There will come a moment in this year's election cycle where the Democratic nominee is selected (preferably at the Democratic National Convention, and not by the teevee pundits, or the polls, beforehand). Let me put it out front: I will support whomever that is and vote for that nominee. I will also throw my primary support to another candidate of my choice (not saying who, because I'm still torn between several -- more on that later) when I believe that Al Gore is not to be a contender.
I am not there yet. Why not? Because I am heartened by the concerted efforts in California to put Gore on the ballot based on signatures. I support the efforts in NH to generate a write-in campaign (requiring 51,000 voters to make an impact). And although the efforts in Michigan did not generate the required signatures to get him on the ballot there, I exhort those organizers to send those lists to Al Gore.
Now here's one reason I'm not ready to give up:
As an AlGore.org registered Organizer, and I'm sure many of you are on that list, I received a e-mailed letter from Karen Wunderman, Chief of Staff, Volunteer Division, on Friday (11/9) entitled "Interesting information out of Nashville," which is very encouraging. In addition, the efforts in several states who have active ActBlue pages (California4Gore and NH write-in) as well as several others, listed at Al Gore on ActBlue. I am supporting these efforts with $$$, to put my money where my mouth is. And again, if Al Gore does not get in the race, I will also financially support the nominee, when the time comes.
In the meantime, the others running will have to wait for my money because I believe, to my core, that Al Gore is the most suited to the country's needs at this very moment in time. Just read through the various Global Warming and Peak Oil diaries this week, and tell if me you've heard one current candidate address these issues in any more than a perfunctory way.
I watched the JJ dinner in Iowa dinner last night, and listened to the candidates' speeches. Yes, they were good. Yes, I said, I could vote for that one. Yes, we have good candidates. But I just don't think any of them get the picture as far as the climate crisis linked to every single other issue facing our country and the planet. I happen to think Al Gore would be more than a good candidate: he would be a great candidate.
What did Karen's email say? Well, the gist of it is: Don't Give Up Yet! Here her letter to AlGore.org Organizers:
Dear Organizers:
A few days ago, we received some encouraging information from sources close to "things" in Nashville. These sources are credible and reliable, and we take what they’re saying as evidence of a possible shift in outlook.
We’re told that Gore and his people are watching what’s happening to Hillary’s numbers very carefully. Most of you know that she stumbled at the last debate, and her numbers in many polls have dropped as a result. Interestingly, many of the supporters Hillary has lost aren’t going to Edwards and Obama, but rather, they’re going into the "unsure" column. This could signal to Gore that his opening into the race is coming. At the very least, we know that he’s paying close attention to these developments.
We also know that Gore and his people are paying very close attention to our drives to get Gore on the ballot in a number of states across the country. They’re watching with tremendous interest and are keeping up with what’s going on. Many of you may know that we sent Gore a letter recently. Among other things, the letter said that we sincerely hoped he would not take his name off any ballots that we succeeded in getting him on. Not surprisingly, we haven’t heard anything back. But we know that he and his people are aware of what we’re doing, and until we get some feedback indicating that we should stop, we’re going to continue on in the hopes of succeeding.
We have leveled with you from the beginning. We have never and will never give you reason to hope when we feel there is none. We acknowledge our responsibility to you, and we know how hard people are working. We'd never ask you to continue your efforts if we thought there was no point. And while we can't divulge our sources or give more specific information about exactly what has been said, we do our best to keep you informed.
Now is not the time to give up hope. This is not a normal race and hasn’t been from the beginning. Anything can happen. The door is still open, and it’s our job to see to it that it remains that way. And if we succeed at getting Gore’s name on the ballot in key states, and the three top candidates continue to have a choke-hold on each other’s numbers, then anything is possible.
Let’s tough this thing out!
--Karen
Karen Wunderman
Chief of Staff, Volunteer Division
AlGore.org
Will Al Run? We don't know yet. I don't think he knows for sure yet. But he is watching the current candidates closely. And he HAS NOT told the organizers to stop what they are doing. So I ask you, organizers, not to stop your efforts. I sure won't, when I get e-mails like this to keep the hope.
PS: I am sending Christmas packages to troops (thanks to Ninepatch's diary
Support the Troops: Care Package How To for the information) and I am going to include my Al Gore buttons and information about current.com and of the discussions in our news today. We (my roommate and I) are going to send an "Any Female Soldier" package as well as an "Any Soldier" package, and a package to the chaplain with uplifting literature that can be distributed.
PPS: I didn't do a poll with my first diary, but I see that Kossacks like these polls, and now I like them too. I also see that you like to talk about pie, so here is my poll: