Can we get Rep Alan Grayson to run for President?

[SugarShack]

His courage knows no boundries. The nation loves him...well half the nation.


He should start making rounds in IA.

[grahamhgreen]

1. Feingold/Greyson!

[NorthCarolina]

37. Sign me up! nt

[AnArmyVeteran]

44. I like that ticket anyway you look at it! They wouldn't cower to opposition.

[SugarShack]

2. Great combo....Feingold keeps to our democratic principles

[Naturyl]

3. Can't win, at least yet.

But I fully support making him someone who can - and that starts with encouraging him to stay active and keep his voice in the limelight - preferably from "outside" Washington for a little while. The American voter hates a "politician" and loves an "outsider."

A radio or TV show with him as host would be incredible.

[bobbolink]

20. Him winning in 2012 isn't the point.... being the thorn in Obama's side that keeps him from going

further and further right IS the point.

A strong primary is a good thing.

[Naturyl]

21. Fine with me.

I'm all for trying to move the dialogue to the left.

[bobbolink]

24. Exactly. There are so many here who are totally against that, and don't remember that is what the

political process is all about.

The problem is, the "left" would have to get highly organized... and we don't seem to do that so well.

[Naturyl]

25. "Herding cats" might be a cliche, but it's dead-on

Left-leaning people tend to think for themselves habitually - even when they really ought to be focusing on working together.

The leftist circular firing squad is well-known for a reason. When I was younger, I used to be interested in checking out the various socialist movements, but they were invariably totally eaten up with infighting and doctrinal sectarianism.

If a unified left ever emerges, it will have to be specifically designed with "herding cats" in mind and do everything it can to counteract the tendency.

[bobbolink]

27. Well that hasn't always been the case historically, so there is hope.

A lot of "leftist" movements have come together to change this country, and did it well. I also remember well the late 60s, and a lot of working well together. Even when women got tired of the paternalism of the men, and pulled away, the result was a lot of forward movement and eventually working much better together. (There were a lot of men who also pullled back and supported the women.)

As you know, *my* sticking point is that "leftists" today don't recognize poverty as a priority, like they did in the 60s. I can't put my own interests on hold for superficial things like legalization of marijuana when there is no reciprocity.

[Naturyl]

28. I think that's kind of the reason it's become "herding cats"

The core Democratic issues - poverty, strong labor unions, and that sort of thing, have been successfully de-fused by the right-wing indoctrination machine. In the absence of a united focus on these core issues, liberal thinking has turned into a panoply of different viewpoints on things of lesser importance. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for things like gay rights, weed legalization, etc - but I said what I said. They just aren't as pressingly important as poverty, labor, and the forgotten Democratic values.

Democrats used to know this - and that's why they used to be much more united. Of course, having suggested that the social issues liberals value above all these days are of anything less than supreme penultimate importance, I now expect to be flamed.

[bobbolink]

29. Well, if it comes to the attention of David Sirota that you are consigning weed to secondary status,

you will definitely be flamed.

That is THE issue of the latte liberals. For Sirota, poverty doesn't exist.

[Naturyl]

31. It's a legitimate issue.

Weed prohibition is dumb, wasteful, and ruins lives.

However, let's face it (if we are willing), someone's right to smoke a joint just doesn't rate anywhere near the reality of hunger and homelessness on the moral importance scale.

Those who think it does... well, what are you gonna do? If they see things that way, I doubt there's any reaching them.

[bobbolink]

34. No, there isn't any reaching them. As one local pastor said, he saw that Sirota was just a young

white affluent male, typically self-absorbed.

I had to agree.

Only his superficial issues matter.

I earlier forgot vegetarianism. After all, that would keep all the poor people well-fed, would it not? :grr:

That's pretty much it for the depth of thought from that corner. Self-absorbed.

[Naturyl]

35. It's the psychological/political reality.

Most people won't get until they've experienced it. That's the core conundrum at the heart of all this. On one hand, we don't want anyone else to have to experience poverty, but on the other hand, nothing will be done about poverty unless they do.

This may not have always been the political reality, but in the aftermath of the "me decades" (which have included every decade since the 1970's), that's the way it is now.

The kind of compassion that would allow people to understand the realities of poverty without having to experience them firsthand is largely a thing of the past. That kind of compassion has to be cultivated intentionally, and our culture doesn't do that at all anymore.

[grahamhgreen]

39. Exactly! Start the campaign tomorrow - before we give more tax cuts to billionaires!

[VMI Dem]

4. I'd back that.

[global1]

5. I Don't Think He's Ready For The Presidency But......

as Dems we have to figure out how he could still be a voice for the party going forward. Over the next two years in the run up for 2012 I would like to make sure that we have his input and he is heard by the American people. He did get beat pretty bad in Florida. What happened?

[Bryn]

6. He is very ready!!

He got beaten down by idiots in his district. That's all. But nationally he's very popular.

[marmar]

12. He's popular with us in the liberal base nationally.....

Yesterday's election proved that we're hardly the majority in the country.

[Smarmie Doofus]

7. Third party money. According to Thom Hartman.

>>>>>>>He did get beat pretty bad in Florida. What happened?>>>>>>>>

[upi402]

8. The * party didn't care that Kucinich was black-balled from debates

They would not let Grayson rat them out either. But I would love it! I would work for that guy.

[leftstreet]

9. Watch Jerry Brown. If he can get a single payer system in CA....

[marmar]

10. Not to be a downer.....I like Alan Grayson a whole bunch.....but I bet most of America....

..... has no idea who he is.

[Kurovski]

17. That's supposed to be a plus these days

:shrug:

[DailyGrind51]

11. We definitely need to look at a new presidential candidate for 2012.

[Smarmie Doofus]

13. If it becomes clear the we need a primary challenge ...

.... from the DEM wing of the party in 2012, Grayson would be uniquely well suited.

Phenomenal communicator and one of the few nationally known DEMs that would have the crust to challenge a sitting president.

But.... we must wait and see.

[bobbolink]

36. Does anyone have the website yet?

I say...

Draft Grayson!

[11 Bravo]

14. I'd vote for him. Me and maybe 15 million other Americans. Unfortunately ...

that would add up to approximately an 80%-20% defeat and an equally lopsided Electoral College landslide.

[scheming daemons]

15. You've got to be joking... you want to nominate someone who couldn't win their own district????

"Half the nation" doesn't love him.

Half of his own district doesn't even love him!

[Kurovski]

16. We could easily win

if we had 900 billion dollars.

[DrDan]

18. he drew less than 40% against a RW fundie . . . .

I also like his outspoken attitude - but lets get real.

[NYC Liberal]

19. I like Grayson, but that would be a disaster in the making.

So I'd have to pass. How about he win his own district?

[alcibiades_mystery]

22. Glutton for punishment, eh?

God these threads are dumb.

[rucky]

23. He needs to start a training academy for Dem activists, bloggers & politicians

It's the closest we're going to get to cloning him.

[Inuca]

26. Too funny

Painfully so.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

30. Anybody who claimed Obama didn't have enough experience can't support Grayson.

[Terra Alta]

32. I like Grayson, but having a primary challenger to Obama

would hurt us, not help us. There would be millions of dollars spent on primary wars that would be better spent on House and Senate races. It would also show the right that we are divided.. we don't need that. And if by some chance Obama did lose the primary, Grayson would get killed in the general election, whereas Obama would win easily.

Grayson would be better fit for DNC chair right now, and possibly a Grayson/Feingold ticket in 2016.

[Jamastiene]

38. That would give us longer to build him up and

get his name out there more if we waited until 2016. In that amount of time, he could get the message out more and build on his following longer.

[Shining Jack]

42. I agree about the inner wars but disagree about the rest.

The elections are still 2 years away. Don't know if Grayson is the perfect candidate or not but I doubt that someone else than Obama would get killed in the general election.

[PeaceNikki]

33. I say Feingold/Franken in 2016.

I like him, but Grayson, while an effective politician, does not (IMO) have the temperament to be the kind of statesman a president must be.

[bluedigger]

40. I don't know. Ask him.

But seriously, as a primary challenger within the party, I wouldn't give him much of a chance in 2012. Which doesn't mean he shouldn't do it. It would bring him to the national stage, give him a chance to build an organization for 2016, and much needed experience. It's highly likely Biden will step aside in 2012 anyways, in which case he could be a potential running mate. I don't see Obama moving left, however, so that is a long shot.

Then again, as a third columnist, he might be the guy to build a counter to the tea partiers. A four way race would be pretty wild...

If I see his name on a ballot, even for dogcatcher, he's getting my vote. Period.

[snot]

41. K&R'd

[AnArmyVeteran]

43. I agree, Grayson's courage would be refreshing to the the electorate.

[Obamanaut]

45. But not loved well enough for a second House term? nt

[FrenchieCat]

46. Welcome to DU

:hi:

[Dreamer Tatum]

47. I'm sure you can get him to run for President

And get, what, 1% of the vote?

Seriously, what about Tuesday indicates to anyone that someone MORE left has a rat's chance in hell?