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I got this yesterday from the campaign:
Yesterday, supporters of Congressman Dennis Kucinich's bid for the presidency participated in marches and rallies around the country, including in Washington D.C. and San Francisco, organized by United for Peace and Justice and intended to advance the cause of bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq. Busloads of Kucinich supporters made their way to D.C. and handed out flyers in a crowd containing many Kucinich signs, banners, and T-shirts.
Congressman Kucinich himself phoned in to WPFW, the radio station airing the DC event, and expressed his support for the cause on the air. Kucinich also wrote remarks which were read on stage at the DC event by Rev. Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou, the Kucinich campaign's National Director of Community Outreach and New Voter Development. The remarks follow:
REMARKS FROM CONGRESSMAN DENNIS J. KUCINICH:
"I wish I could have been with you today, as I have been with you in marches against this war over the past many months, including the powerful march in New York last February. I am campaigning for President, which required me today to speak out against this occupation at a forum with other candidates rather than with you where my heart is, rather than with you in Washington, D.C., a city that I intend to see become a STATE in the very near future. Today I spoke at an AFL-CIO forum in New Hampshire urging labor to get behind ending the occupation.
"It was a year ago February that I gave a speech titled "A Prayer for America" that flooded my office with Emails, letters, and phone calls asking me to run for President. In that speech I protested the Bush Administration's build-up to war, and I have continued to oppose that war unwaveringly and do so still today, because this war has been declared over but our soldiers continue to die, our occupation continues to destabilize the region, and our public resources continue to be drained by this fraudulent and unjust project.
"While I organized in communities with you against the war, I also organized in Congress. I led an effort that persuaded nearly two-thirds of the Democrats in the House to vote against the war. I also sued the President in an attempt to prevent him from going to war without a Congressional Declaration. And I led the effort to oppose the recent funding increase for this occupation to the tune of 87 billion dollars. That's more than all the states' deficits combined.
"Let me say it clearly: It is time to bring the troops home! It is time to get the UN in and the US out of Iraq! This is not a demand I make casually. I have developed a plan to make this happen and it can be found on my website at Kucinich dot US. We must go to the UN Security Council for a resolution that includes these three points:
"One) The UN must handle the collection and distribution of all oil revenues for the Iraqi people, with no privatization.
"Two) The UN must handle the awarding of all contracts - no more Halliburton sweetheart deals. No more war profiteering by Republican contributors and Bush Administration cronies.
"Third) The UN must work to create conditions for Iraqi self governance.
"It is time for the United States to rejoin the world community in the interests of international security. I am running for President to completely change the direction of US foreign and domestic policy. I plan to cut the bloated Pentagon budget by 15 percent and use the money for universal pre-school. I plan to establish a cabinet-level Department of Peace to make nonviolence an organizing principle in our foreign and domestic affairs.
"If those of you who share these goals join this campaign, help us organize door-to-door and over the phone lines, we will win the Democratic nomination and give the American people a real choice in next year's election, a reason to vote, an opportunity to make this country a leader in peace, not war. And it will be the war profiteers who have to gather in a small corner of this great space and hold a protest, because the White House will be closed to them. Thank you."
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