[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 18662-18663]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           THE POWER OF UNITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Kucinich) for 2\1/2\ minutes.
  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by thanking my wife, 
Elizabeth, who is here in the gallery, for her constant support during 
my service in the United States Congress and to thank the people of 
Ohio's 10th Congressional District for their constant support, as well 
as the great congressional staff both at the district and at the D.C. 
level. I also, before I make further remarks, want to express my 
support for my colleagues from New York and New Jersey in their 
tireless efforts on behalf of their constituents who have suffered so 
grievously from Hurricane Sandy.
  We must unite for the people, and that's really the idea of the 
United

[[Page 18663]]

States. It's the unity of States, but it's even deeper than that. It's 
expressive of the unity of people that it's all for one and one for 
all. Our Nation's first motto, ``E Pluribus Unum,'' out of many we are 
one, stresses the power of unity. The idea of human unity is implicit 
in this Nation.
  In my visits across America, I discovered that there is an underlying 
unity which binds us as Americans and which calls us forward to a 
higher purpose. I have also come to understand that our politics divide 
people. The politics of polarization and hyper-partisanship has become 
obviously quite destructive, nearly incapacitating our government. Yet 
at such a time, the hunger for unity is the greatest, but the 
ideological differences between us widen.
  We need a new politics in America which unites people, which sets 
aside partisan differences for the greater good of the country, and 
which strives to reconnect with the greatness of the Nation and the 
goodness of the American people. But what would that politics look 
like? The rhetoric would change to one of mutual respect. The 
questioning of motives would end. The poison system of ``pay to play'' 
would be transformed by public financing, and our government would be 
rededicated to addressing the practical aspirations of the American 
people for jobs, for health care for all, for education for all, for 
retirement security for all, and for environmental security.
  We need a new politics which creates jobs and celebrates the dignity 
of work. Our government must raise the status of working people and 
protect their rights. Our government must stress wealth creation over 
taxation, investment over debt, health over illness, peace over war, 
and liberty over surveillance.
  We have the capacity of choosing and choosing again as we are 
involved in the most creative endeavor of human achievement actualizing 
the highest principles upon which this country was founded and infusing 
those principles into self-government. Unity. One Nation, under God, 
with liberty and justice for all.
  A new America is waiting to emerge. Let us call it forward with the 
same sense of wonder and expectation that the Founders first evoked: 
the United States of America.


                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will remind Members to refrain 
from referring to occupants of the gallery.

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