U.S. Rep. Kildee endorses Clark for president

U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee said Saturday he is backing retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark's presidential bid, the first endorsement from Michigan's congressional delegation in the Democratic race.

Kildee, who has represented Flint in Congress since 1976, said Clark's record of service to the country makes him the most qualified of the nine Democrats running to oppose President Bush next year.

"Wes Clark represents the values of the Democratic Party: courage, leadership, service to country, and a selfless desire to put the people's interests above the specials interests," Kildee said in a statement.

Michigan holds its Democratic presidential caucus on Feb. 7. Voters can request absentee ballots from the Michigan Democratic Party beginning Jan. 1 and vote by mail or Internet until caucus day.

Source: AP / M-Live

the electorate up. :)

this could foreshadow an endoresement.

They will most likely wait until after the primary.

I'm sure the rest of the delegation is being courted strongly.

Kudos to Clark!

I'm so lucky to live where I do -- a Dem governor, two Dem senators and a fine old Dem congressman like Rep Kildee. I think Wesley Clark is going to do very well in this part of Michigan (Bay City, Saginaw, Flint).
John
The Michigan Fifth (formerly Eighth) District is very blue-collar and largely pro-union. There's a majority black vote in the cities of Saginaw and Flint, both GM/UAW towns and medical centers, so the per capita income is higher than one might think. But the income isn't well distributed, so there's lots of poor folks, too.
Saginaw's had a Dem congressman since 1973 (special election) and Flint for longer than that.

be some consistency here...

Thank you Jerseycoa.

I'm sure that he will be helpful in the Michigan caucus for Clark. He is kind of an old-fashioned midwest democrat. He is very pro-union and also pro-life.

He also has one of the best voting records in congress in terms of attendence. From 1985 to 1998 he didn't miss a single vote. And he has had a perfect voting record since 2001. That is a hell of a lot better than Dick Gephardt's record has been recently.

He also has been a loyal supporter of Native Americans and their needs in Congress and founded the Native American Caucus. However, Roll Call has designated him as one of the 10 members of the "Obscure Caucus" for his lack of publicity. Despite being a constant C-SPAN watcher I don't think I have ever seen him on the floor of the House of Representatives.