Chicago Sun-Times columnist Don Terry profiles LeAlan Jones, who is running for U.S. Senate in Illinois as a Green. Terry writes that the 30-year-old is “green all right. He has never sought political office. So he knows what you’re thinking: He’s a kid. He must be nuts. He doesn’t have a chance. ‘That’s what they said about Barack Obama,’ Jones said. ‘They said he was too young, too inexperienced. Nobody gave him a chance either.’”
Terry continues, “Long shot or no-shot, I’m looking forward to watching Jones run. At the start of every election season I look in the mirror and make the same vow to myself: This time, I’m going to vote my conscience. No more holding my nose and voting for the lesser evil. No more being pragmatic when I should be principled. No more falling for the hype and getting played by politicians who promise gourmet meals and deliver crumbs. Then the mirror starts fogging up and I go out and vote for Tweedledee over Tweedledum. One thing is certain. Jones is no Tweedle.”
7 responses so far ↓
1 Robert Milnes // Aug 13, 2009 at 5:58 am
One thing is absolutely certain: if he is green and not supporting the Progressive Libertarian Alliance Strategy, he will lose.
2 Brian S. // Aug 13, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Thank you Robert Milnes for making me laugh every time you write something.
3 Jeremy Young // Aug 13, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Robert, how exactly does someone pursue the PLAS in a state that doesn’t allow fusion candidacies and when they’re not running as part of a ticket? Other than getting some libertarians to like him, or saying “I support the PLAS,” I don’t see what Jones could do to advance your strategy.
4 Peter Orvetti // Aug 14, 2009 at 9:42 am
Jones is really a fascinating guy. I recommend reading the article in full. I’m a Libertarian, obviously, but I’d much prefer him as my senator than any of the likely D/R contenders in Illinois.
5 Third Party Revolution // Aug 14, 2009 at 2:33 pm
I bet most third party folks would.
6 Donald R. Lake // Aug 14, 2009 at 3:20 pm
Thank you Peter, we alternative political folk can make a difference, but the Dems, and GOP and OUR SELVES prevent it time and time again!
7 Dave Schwab // Aug 17, 2009 at 12:48 pm
The Illinois Green Party is preparing to run viable, hard-charging campaigns in 2010. They already have a full slate of statewide candidates, and they are busy adding local and congressional candidates.
LeAlan Jones is a fantastic candidate running for Obama’s old US Senate seat.
http://www.lealanforsenate.com/
Rich Whitney, running for governor, got over 10% of the gubernatorial vote in 2006 on a shoestring campaign:
http://www.whitneyforgov.org/
Matt Reichel is a congressional candidate in Rahm Emanuel’s former district, who is running on a platform that is inspired in part by Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul:
http://www.mattreichel.us/
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