(Please recommend this diary and keep it up all day to show our infinite appreciation for Kossack (NYBri) Brian Keeler's selfless and pioneering effort to launch our community into mainstream electoral policy-making and to bring home NY's 41st Senatorial District)
To: Brian Keeler -- fellow Kossack, progressive simpatico, and friend
Though Dean and Trippi were two of the first to effectively incorporate the progressive Netroots in a high profile political campaign...
Though candidates like Tester, Lamont, and Webb have found their way into the hearts and minds of many a blogosphere member...
Though many a candidate has discovered the value of tapping into the community that has helped define the direction of American politics in the 21st Century...
...it is you who are the true Netroots Pioneer!
...it is you who are the true Netroots HERO!
You are one of us. You've suffered with us. You've cheered with us. You even helped us build our infrastructure. Now you're taking us to the next level. And for all these things, we are very thankful and very proud.
Most politicians have discovered an appreciation for the Netroots only AFTER they decide to run for office, or AFTER they realize the vast resources we have to offer.
You, on the other hand, had no such underlying agenda. Instead, you thought it was high time the Netroots took the plunge into mainstream politics -- right to the heart of the beast.
You rustled up some seriously intense courage and you did it. You did it!!
You had the courage to be the first true Netrooter to take the plunge. You are the one who has proven that being a member of the DailyKos community, the progressive blogosphere, or the greater Netroots can be more than blogging, voting, and volunteering.
It's about leadership -- about bringing our visions to fruition -- about making the world a better place for our children and future generations.
No longer must we lament the shortcomings of our elected leaders -- because we have the power to BECOME our elected leaders. You have led the way.
Don't get me wrong. The Progressive movement clearly needs everyone to participate at every level of the process and each level and player is uniquely critical to our overall success. Truly, for each person who decides to run for office, 1,000+ supporters are crucial to their effort.
But your pioneering actions have set the precedent for those of us who DO wish to take the electoral plunge some day. (I can't wait to read your 'Guidebook' to running as a Netroots candidate;)
Win or lose, you have broken down the doors to the madhouse and offered sanity and inspiration -- a progressive vision and a steely spine that makes us all intensely proud to be associated with you.
And I express these thanks well before any electoral results have been released because such results are not what we appreciate about you and what you've accomplished. In the end, they are, with regard to principle, irrelevant. What you have already accomplished -- the sacrifices you've made, the examples you've set -- those things are immutable and infinitely appreciated.
You, Brian Keeler, are our hero and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
I know, I'm babbling at this point, but what I guess I'm trying to say is...
And never, ever forget this...
BRIAN KEELER ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!