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Dennis Kucinich on Principles & ValuesDemocratic Representative (OH-10) |
A: I wrestle with the question as to whether or not the president and the vice president should be held liable for crimes for taking us into a war based on lies. I mean, I'm ready to be president. I've been right all along on Iraq, on Iran, on not-for-profit health care and giving our children a chance for an education from age 3 all the way through to a degree.
Kucinich didn't succeed in that first run for office, but just over 2 years later he did, joining the city council at the age of 23. If that span of 3 years shows the mark of an ambitious and unrelenting personality, it was only the beginning: Three years later, Kucinich ran for Congress.
He lost, but within two years the man who had defeated him retired. Kucinich then ran again for the seat. When he didn't get the Democratic nomination, Kucinich ran as an independent.
He lost. Again. A few years passed, and then, readjusting his sights, Kucinich ran for mayor of Cleveland. Kucinich won, becoming, at age 31, the youngest big-city mayor in American history as the "Boy Mayor of Cleveland."
When Kucinich talks, today, as if he is convinced that he will be proven right eventually in every issue, and campaigns in New Hampshire and other battleground states as if "Because he was right: Iraq edition" will be a winning slogan at the presidential level, this experience can't be far from his mind.
Kucinich, who had been single for twenty years, and who, in 2003, had told a N.H. political forum that his perfect soulmate would be "fearless in her desire for peace in the world and for universal, single-payer healthcare," found himself awestruck. After the meeting he phoned a friend and exclaimed that he'd met his future wife.
Elizabeth also had a love at first sight moment. She later told an interviewer for The Tampa Tribune that upon meeting Kucinich, "I felt such hope for America. It made my heart sing."
Nobody in my family ever went to college. I can't even imagine it. [My teacher] Sister Estelle keeps telling me 'You have to go to college to develop the skills God has given you.' I think I will if I can ever get the money."
While weighing possibilities against the odds, I was seized by an impulse, an intuition, to speak a strange thought. It had nothing to do with sports or college. I said it aloud as we continued our walk. "Dan. I can't really tell you why I know this. But I just know it will happen. I'm going to be Mayor of Cleveland by the time I'm 30 years old!"
He did not disappoint me. He laughed. "Yeah, Dennis, you're going to be Mayor of Cleveland, and I'm going to be John Glenn," he guffawed.
I looked up at the stars, searching for more inspiration--as a star plummeted through the heavens. I made a wish. "I'm telling you, I know I'm going to be Mayor of Cleveland."
Robert Kennedy's assassination of left me fed up with politics and the whole rotten system. I said so to [my colleague], the Cleveland Plain Dealer political editor.
The editor answered me in his political column: "Lost Hope? He Had More Cause." The message was that Kennedy believed in change through the system and that he had endured all kinds of tragedy to pursue such change. There was no reason to lose hope, my colleague wrote, because as bad as the system was, Kennedy still believed it could be changed.
I didn't like the system. But could I change the system by staying outside of it? I knew I had to find that place inside of me which had the courage to go on whatever disappointment, whatever the odds, if I really wanted to change the world.
A: I did. It was unidentified flying object, okay, it's unidentified. I saw something. Now, to answer your question, I'm also going to move my campaign office to Roswell, New Mexico. You have to keep in mind that Jimmy Carter saw a UFO, and also that more people in this country have seen UFOs than, I think, approve of George Bush's presidency.
Q: 14% of Americans say they have seen UFOs.
A: What was that percentage?
Q: Fourteen.
A: Thank you.
A: I would say the decisive moment in my life was when my family was living in a car in the inner city and I thought about all the dreams that I could have as a child. And I decided, at an early age, that I was going to be someone. As president, the American people will have someone who remembers where he came from and has the compassion in his heart to lift up everyone to make sure everyone has a chance.
When you're talking about standing for people's rights to be who they are without fear of being attacked for being gay, you're talking about something that is really essentially American. And so I'm at the center of all of those discussions.
My candidacy for president is not only transforming the race, but it will transform this nation when you have a president who cannot be bought or bossed, who has the willingness to stand up and speak out when others would be silent, who can challenge war, who can challenge corruption. Because my heart is clean, because I have the ability to see and pierce that veil of falsehood which covers so much of our country today.
A: You know, I know you set a time frame on this, but the thing that immediately comes to mind is when I was mayor of Cleveland, on Good Friday, I fired the police chief live on the 6:00 news.
A: If the US occupation of Iraq has not ended, I will go to the UN for a resolution to bring our troops home in 90 days, putting the UN in control of the oil, the contracting, and the cause of Iraqi self-governance. If this has happened, my first action will be to repeal the NAFTA, withdraw from the WTO, and replace them with bilateral trade agreements based on workers' rights, human rights, and environmental quality principles.
Fairfield is not a typical Iowan town. The home of Maharishi University of Management and a center of the Global Country of World Peace, Fairfield and the surrounding area is home to 2,000 practitioners of Transcendental Meditation who began settling there in the early 1970's. "The main appeal is that he has established himself vocally as a peace candidate," said John Hagelin, a Fairfield resident and the founder of the New Age-oriented Natural Law Party, who himself has run for president several times. "This is a town dedicated to peace, to work for peace for the world and to radiate peace in the world." Hagelin has endorsed Kucinich for President.
A: The media is now covering the story of the media not covering our campaign so I think we are about to get a surge of coverage. Meanwhile, even with little media coverage, we have been able to organize a grass roots campaign in 50 states. Just think of how fast we will take off when the media realizes that our campaign is on the verge of becoming the surprise of the 2004 primary election season.
A: Senator Lieberman ran for re-election to the Senate and for Vice President at the same time. Ohio law permits me to run for both the House of Representatives and President. I expect to take an oath of office at the Capitol in January of 2005.
A: Ralph Nader and I have been friends for nearly thirty years. When I needed help saving Cleveland's municipal electric system 25 years ago, Ralph came forward to help. He and I share many ideals and goals. I have a great deal of respect for the Greens and I consider myself a Green Democrat. However, I want to make the Democratic Party more relevant. That is why I am running as a Democrat. I believe my presence in the campaign is already moving the entire party in a more progressive direction. Just think how progressive it will become when I am the nominee and when I take the oath of office. I will certainly support the Democratic nominee. It should be easy because I expect to be the Democratic nominee.
And so, when I became mayor of Cleveland, I was determined to unite the community, to unite whites and blacks and all people of color, and to create conditions where we truly address the social and economic needs of the people.
Because of my life experience and because of my public life experience, I have the ability to lead this nation and to bring all people together and to lift up the cause of this nation so that we once again become a nation that comes from the heart and reconnect with our optimism to really create a nation that we can all be proud of.
A: I don't know. I should research that, but maybe.
Q: Former President Bush opposed broccoli.
A: Broccoli would be welcomed in my White House, and vegetarians would be welcomed in my White House.
As president, I will cancel NAFTA and WTO. I'll restore our manufacturing jobs. Save our family farms. Create full employment programs, create new jobs by rebuilding our cities and schools. As president, I will repeal the PATRIOT Act, to regain for all Americans the sacred right of privacy in our homes, our libraries, our schools.
This is a grass-roots campaign to take back America for the people. Join me, for your cities, your towns, your farms, and your campuses. Join me, and let's take back America.
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Such factors as religious service attendance, belief, practice, familiarity with doctrine, belief in certain creeds, etc., may be important to sociologists, religious leaders, and others. But these are measures of religiosity and are usually not used academically to define a person’s membership in a particular religion. It is important to recognize there are various levels of adherence, or membership within religious traditions or religious bodies. There’s no single definition, and sources of adherent statistics do not always make it clear what definition they are using.
The members of the Progressive Caucus share a common belief in the principles of social and economic justice, non-discrimination, and tolerance in America and in our relationships with other countries. We also seek to embody and give voice to national priorities which reflect the interests and needs of all the American people, not just the wealthy and the powerful. Our purpose is to present thoughtful, positive, practical solutions to the problems confronting America and the world. In the post-Cold War era, we believe our nation’s priorities must change with the times and reflect new realities. Accordingly, we support curbs on wasteful, inefficient government spending at the Pentagon and elsewhere, a more progressive tax system in which wealthier taxpayers and corporations pay their fair share, adequate funding for social programs that are designed to extend help to low and middle-income Americans in need, and trade policies that increase the exports of more American products and encourage the creation of jobs and investment in America.
OnTheIssues.org interprets the 2006 AU scores as follows:
Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom. AU is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to preserving the constitutional principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure religious freedom for all Americans.
Americans United is a national organization with members in all 50 states. We are headquartered in Washington, D.C., and led by the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director. AU has more than 75,000 members from all over the country. They include people from all walks of life and from various faith communities, as well as those who profess no particular faith. We are funded by donations from our members and others who support church-state separation. We do not seek, nor would we accept, government funding.
The members of the Progressive Caucus share a common belief in the principles of social and economic justice, non-discrimination, and tolerance in America and in our relationships with other countries. We also seek to embody and give voice to national priorities which reflect the interests and needs of all the American people, not just the wealthy and the powerful. Our purpose is to present thoughtful, positive, practical solutions to the problems confronting America and the world. In the post-Cold War era, we believe our nation’s priorities must change with the times and reflect new realities. Accordingly, we support curbs on wasteful, inefficient government spending at the Pentagon and elsewhere, a more progressive tax system in which wealthier taxpayers and corporations pay their fair share, adequate funding for social programs that are designed to extend help to low and middle-income Americans in need, and trade policies that increase the exports of more American products and encourage the creation of jobs and investment in America.
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| Other candidates on Principles & Values: | Dennis Kucinich on other issues: | ||
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OH Gubernatorial: Bob Taft Ted Strickland Democratic retirements & special elections: D,AL-5:Cramer D,CA-12:Lantos D,CO-2:Udall D,IN-7:Carson D,NY-21:McNulty D,ME-1:Allen D,MD-4:Wynn D,NM-3:Udall D,OR-5:Hooley Republican special elections: R,IL-14:Hastert R,LA-1:Jindal R,LA-6:Baker R,MS-1:Wicker R,OH-5:Gillmor |
Republican retirements:
R,AL-2:Everett R,AZ-1:Renzi R,CA-4:Doolittle R,CA-52:Hunter R,CO-6:Tancredo R,FL-15:Weldon R,IL-11:Weller R,IL-18:LaHood R,KY-2:Lewis R,LA-4:McCrery R,MD-1:Gilchrest R,MN-3:Ramstad R,MO-9:Hulshof R,MS-3:Pickering R,NJ-3:Saxton R,NJ-7:Ferguson R,NM-1:Wilson R,NM-2:Pearce R,NY-25:Walsh R,NY-26:Reynolds R,OH-7:Hobson R,OH-15:Pryce R,OH-16:Regula R,PA-5:Peterson R,VA-11:Davis R,WY-0:Cubin |
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