Hey Empire Babies, this is Abby Martin, and thank you for listening to the Empire Files podcast.

This is a patron-only podcast. So thank you so much for your support. Your support is what makes this show possible.

I've only respected a couple politicians in my life. One of them is Dennis Kucinich. Dennis Kucinich was

formerly the mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, before spending 16 years as a United States congressman, where he served until

2013. He also ran for president twice in the Democratic Party primary and is currently running

again to be the mayor of Cleveland almost 45 years after his first term. Throughout his

political career, he's always been willing to speak his mind,

and he's never shied away from controversy, regardless of the costs. Sometimes the issues he

advocated for seemed decades ahead of his time, like lobbying for trans rights 20 years ago, an issue that's only recently been normalized

in the Democratic Party. In his 2004 presidential campaign, Cousinich said he would appoint a

trans justice to the Supreme Court, something that sparked the ire of many, and was the source of

ridicule by even liberal pundits like John Stewart.

Cousinich was also marginalized for speaking candidly about seeing UFOs,

something the intelligence community discusses as a reality today.

Cousinage came onto my radar as a staunch opponent of war,

having introduced articles of impeachment against George W. Bush and Dick Cheney for launching the Iraq war on false pretenses.

He called Obama's NATO airstrikes on Libya, an impeachable offense, and tried to create a

Department of Peace throughout his congressional tenure.

I had the chance to catch Dennis between campaign events to discuss his views and new book,

The Division of Light and Power, which details the epic power battle between himself as a young mayor of Cleveland

and a corporation that was trying to bankrupt the city's energy grid.

Dennis, it's great to talk to you. Thank you so much for joining me on the Empire Files podcast.

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