Daily Kos: One of Our Own Declares Candidacy
One of Our Own Declares Candidacy
by SusanG
Fri May 26, 2006 at 10:53:44 AM EDT
(Bumped -- kos)
Like a lot of progressives, I take politics personally. For me, and for the rest of the Daily Kos community, politics doesn't get much more personal than with Brian Keeler's announcement yesterday of his candidacy for the 41st State Senate seat in New York.
Brian - or NYBri as he's known around these orange parts - is one of the first examples of a candidate homegrown and nurtured by this very community. I'll let him tell his own story in his own way - and fill you in on his opponent and his district demographics here - but I know from my personal relationship with him that the fire, the commitment and the passionate desire to improve our country is a direct result of his involvement with this community. Like many of us, he cut his teeth here during Bush's first term, participating in comments, learning, writing diaries, howling at the direction in which our country's been taken ... and now he's taking OUR agenda out into hard, cruel political world.
For people who claim blogs do nothing but yak yak yak, and navel-gaze, consider this: Brian wouldn't be the candidate he is without the nearly encyclopedic knowledge and the passion this community offers its members. There isn't a talking point his opponent can throw at him today that he won't be able to shoot down instinctively because we've all discussed typical Republican spin, there isn't an issue he won't know how to frame. His candidacy is our candidacy, and we should be ecstatic.
It's not only that he's one of us, either. It's that he is one of the best representatives I can imagine of the direction we want our party and our country to take. From my first personal involvement with Brian during the heat of the Gannon investigation, through the 18-hour days of creating and incorporating ePluribus Media, to being founding members of Political Cortex together, he has invariably shown passion, patience, humor, an eagerness to innovate, a willingness to work hours you wouldn't wish on a sled dog, and a questing and eager intelligence. He is, in short, the exemplar of the best of Daily Kos.
Aside from his character and brains, he's a great face and voice for our movement. His background in acting has made him entirely comfortable in public speaking situations, he's quick on his feet (or vocal cords) in interview situations - when I was too chicken to go on Air America regarding the Gannon investigation, Brian fielded an on-air interview with Randi Rhodes while driving in downtown Manhattan on the way to an audition. The public stuff? A piece of cake for this guy. He's polished, he's smooth, he's smart ... and the best part of it is: He's for real, and he knows how to communicate it.
We've all played a part in incubating this talent, and I urge all of you to support his run for the New York State Senate with everything you've got. If you live in the area, volunteer. If you have a few stray bucks, throw them his way. If you can't manage either, go to his diary and his campaign website and let him know you're backing him all the way as he takes our message out into the streets and parks and town halls in his district.
He's taking our country and our party back for all of us at Daily Kos.
And no, this message wasn't approved by Brian Keeler. He hasn't a clue that I've written such an embarrassingly laudatory post. It comes straight from my heart - and out to this sensational community and the best damn candidate I can imagine representing it in the 2006 election year.
