Just saw this....
Gore supporters fall short in effort to put him on Michigan ballot
now I'm starting to get worried..... here's more:
Update: NY Populist thankfully reminded me that most of the others are not going to be on the Michigan ballot either (except HRC of course).....
LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Efforts to collect enough signatures to put Al Gore on Michigan's January 15th Democratic presidential primary ballot have fallen short.
Supporters needed to collect more than 12,000 valid signatures by today, but collected only around 3,000.
Michigan Draft Gore co-chairman Bob Alexander says the group collected only about a fifth of the money it needed to mount a full-time petition drive.
Gore won Michigan in his unsuccessful 2000 presidential bid, but so far has not said he'll run again for the White House.
He still could get on the January 15th ballot as a write-in candidate if he files with the Michigan secretary of state's office by January 4. But his name will not appear on the regular primary ballot.
I don't understand what Mr. Gore is doing. In 2003, he made it very clear to the Draft Gore movement that he wanted them to stop their efforts. He hasn't done that this time; when asked directly, he has refused to tell us to cease and desist.
But we're getting closer to the moment where it's do or die for a possible Gore campaign. As has been diaried elsewhere, DFA is asking Gore to either get in or get out. I voted for Gore in their poll, and I still am hoping he gets in, but at some point, whether he says anything to the contrary or not, it's going to be over. The question for me is, when is that point?
Does anyone here have any knowledge that would give us hope? Any inkling of anything? Please?
I know the republicans will eventually get fired up about the race no matter who the candidates are, but after watching some of that debate the other night, there’s no doubt in my mind that they will rally to defeat Hillary more than anyone else. And part of this is because she hasn’t built any significant narrative, nor has she been able to build any sort of positive connection, and the reason for this is because she hasn’t really stood up and said what she stands for. There’s nothing worse to a voter than a politician who looks they are trying to be all things to all people. Rove painted Kerry this way in 2004, and they will do the same thing to Hillary. If Obama or Edwards was smart, they would go after her on this point soon– that she is too calculating, too power hungry, and too wishy washy in her positions to be trusted. Her vote for that non-binding Kyl ammendment on Iran was the perfect example– if that’s not trying to be all things to all people (she votes yes on that then says she’ll bring the troops home, trying to appeal to two different constituencies simultaneously), I don’t know what is.
This is why I want Gore in the race. There is no doubt in my mind that if he entered, he would run on what he really believes– you can see the bold narrative forming without a lot of difficulty:
"The last 6 years have been reckless and filled with fear. I believe America is capable of amazing things. I see the chaos on the international arena, the climate crisis we face, and our inability to remove ourselves from external energy sources as an amazing opportunity. I will put American ingenuity and perserverance up against anyone else in the world, and it is my belief that together we can build back our standing in the global community, we can protect our planet for our children and grandchildren, and we can do it together."
Every policy proposal he would come up with would feed back into this narrative of community and ingenuity. An Apollo project for energy independence (how about we call it the Prometheus Project?), extricating ourselves from the civil war in Iraq, asking the nation to sacrifice to combat islamic extremism, paying our own bills so our children won’t have to, making healthcare a right, not a privilege; all of these can be linked back to a narrative of ingenuity, opportunity, and community.
But only if the spokesman at the top of the ticket is genuine, and Gore’s work over the last 7 years makes him the best suited to carry this torch.
Run Al, Run!!!