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Gephardt visits Claflin--Democratic hopeful touts plans

Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Representative from Missouri Dick Gephardt, right, speaks as state Rep. Jerry Govan and Claflin University President Henry Tisdale, from left, listen during a meet-and-greet gathering Saturday in Claflin's Tingley Memorial Hall. CHRISTOPHER HUFF/T&D

Congressman Richard "Dick" Gephardt, the Missouri Democratic representative in the United States Congress, swept through South Carolina from the Upstate to the Lowcountry in two days, gathering supporters for his 2004 bid for president.

Gephardt's tour of South Carolina came on the heels of the announcement by South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn endorsing the presidential hopeful. Saturday's stops included Spartanburg, Rock Hill, Columbia and ended in Orangeburg where he held a townhall-type meeting at Claflin University in the auditorium of historic Tingley Hall.

Claflin's President Henry N. Tisdale praised the congressman in his introduction as a supporter of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and of education for everyone. Highlighting the fact that this was Gephardt's second visit to Claflin, Tisdale extended gratitude to him for his part in garnering funds for restoration of some of the historic buildings on the campus.

"Our history," Tisdale said, "is revealed most readily by our buildings. We have three buildings on this campus which are on the National Historic Registry. And Tingley Hall, which was built in 1908, is the crown jewel of our campus. We welcome you here to see what a difference you have made by helping us preserve these treasures."

Taking center stage, Gephardt thanked Tisdale for the introduction and hailed Claflin as "a great accomplishment.

"I'm a great supporter of HBCUs," Gephardt said. "They contribute so much to our people and their success. These valuable institutions cost a lot of money to keep them moving forward. And you must succeed for America to succeed. When I'm president, we will continue to support HBCUs. We will do the right thing."

The congressman then went on to share his vision for the country, first sharing the setting of his early years with the approximately 50 people gathered in the auditorium.

"I grew up in a poor family," Gephardt said. "We lived in a brick bungalow in south St. Louis, Missouri. I remember seeing my father sitting at the table trying to pay the bills. The house we lived in cost $4,000 and he never made a principal payment. He made lots of interest payments."

Gephardt explained that his family could not afford to educate him, so, he relied on church scholarships and government loans to pay for his education, both undergraduate and law school.

"Without those opportunities, I would never have been able to do what I've done," he said. "I see opportunity as a distinguishing feature of this country. The present administration is crushing the opportunities of America. My vision is to resuscitate the opportunities that this administration has stifled."

Delineating his plans if he is elected president, Gephardt said he would lay aside the Bush tax cuts that benefit only the wealthiest people in the country. And he would use that money to push for universal health care for all Americans.

"It is just wrong to give tax cuts to the wealthiest people in the country when there are more than 43 million people in America without health insurance," Gephardt said.

He told the story of his oldest son's bout with cancer as an 18-month-old toddler. The prognosis was near hopeless, he said. "But because we had health insurance, Matt survived the battle with cancer after having five operations. When I look at him now, I know he is a gift from God."

On education, Gephardt promised to do more for all colleges and universities. He pointed out that Pell Grants used to pay 70 percent of a students college fees, they now pay only 30 percent.

"We've got to reverse that so that more people will have an opportunity to go to college," he said. "And we need to do something so that kids get the start they need. We need more money for after-school programs."

The congressman talked about his plans to create a teacher corps, where college students would be given federal aid in return for teaching five years. His plan is to recruit two-and-a-half million teachers through this program in by 2010.

"We need to keep programs in place so that everyone has opportunities," Gephardt said. "Coming up poor, I had to fight the odds, but I didn't have to fight discrimination. Republicans say that we have a color blind society and that we don't need affirmative action programs, but Jim Clyburn told why the programs work, why they have worked and why they are still needed. Working with him, we defeated the Republican effort to end affirmative action."

On the economy, Gephardt said that under the Clinton administration the Democrats voted to raise taxes on the wealthiest people in the country and created 22 million jobs in seven years.

"We took a five-trillion-dollar deficit and turned it into a surplus," he said. "We were talking about what to do with all that money. In a very short time in office, Bush devoured that surplus and put the country in debt again by giving tax breaks to the wealthy. I plan to lay aside the Bush tax cuts and fund an energy plan to make us independent of Middle Eastern oil in 10 years. That plan would create at least two million jobs."

Gephardt touted his plan for an international minimum wage which would equalize trade with other countries.

"We can't compete with 50 cents an hour laborers," Gephardt said. "I would work to establish an international minimum wage to make American labor competitive with other countries. In the Clinton years, we raised the minimum wage to $5.11 an hour. It's wrong that we have people working for $5 an hour and they can't make ends meet. Anybody who works ought to have good wages and insurance."

In answer to questions, Gephardt said in his presidency his health care plan would be a major boost to everyone and the plan would call for sharing revenue with the state in a major way. He also said that Homeland Security was never funded properly for the states to carry out the security plans. He said he would set up a Homeland Security trust fund and raise money to fund it by closing corporate tax loopholes.

On the Iraq War, Gephardt said he would get the United Nations involved in the reconstruction of Iraq and involve NATO in the security of the country. "That's the way it should have been from the beginning."