Country Above Party: My Declaration of Independence

My Independent Candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives

In this moment of sharp partisan divisions in our country, which endanger America domestically and abroad, I recognize the urgency of uniting America, of placing country above party, of pledging allegiance to America and to no other nation, and to upholding our Constitution to protect our freedoms. 

Dennis Kucinich and Elizabeth Kucinich

My allegiance is to America, her people and the US Constitution, not a political party!

I am, therefore, thrilled to announce that I filed over 6,000 signature petitions to the Board of Elections to officially become an Independent candidate for Congress in Ohio’s 7^th District.

When Members of Congress are sworn into office they take an oath to defend the Constitution. I have taken that oath many times and have taken it seriously. That is why I will work in Congress to stop agreements which sacrifice our national sovereignty and undermine our constitutional form of government.  Guided by the U.S. Constitution, my leadership has always been rational, aspirational and practical.  

I will bring to Congress the enthusiasm and the energy of youth, together with the wisdom of experience.  For years I have been told that I am ahead of my time.  Today I am on time!

Guided by the wisdom of President George Washington, who put country above party, I begin again to create a basis for a re-United States, transcending labels and partisan politics  to play a unique role in the next Congress to help both Democratic and Republican colleagues to work together for the best interests of the American people, to help our nation to be able to communicate with itself at home and with other nations through diplomacy, the science of human relations, where we see each other as potential friends and allies, not as intractable enemies.

As a member of Congress, I will work to create policies through building coalitions across the political spectrum, to create policies which enable prosperity for all Americans, not just a few, to continue to stand for responsible fiscal stewardship, reduce government waste, fraud and abuse, and to help America, once again, to be a leader for peace and humanity in the world, rather than a nation that chooses to prosecute war everywhere. 

I want to thank the more than 6,000 voters, Democrats, Republicans and independents alike, people from across the political and religious spectrum, who signed to get me on the November ballot, as well as those who circulated petitions through northern Ohio’s freezing weather, through snow, through rain, and through flu season to make this moment possible!

I have found in speaking with the people of the 7^th Congressional District that they are seeking a representative who places country above party, whose allegiance is to America and no other nation and, especially, someone who stands for peace.

John Avlon, author of ‘Washington’s Farewell: The Founding Father’s Warning to Future Generations’ (Simon and Shuster 2017), summarized in a singularly important essay in Politico Magazine, Washington’s prophetic cautioning regarding hyper-partisanship, the intensity of which afflicts America in 2024.

In this campaign, as an independent candidate, I will focus, as I always have, on the economic needs of Americans, and the challenges so many families face today: Inflation, the rising costs of food, housing, health care, energy, utilities, and education. Meanwhile, while the cost of credit has increased and more and more Americans are going into debt.

This campaign is about rebuilding our strategic industrial base, our steel, automotive, aerospace and shipping industries. It is about investing in America and not sending money abroad for wars and for foreign military aid. It is about strength through peace.

Our nation ought to stand for peace. Peace protects economic freedom here at home. At least $8 trillion of America’s $34 trillion debt is attributable to wars since 9/11, wars we were led into by lies.

America must stop spending the treasure of our nation abroad in search of dragons to slay, stop risking our future with an unsustainable national debt, where unnecessary wars and Wall Street bailouts are put on the national credit card, crushing the aspirations of future generations.

This campaign will support the job creators of businesses small and large, the farmers, and all who struggling to hold onto what they have worked for in a lifetime. I will continue to stand, resolutely, for the rights of workers to organize, for collective bargaining, the right to decent wages and benefits so Americans can support their families.

This campaign is about our constitutional freedoms.  The voters I have spoken to are deeply concerned that we are losing our constitutional rights to free speech, to privacy, to unreasonable search and seizure, to a federal government which has, under both political parties, become an anti-democratic surveillance state, placing corporate interests above the rights Americans have under the U.S. Constitution.

At this very moment our government is in negotiations, poised to sign away our First and Fourth Amendment freedoms, and U.S. sovereign authority, to the World Health Organization (WHO), through a global pandemic treaty, just as it did to the WTO regarding trade. Will critical decisions be made in foreign capitals affecting United States’ Americans’ health standards, without a vote of the people, or our elected representatives? 

This is exactly what happened with the creation of the WTO. Decisions adverse to US commerce, our industries and our jobs have been made at the WTO. This must not be permitted to continue to happen. Sovereignty is fundamental to nationhood.

Borders describe a nation. Without borders there is no nation. Our borders must be closed. We should welcome those who seek a legal pathway to immigrate to the United States.

I have been tested in a way that few in public office have been tested.  Years ago, as Mayor of Cleveland, I took over a deficit-ridden city and ran it on a cash basis, while cutting spending by at least 12% without reducing basic services.  I took on a corrupt utility monopoly, their banking partners and supporters in the media and even risked assassination to stand up for the right of the people of Cleveland to have an electric system they could call their own.

Although I attempted to pay off the municipal debts I had inherited, the banks refused to take the money and instead demanded the sale of the city’s electric system as a condition of credit.  I refused the blackmail. The banks put the city into default.  I was smeared for challenging a corrupt establishment. From that experience I learned never to be afraid, because truth, though crushed to the ground, will rise again. 

Cleveland’s municipal electric system survives to this very day.  My leadership has been acknowledged to have saved the people of Cleveland hundreds of millions of dollars on their utility bills and saved taxpayers countless millions.  That is what public service is all about.

Throughout my career, I have not hesitated to stand up for the people.  I have been and will continue to be a builder of bridges, a warrior for peace, a fighter for the people, unbossed and unbought. 

At this critical time in our nation’s history, I urge everyone, to look beyond the chaos of the moment, look past the partisan divisions, and reclaim a brighter future for our country where there are not winners and losers; where we, once again, find the source of our unity, to rally around our Constitution wherein we are truly free and independent. 

I pledge to strive to uphold the highest principles of the United States and stand courageously for truth, justice and the Constitution. 

Please join us at Kucinich.com in this quest for independence, for a new beginning for the 7^th District, for Ohio, for the U.S. House, and for our dear nation. 

Thank you.

Dennis