DEARBORN – Democratic presidential hopeful Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, up against only Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, and Mike Gravel, D-Alaska, in Michigan’s upcoming primary election, campaigned in the Detroit-area Friday, making stops in Dearborn and Hamtramck at two mosques and a popular Arab American bakery.

US Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s presidential campaign bus infront of the Islamic Center of American in Dearborn on Thursday. PHOTO: Khalil AlHajal/TAAN

As supporters of Sens. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and John Edwards, D-NC – who removed their names from the ballot because the timing of the Jan. 15 primary violates national party rules – are encouraging voters to cast “uncommitted” ballots, Kucinich said a strong showing of support for his campaign could help the state overcome irrelevance in the Democratic race by posing a challenge to Clinton.

“Many say vote uncommitted. That’s because they’re uncommitted. They’re uncommitted on ending the war. They’re uncommitted on ending NAFTA,” he said at the New Yasmeen Bakery to a crowd of mostly Arab Student Union members from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

“If your voices are heard, Michigan will never be taken for granted again.”

Kucinich visited the area earlier in the year to gather support from the Arab American community with his progressive stances on foreign policy, civil rights and immigration.

In response to a question from the bakery crowd about President Bush’s current trip to the Middle East, Kucinich said that peace in the region can only be achieved when the U.S. recognizes human rights for Palestinians, which, he said, “the Bush administration hasn’t done.”

Kucinich meeting with voters at Yasmeen Bakery in Dearborn. PHOTO: Khalil AlHajal/TAAN

Tom Silverman, a Kucinich campaign worker, said that while many in the Detroit-area support Obama as a minority, “It doesn’t matter that Obama is a minority. Kucinich has better policies for minorities. Kucinich is more of a feminist than Hillary Clinton, he’s better for African Americans than Obama and he’s better for Hispanics than Richardson.”

Labor Caucus Chair of the Young Democrats of America, Isaac Robinson, who is also a member of the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC), said that because Kucinich urged his supporters in Iowa to caucus for Obama when forced by the process to make a second choice, “Obama voters should return the favor and vote for Kucinich as a second choice.”

Progressive former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel, who has also appealed to Arab Americans in a past visit to the area, was scheduled to campaign in Michigan before the primary, but canceled after falling ill with a severe sinus infection, according to campaign coordinators. They said he plans on remaining in the race to the end.

AAPAC did not make any endorsements for Tuesday’s election because the confusion surrounding the Democratic primaries kept the group’s leadership from being able to begin the endorsement process in time, according to AAPAC Endorsement Chair Abed Hammoud.

“We didn’t even know if there was going to be an election at one point,” Hammoud said.

He said the withdrawal of some of the candidates from the Michigan ballot also would have skewed the discussion among members of who to support.

Both parties threatening to strip Michigan of all or some of its delegates to the national conventions also complicated the situation, he said.

Hammoud, a Democrat, personally supports Kucinich, he said, because if he were to gain significant support from the community, it would make clear to the other candidates what kinds of policies attract the Arab American vote.

AAPAC President Osama Siblani, who is publisher of The Arab American News, said that the group plans on being deeply involved in the general election once nominees are chosen.

AAPAC endorsed Dennis Kucinich in the 2004 primary and John Kerry in the general election. In 2000 the group endorsed George W. Bush.