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Dennis Kucinich Supports Health Care: Will Vote Yes (Video)

by Sudha Krishna | March 17, 2010 at 09:48 am

356 views | 14 Recommendations | 1 comment

Dennis Kucinich Flips Position and has decided to support health care bill, will vote Yes

Rep. Dennis Kucinich has decided to vote yes for the health care bill he announced during a news conference on Wednesday (see video below). Dennis Kucinich very reluctantly changed his mind from his earlier universal health care proposal and decided to support the Obama and Democratic health care plan.

...after careful discussions with the President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, Elizabeth my wife and close friends, I have decided to cast a vote in favor of the legislation. If my vote is to be counted, let it now count for passage of the bill, hopefully in the direction of comprehensive health care reform. We must include coverage for those excluded from this bill. We must free the states. We must have control over private insurance companies and the cost their very existence imposes on American families.

But this was not a whole hearted endorsement of the Democratic health care plan. In previous votes Dennis Kucinich voted against the heath care bill, instead advocating for a universal health care system. Clearly, this is one of those holding the nose and voting with the Democrats for Rep. Kucinich.

"This is not the bill I wanted to support," Kucinich said, acknowledging that he nonetheless needed to make a decision about the measure as written.

"I have doubts about this bill," he said. "I do not think it is a step toward anything I have worked

Getting as many Democratic votes locked up is critical for the Obama administration. The GOP will likely vote unanimously against it so even a reluctant yes from Dennis Kucinich is still a yes.

Watch video excerpts of Dennis Kucinich and his health care news conference below

1 See all footage | View Slideshow

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Liz McKibbon

at 16:24 on March 18th, 2010

I just love Dennis Kucinich. His name basically rhymes... how can you get much better than that? He has an endearing attitude and and bombshell of a wife. It's too bad he couldn't be the one in charge, but unfortunately I think he'd have an even harder time finding a 'bipartisan agenda' than Obama has.