* WHY WE BELIEVE IN DENNIS KUCINICH: Chicago’s AFL-CIO Presidential Forum And The Power Of Love

“Because what we’re really talking about here is human love, and there’s no power on this earth greater than human love. And when you understand what real equality is, you understand that people who love each other must have the opportunity to express that in a way that is meaningful. And that the states should not be intervening against people. The states should be there on behalf of people to make sure that that love has a chance to be facilitated. …I’m saying I stand for real equality.” - Dennis Kucinich speaking in support of same-sex marriage at the Visible Vote ‘08 Presidential Forum on LGBT concerns, 9 August 2007

 

THE HOT POTATO
Serving Up a Weekly Helping of
Sustainable & Organic Gardening, Food, Health, and Community

by Adam Brockman & Aireen Joven, September 2007, #27

THIS WEEK’S DISH:

WHY WE BELIEVE IN DENNIS KUCINICH: Chicago’s AFL-CIO Presidential Forum And The Power Of Love

DENNIS AND ELIZABETH KUCINICH AT CHICAGO’S SOLDIER FIELD ON AUGUST 7th, 2007. Congressman Kucinich and his wife Elizabeth greet and joke around with supporters just after Kucinich’s rousing performance at the AFL-CIO’s Presidential Forum hosted by MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann. To learn more and donate to Kucinich for President 2008, please visit www.dennis4president.com, and to volunteer and get involved locally, sign up at the campaign online Action Center, action.dennis4president.com. The Illinois Presidential Primary will be early this year, February 5th, 2008, which will be the same primary day for over 20 states. Remember to register to vote early and vote for the candidate you believe in on February 5th!

 

WHO IS DENNIS KUCINICH? When I was first introduced to Dennis Kucinich by Aireen during his first presidential campaign in 2003-2004, I have to admit, I was pretty skeptical. My general impression of politicians was that they were usually self-serving, focused more on getting votes and campaign contributions than on speaking the truth, too busy worrying about reelection to stand up for what’s right. I had never been particularly moved by any candidate, and had rarely if ever seen a politician genuinely speak from their heart, let alone speak from a perspective of peace.

When told that Dennis Kucinich was an exception, needless to say I didn’t get my hopes up. Perhaps that’s part of the reason why I was so blown away by this man whose bid for the presidency, seen as a long shot by so many, is one of the greatest and most inspiring come-from-behind efforts this nation has ever seen.

INTRODUCTION TO A PEACE CANDIDATE

One of the first times I saw Dennis Kucinich speak, it was via a recording of his now classic “A Prayer For America” speech. Delivered on February 17, 2002, the speech was quickly circulated on the internet, and within weeks Kucinich had received tens of thousands of emails urging him to run for president. In “A Prayer For America”, Kucinich effectively links the material with the spiritual, the unity of the American people and the essential oneness of all people, and the proliferation of fear with the loss of faith and democracy. He offers a prayer that the people of America will not forget their striving for civil rights, so badly eroded by the Patriot Act. One by one he lists every constitutional freedom that has been, in effect, canceled by the fear-based laws that came into effect after September 11.

He alludes to the 2000 voter fraud that got Bush and Cheney into the White House, and how the current administration has used fear and manipulation to try to strip away our basic rights and plunge us into a “permanent war economy”. He says,

“Our children deserve a world without end. Not a war without end.” Ending on a message of hope, Kucinich declares, “Let us work to make nonviolence an organizing principle in our own society…Let us work for a world where someday war becomes archaic.”

“A Prayer For America” had the same effect on me that Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech must have had on a generation of African-Americans struggling for civil rights and equality. At turns poetic and practical, sobering and exciting, it was this first glimpse of Kucinich’s hopeful vision and belief in the inevitability of peace that inspired me to look deeper. This, coupled with Dennis being vegan (I had been vegetarian for four years by this time, and like Dennis, was strongly opposed to factory farming and strongly supportive of animal rights) eventually hooked me.

Within less than a year, I was doing the unimaginable: I was actively supporting the presidential campaign of Dennis Kucinich. I played guitar and sang at a benefit concert for Dennis called Rockin’ Revolution at Chicago’s Heartland Cafe, helped photocopy and pass out fliers, and told anyone who would listen about Dennis’ campaign. At the end of the campaign, I even traveled to the Democratic National Convention in Boston to support Dennis and take to the streets to vocalize the very issues that his campaign stood for: universal healthcare, ending the war in Iraq, and establishing a cabinet-level Department of Peace. That was the year that I, like so many untold thousands of young and old, was drawn into the political fold for the first time, witnessing both its possibilities and its limitations firsthand. And it was during this campaign that much of my jadedness toward the future of America began to fade away, and I began to believe, against all odds, that the nation that I call home would one day be a model of democracy, human rights, and everlasting peace.

BACK TO THE FUTURE: STRENGTH THROUGH PEACE 2008

So here we are now in 2007, with a chunk of campaign experience under our belts, and on August 7th, we scored free staff passes (courtesy of a kind Kucinich for President staffperson) to attend the AFL-CIO Presidential Forum, hosted by Keith Olbermann and MSNBC, at Chicago’s historic Soldier Field. Only members of unions and their families were given tickets (which were free), but Adam and I received an email from the Kucinich campaign announcing that they also had tickets to give away. We made our way to the top deck with blue skies, perfect summer breezes, and white puffy clouds putting the colorful crowd of thousands of union members and families in a cheery mood.

Only it wasn’t the Bears versus the Packers hitting the 10 yard line. For the evening’s forum we got, standing from left to right on stage, Richardson, Obama, Biden, Hilary, Dodd, Edwards, and coming up fast in the pack Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich. His performance at the debate blew people away. People were getting online later that night (and two days later after the Visible Vote ‘08 Presidential Forum hosted by the LOGO Channel on LGBT concerns 9 August 2007 as well), learning more about Kucinich, and forking out $100 donations. Like the soaring rags-to-riches Seabiscuit, the champion racehorse of the 1930’s who lifted up the hearts of Americans during the Depression years by overcoming the odds and beating the reigning champion War Admiral, Kucinich means to lift up America. Seabiscuit eventually went on to become Horse of the Year and the world’s leading money winning thoroughbred. We believe Congressman Kucinich will go on to become President Kucinich and his beautiful wife will become First Lady Elizabeth Harper Kucinich, who completed the final exam for her Masters degree in International Conflict Analysis on September 11, 2001 - a first lady the likes of which this country will not have seen since Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

We urge you to watch the AFL-CIO forum on YouTube or read the transcript online. Kucinich was on fire at this debate, respectfully responding to all questions presented by union members with concrete answers. Bring jobs, environmental standards, and workers rights back to the U.S. and its trading policies by canceling NAFTA and the WTO. Enact H.R. 676, universal NOT FOR PROFIT healthcare for all, which we’re already paying for but not getting. (See our previous Hot Potato article about Michael Moore’s Sicko and H.R. 676, introduced by Congressmen Kucinich and Conyers.) Create a Works Green Administration to champion a sustainable planet and economy. End war and practice strength through peace. Kucinich expounded on the cornerstones of his campaign while raising Soldier Field’s proverbial roof with roaring laughter, applause, and cheers. The people sitting around us were not yet Kucinich supporters, many undecided as of yet, but the cheers were, to our delight, by far the loudest when Kucinich spoke.

CHICAGO REGISTERED NURSES REPRESENT AT THE ALF-CIO PRESIDENTIAL FORUM ON AUGUST 7th, 2007.
Attending the AFL-CIO Presidential Forum at Chicago’s Soldier Field, hosted by MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann, were proud members of the national coalition of registered nurse unions, RNs Working Together, representing nearly 200,000 nurses across the United States. Pictured from left to right are: Edith L. Asidao, RN, Nena Tabobo, RN, Edna Ramos, RN, and Nida Cuevo, RN, each of whom work as nurses at hospitals in Chicago. They and their colleagues are pushing for national reform of the healthcare system, including better patient to nurse ratios, that support better quality healthcare, patient advocacy, and safer working conditions while addressing the national nurse shortage.

OUR FAVE CANDIDATE AND HEALTHCARE PLAN, YOURS TOO?

And for good reason. In a blind online survey currently open to the public, Kucinich is winning by a landslide. The survey does not ask you to vote for one candidate. It is a non-partisan, issues-based survey that asks you to give your opinion on a wide range of issues and to rank how important each issue is to you. The survey then compares your declared positions on the issues with the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates’ stance on the issues. Finally, your answers are tallied to show you which of the candidates best matches your own stance. You can take the blind survey yourself at www.dehp.net/candidate to find out which candidate really best matches your views!

As the crowd began to leave Soldier Field after the forum, I was fortunate to run into a group of women all wearing bright yellow t-shirts that say “RNs Working Together” and stickers indicating their support for the Employee Free Choice Act and Safe Staffing Now. Speaking with the women, I learned they are all Filipino nurses in the Chicago area. Nurses across the state are speaking up in support of an urgent need to change the workplace standards for nurses in hospitals. Specifically, certain conditions like the ratio of nurses to patients in critical care is adversely affecting the quality of healthcare received by patients, including many veterans.

According to a press release from the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), RNs Working Together is “a coalition of AFL-CIO unions tasked with coordinating organizing and bargaining activities to improve patient care nationally and give nurses a strong voice in fixing health care systems in the public and private sectors.” The press release reports that “recent studies have revealed a clear link between staffing shortages, overworked nurses and patient care. According to a University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing study, 20,000 people die each year because they checked into a hospital with overworked nurses. The study also found that Americans scheduled for routine surgeries run a 31 percent greater risk of dying if they are admitted to a hospital with a severe shortage of nurses. Staffing shortages also are leading to more mandatory overtime for already overworked nurses, high turnover rates and recruiting problems.”

Deborah Burger, president of the 75,000-member California Nurses Association (CNA) that became a member group of the AFL-CIO in May 2007, said about the national healthcare crisis, “We believe that the strength of the labor movement coupled with the nurses’ commitment to guaranteeing comprehensive healthcare coverage through H.R. 676 will provide the foundation necessary for genuine reform.”

One of the nurses in the group mentioned to me before saying goodbye that Kucinich is her favorite too. They kindly invited us to dinner at one of the nurse’s homes nearby; we had to decline but appreciated the invitation!

A TRACK RECORD OF COURAGE AND INTEGRITY

Some people, even those who agree with Kucinich on the issues (which is, believe it or not, the majority of Americans) still declare: “He doesn’t have a chance.” There’s still this myth circulating, largely due to imbalanced coverage and outright blackouts by the mainstream media, that Dennis is not “electable”. Our response is simply, vote with what you believe, and not with the candidate that the mainstream media tells you is electable.

We witnessed, from the last election, that the voices of peace are almost always marginalized by the media, but those who have learned to listen to their hearts are able to see through the blackouts and the hype, and in the end, vote for the world that they want to see. If the majority of Americans did this, what kind of country would we have? What kind of president? The answer is simply, a country and a president who reflect our real values and beliefs, and leaders who speak with integrity and act from a place of love and respect for our Earth and all of the life upon it. Elections unfortunately tend to promote competition rather than cooperation between people. Ultimately, it’s not about one man or woman being the best choice. It’s about our choice to vote for the world we want - for ourselves, our children, and our planet.

Some in the mainstream media have characterized Kucinich as “left-wing” and “radical”, therefore out of touch with the majority of Americans. However, as Dennis likes to point out, he is really at the “center” of the issues, and therefore in agreement with most Americans. He, like the vast majority of Americans, wants to end the war in Iraq, bring the troops home, and at the same time, ensure stability in the region and economic and political sovereignty for the Iraqi people. His 12-point plan for Iraq is the only plan that calls for an international peacekeeping force and a total end to the U.S. occupation, which is fueling the violence and the insurgency. The Conyers and Kucinich plan for a 15 year transition into universal, not-for-profit healthcare is the only one of its kind, in that it takes the power of life and death out of the hands of privatized insurance companies, and this plan is also supported by the majority of Americans. His plans to address climate change and invest in renewable energy are hardly “radical” or “idealist” but are in fact mainstream, realistic, and absolutely urgent solutions. And when he asked the crowd at the AFL-CIO forum if they too support canceling NAFTA and the WTO to support workers rights and create jobs at home, he received the loudest cheers of any candidate that evening.

What if our ideas of electability were based on a real track record of courage and integrity? Serving in Congress since 1996, Kucinich is the only candidate who has been vocal against the Iraq war since before it even began, is the only candidate who voted against the war, and has consistently voted against all authorization and supplemental funding. He is the only candidate with the courage to speak out against the for-profit healthcare system and envision an alternative, at a time when the pharmaceutical and insurance companies are arguably at their most powerful and have bought out so many other political figures. He is the only candidate who, since its inception, has spoken out against the Patriot Act and vowed to repeal it and restore our constitutional rights if elected president. He has taken views that might have been unpopular four or five years ago, but in the world of today, represent mainstream America.

KUCINICH’S SECRET WEAPON

The bottom line: not only does Kucinich have a chance, but as we like to say: “He’s our only chance!” Listen to your heart, give all the candidates equal billing, and in the end, vote for the world that you want to see. For us, that is a world without fear, where peace and nonviolence are organizing principles; where every man, woman, and child have free access to healthcare; and where our constitution and basic human rights are upheld and celebrated. That is the world that Dennis Kucinich believes in and works for, and thus, he is our candidate.

What is Kucinich’s secret weapon? A good answer would be his wife Elizabeth, whom he married in 2005. Together they make a powerful team, and would bring to the White House a president and first lady who truly love each other and have devoted their lives to peace. But there is an even more powerful force for Kucinich’s campaign, greatly underestimated by the media and both political parties. His secret weapon is you and I, the people of this country who will reach out to others, follow their hearts, and vote! Illinois’ primary is early this year, February 5th, 2008 - which is Super Tuesday. Our votes matter, and our voices matter. Until next week, the Hot Potato is in your hands. Pass it on!

To learn more about Dennis Kucinich’s 2008 presidential campaign, visit www.dennis4president.com and be sure to get involved with your local state group at action.dennis4president.com!

If you live in Chicago or anywhere in Illinois, be sure to check out local events and join the Illinois Statewide Kucinich Meetup Group!

You can even check out Aireen and Adam’s profiles on the Dennis4President Action Center. We are HotPotatoGirl and UniverseBoy11.

And don’t forget to take the blind survey at www.dehp.net/candidate to find out which candidate best matches YOUR views!

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See also:
* THE ART OF CAMPAIGNING: Diamonds Or Pearls & Democracy Is A Girl’s Best Friend

* Michael Moore’s Sicko And Universal Healthcare For All! 

* SEPTEMBER 11TH: Honoring The Heroes, Remembering The Fallen, And Pressing For The Truth

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Kucinich (Koo-sin-ich) for President 2008

Dennis Kucinich Prayer for America pt1

Dennis Kucinich Prayer for America pt2

Kucinich’s replies @ Aug. 7, ‘07 AFL-CIO PresidentialForum

 

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