10 Reasons We Need Dennis Kucinich in Congress

By Joseph Connelly

VN Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Joseph Connelly offers 10 reasons why he supports Rep. Dennis Kucinich.

With the 2010 US Census came the usual reapportionment of Congressional seats, shifting the number of representatives each state is allocated based on the state’s change in population. The state of Ohio, from where our nation’s lone vegan Representative hails, is losing two seats (as is New York), while Florida is gaining two and Texas gaining four. The Ohio powers-that-be have combined two Cleveland-area districts, both of which lean heavily Democratic, into one.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich represents one of those two districts, and he is currently in a very tight primary re-election campaign. The Ohio primary takes place on Tuesday, March 6, and it is a fair bet that the winner of the Democratic primary will win the Congressional seat this fall. 

In other words, the election that takes place six weeks from today is the real election. I believe it is important to have a voice in Washington standing up for many of the same issues I believe in, and that is why I’m supporting Congressman Dennis Kucinich in his re-election bid.

If you aren’t familiar with Dennis’ record, take a few minutes to get to know him and his policies a little better:

1. Dennis is the leading spokesperson for peace in the Congress. He is the author of the Department of Peace legislation, and he led Democrats in opposing the Bush Iraq War resolution. He is also the recent winner of the Peace Abbey’s Courage of Conscience Award for his tireless advocacy of non-violent conflict resolution in international affairs. Dennis wants to change the US role in the world from one of aggression and dominance to one of cooperation.

2. Dennis is the leading advocate of protecting the globe through reducing carbon emissions; transitioning from coal, oil, and nuclear to wind and solar micro-technologies; and tapping the inventive genius of NASA for environmental solutions through new technologies.

3. As far as I know, Dennis is the only vegan in Congress, his diet and lifestyle an extension of his commitment to nonviolence, compassion, and sustainability. He is also a major spokesperson for supporting locally grown food through regional farm-to-market strategies, and the author of a bill to label and safety test all GMO products.

4. Dennis is married to Elizabeth Kucinich, one of our nation’s leading advocates for diet-based health solutions, as well as a well-known animal-rights activist. Elizabeth is Government Affairs Director for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

5. As the United Nations Representative for Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, Dennis is a leading voice for nuclear disarmament.

6. Dennis is author of Constitutional Amendment HJ Res. 100, which would forbid all private-money contributions in federal elections.

7. He’s also the driving force behind HR 2990, the National Emergency Employment Defense Act (NEED Act), which would create millions of private sector jobs and rebuild America’s infrastructure while paying off the national debt, all without raising taxes.

8. Along with Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Dennis is author of HR 676, the bill to create a universal, single-payer, not-for-profit-health care system.

9. And he’s the author of the Universal Prekindergarten Act, which would make it possible for all children, ages three to five, to have access to full-time pre-kindergarten education.

10. And finally, Dennis is a proponent of Universal College Education, which would enable every young person to attend a public college or university tuition-free.

These are just 10 of the reasons I support Dennis Kucinich for Congress. To learn more about Dennis and support his campaign, please visit his website. Do we really want to imagine a Congress without his voice?

VN Publisher Joseph Connelly first interviewed Rep. Dennis Kucinich in 2003 when he was running for US president.

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