While most of Congress has kept their heads in the sand…..John Conyers DID SOMETHING! In fact he did a helluva lot. His three most important contributions to our democracy are outlined in this article.
If you agree with this choice… let him know! There’s a contact link on the Congressman’s home page: http://johnconyers.com
2005 Person of the Year
Congressman John Conyers, Jr.
We need more people speaking out. This country is not overrun with rebels and free thinkers. It’s overrun with sheep and conformists: Bill Maher
He is not a boisterous man at all. On the contrary, he’s soft spoken, rather thoughtful, and quietly direct. Chances are, if you didn’t know who he was, you’d never in a million years have him pegged for a politician. Chances are even greater that you’d never guess that John Conyers was as fierce a fighter for his nation as they come.
How fortunate, then, that John Conyers is in a class by himself.
And how proud we are to name Representative John Conyers, Jr. our 2005 Person of the Year!
No, John Conyers is not entirely alone. The US Congress currently is graced by a handful of very special and very honorable legislators who have worked diligently and bravely in very difficult times. This small group of Senators and Representatives has been distinguished by their independence, their courage, and their refusal to be silenced.
In the company of that small, yet resolute group of stalwart colleagues, John Conyers has risen to the top. We believe that he has proved himself as a most distinguished and indefatigable leader and a tireless and intrepid fighter against the abuses of power by the present administration. In that role, we believe that John Conyers, in his dignified and determined way, also has become the voice of the people.
John Conyers has served the people of Detroit’s 14th District with distinction for nineteen consecutive terms. Presently, he serves as Dean to the Congressional Black Caucus, which he helped to organize in 1969. Mr. Conyers also is the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.
For more than 39 years John Conyers has fought to improve the lives of the working people he has represented. His struggles for a higher minimum wage, for safety standards at the workplace, and for affordable health care are well documented. He also has worked arduously to protect the rights of women and other minorities in this country.
John Conyers has never remained silent in the face of wrongdoing. But his dedication to his country faced a serious challenge after 9/11, when all Americans were being pressured to refrain from criticizing their government. From that day to this, lawmakers have been expected to show their patriotism by rubber stamping the policies of the Bush administration.
Not so, this man of honor. John Conyers would not be intimidated or stifled at a time when so many other legislators rolled over and played dead and when so much needed to be challenged. Along with the few people in Congress who shared his strength and conviction, John Conyers took on the United States government.
He has kept vital issues before the American public that few people would even dare to acknowledge, and that otherwise might have disappeared in the haze of political distraction. In his measured and calming way, John Conyers has chosen to fight back rather than capitulate to the pressures and powers that have turned so many in Congress into shameful sycophants.
At TVNL, we view 2005 as John Conyers’ crowning year. We chose to highlight only three of his many activities during this year to illustrate Mr. Conyers’ unique contribution to the democratic ideals of this nation. Each endeavor involved an issue of major relevance to the lives of the American people, and each issue was in grave danger of being swept aside in the post 9/11 reign of terror.
For the three major contributions in 2005 by John Conyers to American democracy, read the entire article here:
http://tvnewslies.org/html/2005_person_of_the_year.html
