I Caucused For Dennis Kucinich

This evening, as an Iowan and registered Democrat, I had the privilege and honor to Caucus for Dennis Kucinich. Unfortunately, our group of supporters did not count up to the fifteen percent in attendance requirement to win him a delegate for our precinct to send along to the county convention.

Dennis Kucinich is the 2003 recipient of the Gandhi Peace Award. This achievement is probably what impressed me the most in choosing Kucinich as my favorite candidate. But few voters choose a candidate for one reason. Voters generally look at the overall picture when choosing their politicians. Although I think my mother-in-law voted for a president once primarily because he had given her a generous tip when she waited on him at a United Nations hosted banquet.

In my opinion Kucinich is the Presidential Candidate whose convictions align themselves the most with holistic values. Ohio Congressman, Dennis J. Kucinich, supports Universal Health Care, Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Environmental Protection. Organic Family Farmers, and Water as a Human Right.

My decision to Caucus for Kucinich was not made lightly. I looked at all the Democratic candidates who campaigned in Iowa. Because Kucinich was not leading in the polls I wondered if I would be wasting my voice by standing in his corner. That is one of the great things about the Iowa Caucus, you can switch to your second choice candidate if your first choice turns out not to be viable. I felt extremely proud to have stood up for this remarkable and spiritually grounded individual. Our precinct had a 156 voter turn out. We had 18 people standing with Kucinich. If we had had five more bodies standing beside us we could have pulled off a single delegate for him.

Kucinich has an impressive list of iindividuals who endorse him including Patch Adams, Wayne Dyer, and Neale Donald Walsch.

What Does Dennis Kucinich Stand For?

On Economy/taxes: Repeal Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, but keep for children, married couples, and lower-income people.

On Education: Free public college education, to be paid for by repealing tax cuts to the wealthiest people and spend a higher percentage of the federal budget on education.

On Environmental Energy: Supports the Kyoto Treaty; toughen pollution penalties; expand government ownership of utilities, double energy from renewable sources by 2010.

On Farming: Opposed expansion of farm subsidies.

On Health Care: National health insurance providing single-payer universal health care.

On Immigration: Grant permanent legal status to illegal immigrants who have been in the U.S. for at least five years. Grant conditional legal status and work authorization to those who have been in the U.S. less than five years and who have not broken any laws.

On Iraq War: Opposed U.S. going to war and wants United Nations to take over in Iraq. "It is time to bring our troops home."

On Trade: Would withdraw U.S. from multilateral trade agreements and seek bilateral trade treaties conditioned on labor and environmental standards and human rights protections.