It feels good to vote for somebody you really believe in, whose ideas you really agree with. And that's what democracy is all about, isn't it? The right to vote for the candidate of your choice, not just the proverbial "lesser of two evils."
I, for one, have decided that because Barack Obama no longer deserves my vote, since he is not fighting for the the principles and policies I believe in, I would like to cast my vote for somebody better. I believe that man is Senator Bernie Sanders.
I am pleased to inform the Daily Kos community that there is now a Draft Bernie Sanders for President 2012 movement underway.
You know the expression "shit or get off the pot"? I think progressives who are angry or disappointed with President Obama's centrist or center-right policies and his lack of willingness to fight for what we believe in need to make a decision. If we really no longer support Barack Obama, if we no longer see him as "our guy," then we need to find somebody else to vote for. Otherwise, all the bitching and moaning about Obama is just empty rhetoric -- like Obama's empty rhetoric from his campaign that we now look back upon with disgust.
I am not one to sit around blogging all day, every day, about how angry I am, how sad I am about politics in America. What would be the point? It's just a lot of negative energy being wasted. What I am going to do -- what's worth it -- is to do what I can to increase the chances that I will be able to cast my vote in the 2012 presidential election with pride, not with a clothespin on my nose.
Therefore, yesterday I created a website, sandersforpresident.org, asking people to sign a petition to Sen. Bernie Sanders asking him to run for president in 2012. The petition letter reads:
Dear Senator Sanders,
We, the undersigned, admire and thank you for your great service to this country in the United States Senate and House of Representatives. We are grateful that you have devoted yourself to fighting for progressive legislation that will improve America and the lives of its people.
Now, at this crucial moment in U.S. history — at a time in which our economy and financial system are enduring the worst collapse since the Great Depression; the middle class is suffering and declining while the extremely wealthy grow ever richer; and good American jobs are disappearing from this country, perhaps never to return — we believe your firm and passionate voice of reason is needed in the 2012 presidential debate. Somebody such as yourself with the credibility and experience as a national public servant needs to arise in this decisive hour and provide America with a real choice: a candidate for president who understands the causes of our nation’s problems and what must be done, urgently, to solve them.
Now is not the time for compromise or retreat, as the current occupant of the White House seems to believe. On the contrary, now is the time for bold and heroic actions to save America from the grave possibility of permanent decline. We know that you understand this, that you can feel it in your gut. Your intelligence, experience, and fighting spirit are needed at this time at the highest level of the national political debate.
We would be honored to be able to vote for you for President of the United States in 2012. We believe you are the person America needs in the White House and we are ready to give everything we can — our time, our money, our passion — to help make that happen. We ask you to consider our request that you run for president in 2012, in whatever party you wish to associate yourself with or as an independent, according to your conscience.
Thank you for giving serious consideration to our request.
Sincerely,
If you agree, please sign this letter. If enough people do, Sen. Sanders might actually consider running for president and giving progressives a choice to vote for. Help it go viral by promoting it on Facebook, too.
Bernie Sanders would not just be a protest vote. He is a sitting United States Senator with an extensive political resume, talks tough, and backs up his talk with action to fight for progressive policies such as in today's filibuster. Bernie Sanders could beat Barack Obama in the Democratic primary or possibly even win as an independent. Americans are deeply frustrated and angry with establishment politicians from both parties. The 2012 election may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a real agent of change to not only run but actually win.
Even if Sanders doesn't win, he will dramatically change the debate in this country if he runs for president. He will shift the Overton window to the left, making progressive ideas part of the national political conversation again. That would be a major victory in and of itself -- and something this country desperately needs.
Would you like to hear this bold progressive U.S. Senator in the national presidential debates? You can help make it happen!