Dem. Candidate Kucinich Gets Endorsements

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Other endorsements for Kucinich's White House bid: actor Ed Asner, country music singer Willie Nelson, lifestyle guru Marianne Williamson and author Studs Terkel.

``Maybe that is the real America,'' said Henry Graff, a presidential historian and professor at Columbia University. ``It might help get a large body of young people that often don't go to the polls ... a constituency that would be more influenced by Nelson than by other politicians.''

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But the lawmaker argues that this growing list of high-profile support, which also includes actors Peter Coyote, James Cromwell, Hector Elizondo and Elliott Gould, could turn that around.

``If people whose names that are virtually household words are supporting my campaign, it's likely that with their help 'Kucinich' will soon be a household word,'' he said, describing how people at recent July 4th parades yelled out, ``Say 'hi' to Willie.'''

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-2889623,00.html

doesn't matter. Kucinich has all the charisma and electibility of an obscure shellfish.

I'm sure you'll enjoy your tenure here at DU.

Is he next?

How about Emilio Estevez?

Endorsements Rolling In

What do these three people have in common -- a grandmother from New Hampshire who walked across America for campaign reform at age 89; a legendary 1960s civil rights and antiwar activist; and the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi? They all just endorsed Dennis Kucinich for President.

Momentum keeps building for our insurgent campaign as leading peace and justice activists add their support and influence. Yesterday, a multiracial group of feminists endorsed Kucinich and began recruiting the support of others. Today, we announce the endorsements of Granny D, former California State Senator Tom Hayden, and Arun Gandhi.

GRANNY D is the unstoppable social change activist, now in her 90s, from the first primary state of New Hampshire. In 1999, she wore out four sets of shoes and was hospitalized in Arizona for dehydration and pneumonia, but she would not be deterred as she marched for political reform from California to her triumphant arrival in Washington D.C. 14 months later. She sent a poetic statement of support that can be read in full at http://kucinich.us/wesupportdennis.htm . Here’s an abridged
version.

"I am proud to endorse Dennis Kucinich for President. When I walked 3,200 miles across the United States and inquired of people why they were not voting, they said: 'Find us someone who understands us, who cares about us.' I'm talking about people living in trailers; people living in small towns with boarded-up windows on Main Street; people coming out of farmhouses in Iowa, squeezed out of their livelihood by stinking agri-hog farms; people living in cities who have been out of work for over a year; people whose well-paid jobs have been shipped overseas.

I promised to look for someone who would understand them, that had a vision of the future for them, that believed in Peace, Love, Justice. Well, here he is: Dennis Kucinich. I believe he is the candidate who can bring new voters and disgruntled voters into the political process.

To those people I met on my walk across America: 'Now keep your promise to me and come out and vote for him!'"

TOM HAYDEN is another renowned activist endorsing Kucinich, who he refers to as "the candidate with the best stands and the best history." A founder of Students for a Democratic Society in the early 1960s, civil rights activist, author, leader of the anti-Vietnam War movement and defendant in the "Chicago 8" trial, Hayden went on to become an effective California State Assemblyman and Senator for 7-terms. He is a leading figure and writer in today's peace movement and the movement for global justice and against sweatshops.


ARUN GANDHI heads the M.K. Gandhi Institute of Nonviolence in Tennessee, where he carries on the work of his grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi. Arun is a U.S. citizen who is endorsing as an individual, not as a representative of any group. He issued this statement:

"I am happy to support Dennis Kucinich because I believe he is our only hope. Never before has it been so important that the nation rally around one candidate as today. This nation has been hijacked by right-wing politicians who are leading us on to certain disaster. Dennis Kucinich, with his progressive policies and love of peace, is the only candidate who can bring us back from the brink."
--

Help spread the word about the Kucinich campaign:
http://www.kucinich.us

Please make a donation: https://www.kucinich.us/contribute.php

Please circulate this email to others.

Studs Terkel is no dummy.

I am supporting Howard Dean, but am glad to see Kucinich having so many loyal supporters behind him.

:toast:

Isn't it refreshing when we can support our various choices instead of flame each other?


:loveya:

We are all together now. United.

Tom Hayden's endorsement of Kucinich also is very powerful. Tom is a hero of mine since his days with the SDS, his startup group of Citizens for Economic Democracy here in Southern California, his sterling leadership in the California Legislature and even his groundbreaking campaign for Governor of California. I am proud to have had Tom in my home and Kucinich has a fighter and a legend on his side now.

:hi:

The Kucinich for President Campaign takes a big step forward today with the announcement of "Feminists for Kucinich." Eight diverse feminist writers and organizers have initiated a statement in support of Kucinich, which will be widely circulated to attract new supporters.

The original signers are:
BARBARA EHRENREICH, political essayist and author ("Nickel and Dimed"); ANGELA GILLIAM, professor and expert on Black feminist anthropology; YNESTRA KING, writer and activist on environmental, feminist, and disability issues; GAIL LERNER, organizer in the global women's movement and with U.N. agencies; GRACE PALEY, peace activist and author ("Enormous Changes at the Last Minute"); ROSALIND PETCHESKY, international feminist activist and political science professor; DIGNA SANCHEZ, Latina community activist in New York; MEREDITH TAX, novelist, essayist and international organizer of feminist writers.

Although the statement has just started to circulate, it has already attracted signatures from such prominent feminists as Blanche Weisen Cook, biographer of Eleanor Roosevelt; Marilyn French, author of "The Women's Room"; actress and singer Ronnie Gilbert; Jewish activist and poet Irena Klepfisz; and political scientist Zillah Eisenstein.

Here's a summary of the statement. For the full statement, and to sign on: http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/feminists_4_kucinich/

FEMINISTS FOR KUCINICH
Rather than waiting to hear what all the Democratic candidates have to say, then jumping on the bandwagon of the least offensive, we decided to make our own list of priorities and see who agrees with us.

1) We want a candidate who will stop the war on the poor.

2) We want a candidate who stands for peace, respects international treaties and institutions such as the U.N. and the International Criminal Court, and tries to resolve problems through negotiation.

3) We want a candidate who will defend the separation of church and state, and the individual rights guaranteed us by the Constitution.

4) We want a candidate who opposes discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, and who stands for women's reproductive rights and recognizes that these rights depend on universal health insurance.

5) We want a candidate who will address questions of global economic imbalance and stand up for the rights of immigrants.

6) We want a candidate who will challenge racism domestically and internationally.

Dennis Kucinich is the only candidate who not only agrees with all these points but has developed policies to support them: starting a cabinet-level Department of Peace; supporting unions and the right to organize; cutting the bloated military budget; restoring environmental regulations and launching a "Global Green Deal" to benefit developing countries; withdrawing from NAFTA and the WTO and challenging IMF/World Bank policies; repealing the "Patriot Act"; upholding Roe v. Wade; working for universal health insurance; and abolishing the racially and economically biased death penalty.

Because we feel that he comes closest to representing our priorities, we have decided to support Dennis Kucinich for President.
--
JULY 4 WITH WILLIE: A special thank you to Willie and Annie Nelson for their gracious hospitality at the July 4th "picnic" for tens of thousands of gleeful concertgoers in Texas. Willie introduced Dennis to the crowd -- and Willie and Annie met privately with Dennis to discuss how they can support the campaign and raise the Kucinich profile among voters. (Dennis flew to Texas after marching in July 4th parades with constituents in Ohio, and before flying on to California for various meetings, including with ILWU dockworkers and with California residents from India.)

CAN KUCINICH BEAT BUSH?: You bet he can. Go to http://kucinich.us/electable.htm and circulate.

PLEASE DONATE: Our campaign draws the biggest crowds and biggest audience response, but we are not YET the top campaign in funding. Please contribute. If you're maxed out, please get your friends, fellow activists or rich relations to donate. Help us show that our fundraising surge at the end of June was no fluke. https://www.kucinich.us/contribute.php

The more people wake up to Dennis, the more chance we have of taking back this nation from the neocon thugs and aristocratic kakistocrats who've taken it from us!

I'm a menace for Dennis!

Dan Brown
Saint Paul, Minnesota

What's a kakistocrat?

..means "government by the worst."

It's my favorite new $20 word.

who is "unelectable," with NINE candidates to choose from?

Something to think about.Hmmmmmmmmmmm.......