Progressive voters have been pleased with the leftward trend of the party this cycle. In 2016, Bernie really shifted the conversation with his massive grassroots funding and campaign. He also changed how we should expect our candidates to approach funding, and what our candidates should support. PACs and large dollar donations may cut it if we’re in favor of the same-old-same-old, but if we want a candidate supported by the people, then the PEOPLE need to fund that campaign.
And, while the leftward trend has been a breath of fresh air to those of us concerned about the slow, decrepit crawl to the right, there is one candidate who wants to prompt the current crop of candidates even further in that direction. And he announced his exploratory committee on Twitter this morning much to my surprise and delight.
I talked about it on Liberal Minded Ladies of Substance, but it really needs its own article space.
Who is this hero of the left you may ask?
MIKE GRAVEL
I, too, was surprised to see his name trending on Twitter and, like a lot of people, feared it was because he died. Imagine my surprise to read through the trending feed and realize it was because he was going to run for President.
Gravel created one of the most effective political ads in 2008 — Rock. Pundits called him immediately to talk about what it meant and what his plans were. People (like me) watched it, a bit mystified, but thinking: “Who is this guy? I have to find out more.”
And who can forget his time on the debate stage where he took no prisoners? He had words for Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama… And his stated goal for this run is not to win, but to continue to shift the party back where it belongs, as the left-center party in America.
I don’t know about you, but I look forward to seeing him on the debate stage again.
If you want to follow this on Twitter, who ever is running that account is on FIRE.
Mike Gravel Twitter
Just a reminder that Mike Gravel has a history of doing stuff like this. He voted to end the Vietnam War, end the Draft, and tried to read the Pentagon Papers into the Senate record.
This guy is awesome.