Politicians normally break down into two camps in my book. The first are the "what will this do for me" crowd. You know who they are - the ones that look at political office as a stepping stone to power. Throw a rock into a crowd of politicians and you are sure to hit one that fit's that description. I'd say they are a dime a dozen, but that really seems like over paying in my mind.
The second type of person who seeks office, unfortunately much rarer kind, is the person who seeks it not out of self service, but a genuine desire for public service. The men and women who are willing to give up careers, money and all semblance of privacy to help make the country a bit better.
It isn't always easy to tell one type of candidate from the other. Nobody stands up and says that they are a selfish power hungry empty shirt - Vote for me (Republicans just assume you know that already), but you know as well as I know that's what most of them are.
Is it any wonder our political system is so screwed up?
That's why I'm really happy that I'm working on the Alan Grayson campaign. I don't want to turn this into a campaign commercial, but sometimes you just have to pump up the good guys a little bit. Alan is definitely not in this race to further his career. He is one of the progressive good guys.
Case in point. While the other candidates in the District 8 race are doing the normal political shuffle, my candidate is in Somalia. Yes, Somalia. Why? So that he can go see the aftermath of George H.W. Bush's failed "Nation Building" first hand. Let me say that if you think that going to Somalia is a fun trip, you're a better person than I am. I'm not sure there is an amount of money that would get me there, and yet Alan thought it was important to go there.
He is just that kind of guy.
What did Alan learn in Somalia? That history repeated itself in Iraq. The second Bush made the same mistakes in that country only on a far greater scale. Mistakes that are costing billions of dollars and thousands of lives.
However, just like in Somalia, he hopes that history repeats itself and that a Democratic President can fix President Bush’s disasterous mistake by ending the War in Iraq. "That's our choice in the next election," says Alan. "And, when I am elected to Congress, I will vote to end this war and bring our troops home."
You can't say it more bluntly than that.
Imagine if we had a Congress filled with people who wanted to know the truth bad enough that they would put themselves in harms way by going to Somalia, or Iraq or other dangerous hot spots? Imagine if we had a government run by people who cared more about getting it right than about what they were getting? Tell me that wouldn't make a difference in this country. Tell me we don't need that difference more than ever. You can't.
Alan Grayson is the kind of politician we need in office no matter where you live. Every state, every seat, every vote is critical to help end Bush's disastrous folly. Alan Grayson is an uncommon candidate. I'm proud to work on his campaign.
www.graysonforcongress.com