Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s decision to support a health care reform bill that’s up for a vote in the House of Representatives has provoked speculation that President Obama agreed to give the Cleveland Democrat’s wife, Elizabeth, a White House job in exchange for his vote.
The Cleveland congressman says it’s not so, and traces the rumor’s origins to a March 17 broadcast by conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, where Limbaugh claims that Kucinich changed his vote on the health care bill because he was “bought off” by having Elizabeth Kucinich “working in tandem with Michelle Obama’s anti-obesity efforts, taking up the benefits of plant-based meals.”
“So Mrs. Kucinich wants to be someone, she’s sitting right next to Michelle turning everybody into vegetarians now,” Limbaugh continued.
Kucinich says he thinks Limbaugh was joking, but that many people seem to have taken his remarks seriously.
“This is all a fabrication,” says Kucinich. “She does not have any role in the White House. First they say I changed my vote because I had a ride on Air Force One, then there is a vegan conspiracy, then Elizabeth is in for a big job. It is hysterical. Anybody that knows me knows I don’t make deals. I just try to do what’s right.”
A White House official called the speculation “ridiculous,” as did Elizabeth Kucinich.
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Article courtesy cleveland.com
