needs of the people that I’ve been able to lead nationally. The question I ask is, why can’t someone who comes from the Cleveland area take part in the decisions made nationally? Why shouldn’t people from Cleveland have a direct say in the issues? Why does that always have to come from the coasts? My candidacy takes the issues that I’ve been concerned with over the years to the national forum.

It seems like the local Cleveland media has some kind of chip on their shoulder about your candidacy. It’s as if they have a blind spot that won’t allow them to comprehend that there is a candidate from Cleveland who is running for President. Do you have any explanation for this attitude?
I really don’t think about it at all. I don’t give it any thought at all. People have a right to their opinions. I know one thing: on Iraq, I was the first person in the U.S. Congress to challenge what the administration was doing and I was 100% right, and everyone knows it - in Washington and the U.S. Everyone was silent and afraid to speak out, but not me. That’s why people put me in there, to just take that issue alone. It’s because I come from Cleveland. It’s because I’ve taken an approach that says show me, prove it. And there’s a lot of people like that in Cleveland who are not afraid to take a stand. That’s why they sent me to Washington, not to go along with what’s happening, especially when it’s wrong. On this thing in Iraq, I was warning people. People are trying to figure out what we're going to do now, and more and more people are looking at my plan. That’s what leadership is about, it’s not just about going along with the crowd, it’s about taking positions. I’ve done it on Muny Light, I’ve done it on the hospitals, the steel mills, the war, health care, and trade. I’ve been able to do this because the people of Cleveland have prepared me to do this.

What is the proper strategy for responding to the onerous USA Patriot Act?
I think both parties are ready to repeal this. I think the Democrats should fight the Patriot Act. I’m offering a new direction, giving people a chance to think differently about this. When I see those casualty numbers steadily rising, it just breaks my heart.

Some people this week are saying that Iraq is President George Bush’s Vietnam. Do you see any correlation?
This isn’t just about the President, this is about who we are as a people. America just went in the wrong direction, and we just need to set a new course. That’s why I raised the issue. You should see what I said 2 years ago, and you’ll see that it came true. Which is that the Administration was trying to use fear to build a case to attack Iraq. Now there’s books being written about what I’ve been speaking about for years.

Do you think there is a growing acknowledgement that people are starting to adopt some of your positions?
Of course, why else, without any media coverage at all, am I picking up delegates: three or four delegates in North Carolina, a few in Colorado. The nomination has been decided, so I’m in this race to help change the direction of the Democratic party. There’s a lot of families who have loved ones in Iraq. What do we say to them? We have to bring them home, and that’s what I’m working on.

Interview by Mulready (:divend:)