I get it - Clark's not running. Why he hasn't come out and said so is a mystery to me, and to the few people still paying any attention to Clark's continuing refusal to rule out a 2008 run definitively.
Nevertheless, Clark did recently direct attetion to ActBlue, and he did recently tell Charlie Rose on 7/26/2007 that lack of financial support is a key factor in his hesitation to get in the race. So, before he definitively backs out, I'm going to do what little I can to drum up some campaign-spendable support via ActBlue, so I can rest easy that my donation will not be wasted if Clark doesn't run, but instead will be used advance the same goals Clark himself has been working to advance.
Candidate or not, I appreciate the way Clark has successfully backed Howard Dean's 50 state strategy (helping elect the likes of Jim Webb and Jon Tester, thus tilting the Senate to the dems), not to mention his acumen with respect to national security, foreign affairs, economics, and social justice, as well as his inclination and ability to engage the opposition (whether Fox news junkies or renegade Iranians). The man deserves our respect, our thanks, and most importantly our emulation.
That's why, on the off chance that an ACTUAL SHOW of bankable netroots support might make a difference to his final decision on 2008, I've decided that now is an appropriate time to start donating to the Draft Clark fund on ActBlue, and asking others to join me. In all likelihood, these funds will end up in the hands of the DNC and applied by Howard Dean to his 50 state strategy, which suits me just fine (BushCo and its allies in Congress have created a unique historic opening for this strategy as a result of their rampant corruption, incompetence, far right-wing extremism, and damage to national security).
Please donate here, and do so with your eyes open. This is a salute to the general, a thanks for his party-building approach to politics, and a way of joining Dean, Clark and others in their efforts. If enough people get on board, it might nudge Clark toward an Exploratory Committee. If not, it's just as well - we will have done the party some good, strengthened ActBlue as a channel of bottom-up activism (as Clark recently requested his supporters to do), and committed a satisfying act of political self expression.
Why I still support the idea of a Clark Exploratory Committee
- It's the only way to really tell whether there's a lot of latent support out there or not (talk is cheap!)
- He would greatly enrich the debate on many fronts (in case anyone here still doesn't know, he's a former Rhodes Scholar and teacher of college-level economics as well as former Supreme Allied Commander of Nato forces during the counter-genocide Kosovo war)
- He would be a strong contender in the general election with the potential of quite long, map-changing coattails (Clark is NOT Kerry!)
- Nobody seems to be closing the gap on Hillary - if Clark can show he's learned how to campaign since 2004, it's possible there will be enough positive chatter to put him back on the map
- There's no shame in backing out if an Exploratory Committee goes nowhere - he will still have ample opportunities to contribute in other ways (for example, stumping for Fighting Dems and other Red State democratic challengers in 2008).
It's a long shot that my efforts and the efforts of those who join me will make a significant impact, but I will have done all I could (which was not true a month ago), and this being the Internet, you never know. Before I put in a dime, the Draft Clark fund had stagnated at about $4,600. I started out with a modest $100 contribution, and chipped in again, as promised, when the number broke $5,000. As of this writing, the Draft Clark fund holds $5,633. When the number breaks $10,000, I'll chip in again and then look to the next goal (maybe overtaking Obama's $27k?). This may not amount to much more than a hill of beans, "but damn it, this is OUR hill, and these are OUR beans!"
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See how Clark stacks up in terms of cold, hard, netroots support here:
http://www.actblue.com/directory
More details on how ActBlue works here:
http://www.actblue.com/faq
You can also pre-order "A Time To Lead" on Amazon:
Amazon.com
If you prefer to pledge instead of donate now, here's one place you can go:
Jordan11's recent dkos post
If you would like to sign a Draft Clark petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?wesclark