|
Dennis
Kucinich carried Watauga County’s Democratic caucus on Saturday,
the favorite among those who cast ballots in the party’s vote
to determine which candidate delegates will support at the Democratic
National Convention in July.
Kucinich
received 156 votes, over half the total, while Sen. John Kerry,
who has a virtual lock on the party’s nomination, received
66 votes. The two were followed by Sen. John Edwards (64); Howard
Dean (22); Rev. Al Sharpton (2); and one write-in vote for Gen.
Wesley Clark. It was the first Democratic caucus in the county’s
history, necessitated because of the closeness of the Democratic
primary on July 20 to the national convention.
Statewide,
with only one percent of registered Democrats voting, Edwards ended
up on top with 51.1 percent, followed by Kerry (27.2%), Kucinich
(12.2%), Dean (5.7%) and Sharpton (3.3%).
The
caucus was followed by the county party’s annual convention.
Sue Sweeting, chair of the party, said the coming General Election
was important.
“We
must give the White House back to the people. We must give the N.C.
Senate and House back to the people. We must give the Watauga County
Commission back to the people.” Sweeting attacked Pres. George
Bush for failing to produce jobs, saying unemployment had risen
from 4.4 percent to 6.6 percent during his tenure. She said Bush
policies will lead to citizens’ paying more for health insurance,
education, medical expenses and taxes while placing more burden
on state and local governments. She also accused Bush of getting
the country involved in war through misrepresenting facts.
“George
Bush is a failed president,” Sweeting said, “He has created
a $455 billion budget deficit where President Clinton had left a
balanced budget.
Bush’s
tax cuts did not help the local people. Sixty percent of Americans
received an average tax cut of $304. The average tax cut for the
people who made a million dollars was $113,000.”
Sweeting
also said the Republican-led revision of Medicare would force senior
citizens to pay more for health care and not allow them to have
“Medigap” coverage.
“The
new law prohibits seniors from getting their medication from Canada
or other non-U.S. sources. Each of our older or disabled folks will
only have two options for health care: they will have to buy into
a private health plan or they must join a HMO (health management
organization) filled with doctors and nurses that they have never
heard of. The new law will add more than $400 billion to the national
debt over the next 10 years.”
Sweeting
also challenged the 150 Democrats in attendance to win seats on
the Watauga Board of Commissioners. “We won’t win elections
when we don’t support fellow Democrats. The time for internal
strife is over. We have an opportunity in November to make a change
in the local county commission and our national and state leaders
and help society. We must join together and vote ‘Democrat’
and know your voice will make a difference.”
Several
candidates also addressed the convention crowd. Dan Hense said he
is running again for the N.C. House of Representatives. He said
getting voters to the polls was the key in winning the election
in the fall and urged people to “stand up and be counted.”
“Things will not change in this county until voters get involved,”
he said.
Cullie
Tarleton is also running for the state House seat. He described
himself as pro-business and said North Carolina had lost more jobs
than any other state. He criticized incumbent Republican Gene Wilson’s
record and effectiveness ranking and said, “We deserve to have
a representative in Raleigh who will fight for this district.”
County commission candidate Billy Ralph Winkler said he was a Watauga
native who had moved but came back at the earliest opportunity because
he loved the people, the county and the area’s heritage.
He
said with more spending burdens being placed on local governments,
the county needed a commission that was up to the challenge. “We
must have a commission that will listen to all its citizens,”
Winkler said.
Commission
candidate Winston Kinsey described himself as a Stony Fork farmer
and retired Appalachian State professor. He said government should
be more than just a policing authority and wants to preserve the
rural heritage of the county. “Government is us, and what we
make it,” he said, and appealed to the party to “change
direction of government all the way from the county commission to
the White House.”
Board
of Education member Steve Combs said he recalled standing before
the convention four years ago and announcing his candidacy. He said
the board had accomplished a lot in the interim. He said that while
the school system was faring well, it required support from the
county commissioners, particularly in determining the future of
Watauga High School.
The
Democrats adopted resolutions regarding threats to freedom under
the Patriot Act; supporting universal health care; supporting the
passage of the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act,
regarding new electronic voting systems; calling for a review of
international trade agreements; supporting full funding of fire
fighters and law enforcement; seeking the county lead in funding
free or low-cost spay and neuter clinics; supporting governmental
programs for sustainable enterprise and jobs creation; supporting
sustainability education in public schools; asking that all depleted
uranium weapons be renounced by the U.S. government; and calling
for an end to the United States’ occupation of Iraq.
The
party also reported that it spent $14,050 in the last election cycle.
|
