It's been a busy month or so since I last wrote about working on a campaign this election season. Holiday Parades, meet-and-greets, and all the things that keep a campaign worker have shifted into high gear. I have to say it's more fun than I ever imagined. Hard work, but fun work. If you have not worked on a campaign before, you really should give it a try. God knows Democrats throughout the land need help. If you are mad about Bush vetoing health care for kids for the second time, get off your rear and volunteer. This election season is too important to sit on the sidelines.
Sorry, I digress.
One of the best things about working on this campaign has been getting to know the candidate himself. I have a low opinion of politicians. They deserve that opinion. They EARN that opinion. Most of my life political choice has come down to "The Lesser of Two Evils." Not this time, at least in the Florida District 8 election. My candidate - Alan Grayson - is just what we hope when we elect a democrat. Progressive thought, progressive action and no need to water down his opinion to earn a job. It makes me want to get up in the morning and donate my precious hours to the cause. Another example of this happened yesterday when the Florida Civil Rights Association named Alan Humanitarian of the Year.
Yes a lawyer won Humanitarian of the Year. That’s why I’m working for him.
I have attached the press release at the bottom so you could read for yourself. There is no one else in the race for District 8 who can match Alan. Hopefully people like us can help someone like Alan do something good for this country soon. We sure do need it.
Congressional Candidate Alan Grayson Honored as "Humanitarian of the Year"
Florida Civil Rights Association to present award tonight in Orlando
ORLANDO, FL – The Florida Civil Rights Association (FCRA) has selected Alan Grayson to receive its 2007 "Humanitarian of the Year" award and will present it to Alan tonight at the group’s annual Town Hall Meeting and Awards Ceremony at Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church in Orlando.
The FCRA chose Alan "for inspiring change and demonstrating ongoing leadership in the advancement of government accountability, and the preservation of employee civil and human rights."
"I am proud – very proud – to receive this high honor", said Alan. "And I am proud to be associated with the noble cause of civil rights. I’m running for Congress for three fundamental reasons: justice, equality and peace. These are the causes that great civil rights leaders have advanced for decades."
The FCRA was impressed not only with Alan’s well-known "one-man war against contractor fraud in Iraq", as the Wall Street Journal put it, but also for the work that he has done on behalf of people of conscience - the whistleblowers who refuse to participate in crimes and fraud, and who face discrimination, demotion and discharge because of it. Last year Alan, a lawyer, won a $235,000 judgment on behalf of a Florida employee who was forced to quit his job because he wouldn’t participate in fraud. Alan also won a $1.4 million judgment on behalf of an Alabama subcontractor who was terminated, and not paid, because that subcontractor wouldn’t engage in fraud. Both of these decisions now are final judgments – towering monuments erected in the law, on behalf of employee rights.
Alan explained that "all too often, employees are judged not on the content of their character, but rather on their race, their religion, their union activities, and even their willingness to join management in breaking the law. This has to stop. I’ve fought it before, and won. I’ll fight it in Congress."
To learn more about Alan, read the recent Vanity Fair profile of Alan and visit Alan’s campaign website at www.graysonforcongress.com. To reach Alan’s campaign directly, send an email to listeningtoyou@graysonforcongress.com.
Stay tuned for future events and news with Alan Grayson, Congressional Candidate for District 8 in Central Florida. For more information, contact Carol Cox at 407.321.1919 or at media@graysonforcongress.com