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First, for the short range, we need to encourage millions of small donations for campaigns. Our campaigns have provided a model for this, with a very large number of donors contributing smaller amounts, often over the internet.
The second step, which must be taken simultaneously, is the long range work toward public financing of elections at state and federal levels.
Our campaigns have been successful with small donations from large numbers of supporters. Ultimately it was the redistricting that made it impossible for me to remain in Congress.
Dennis Kucinich signs his book, Courage to Survive, for Meryl Ann Butler by Photo credit Jane Shirek
MAB: I know lots of people thought that redistricting was a travesty intended to evict you, and yet, I see the opportunity for a door flung wide open for you, an opportunity for former stumbling blocks to now be stepping stones. It feels like whatever direction you take is going to be powerfully successful in ways that might have been difficult or impossible before.
DK: Yes, thank you. In going forward, I'm taking a deep breath, looking at which path to choose to best continue the momentum we have built up over the last 16 years in Congress. I'll be calling on supporters across the country to help us make practical applications of unity. The politics of polarization just leads to a dead end.
There is no better place to connect to people than heart to heart, through love of country, and love of our brothers and sisters. People hunger for a sense of unity, but our politics in this period has been more about division, and less about addition and multiplication - we have using the wrong math!
Human unity is the irreducible principal of our time, and love is the force that can transform the politics of polarization.
MAB: Well, thank you Dennis for taking the time to share some of your new direction with us, and good luck in your new endeavors.
DK: Thank you, again, for your interest. I appreciate the support I've gotten from you, and Rob, and Opednews over the years.
As Kucinich offers his heartfelt message, it is hard not to wonder -- is it only coincidence that the human heart is situated, not in the exact center of the chest, but just to the left?
NOTE: Some portions of this article first appeared in Finally, Politics with Soul: Ohio Congressman Kucinich Lights Up Presidential Race, by Meryl Ann Butler, Sept/Oct 2003 issue of Awareness Magazine. http://www.awarenessmag.com/sepoct3/sepoct3.html
Additional dates and details in this article have been confirmed with Dennis Kucinich and via the wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Kucinich.
