Honorable Mention: Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
Despite being one of the most left-leaning members of Congress, and caricatured more as a hippy than a God-fearing American, Dennis Kucinich has quite a relationship with the son of God. Due to a socially liberal agenda that is polar opposite to most bible-thumpers, we were hard-pressed to include Kucinich on this list (hence the honorable mention status). But the long-shot presidential candidate demonstrates that the fringe Left can wave the Jesus flag as vigorously as the Right-wingers.
When Kucinich was the “boy mayor” of Cleveland and faced substantial pressure to sell the city’s electric utility, he responded by saying: “I will not be blackmailed. When Jesus Christ went to the mountaintop and was tempted by Satan, he said, ‘Begone Satan.’ I say the same thing to CEI [Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co.].” Cleveland went bankrupt shortly thereafter, but Kucinich still carries an admiration for Jesus into his work: On the presidential campaign trail, he’s well-versed in the Catholic faith and sprinkles Christian references liberally into his political message, which generally revolves around lambasting the Bush administration and promoting New Age hippie initiatives like veganism and his desire to establish a “Department of Peace.”
In 2002, Kucinich gave a speech entitled “A Prayer for America,” which outlined many of his liberal progressive views. (To see this speech, prefaced by Kucinich bizarrely singing a medley of patriotic anthems prior to his remarks, click here.)
Some Kucinich followers are synching up with his unique spiritual vibe. A recent report notes that Kucinich was interrupted at a campaign event in Iowa by a supporter who wanted to let everyone know that voting for John Edwards instead of Dennis Kucinich was like voting for Pontius Pilate rather than Jesus Christ.
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