Run ED, Run By: Mark W Adams

UPDATE: DRAFT ED PETITION

Where would the Anti-Beck, Ed Schultz be more effective?  Should he run for the Senate as requested by retiring Byron Dorgan and the party elders, that august body that deliberates the sweeping changes this nation so desparately needs at a glacial pace?  Or should he remain in broadcasting, fighting the culture war and acting as one of the few voices countering Beck's lies, misinformation and hysterics while continuing to educate the public with, you know ... facts.

I'm thinking Senator Dorgan should call a do-over and chalk his decision to retire as a senior moment.  But if wishes were horses...

By the way, this all presupposes he'd win.  North Dakota is a fairly conservative state, as all prairie states tend to be.  But I've no doubt about Ed's popularity, and witnessing his enthusiasm at the dozens and dozens of town halls he's held from Alaska to North Carolina, frankly, I think he's better "on the stump" than at 30 Rock.  He's at his best with a live audience, better than the more free-form radio show that made him famous and without the constraints the slice-n-dice format requires for televised news shows.  He just never seems comfortable in the studio ... or wearing a tie.  With his charisma and messaging ability, he's got a helluva shot.

I honestly don't know what I'd do if I were Ed, what he and his wife Wendy have to consider in such a big move.  There's a brass ring there for the grasping, and Zarathustra knows we could use more true progressives in the Government.  There's also the Peter Principle to consider.  But my question is more broad ... and selfish.  Where does Ed do the most good for the nation, for the nation that we liberals want to see? 

I wonder what Al Franken would advise him.  Is the broadcasting war more important, more effective by offering a much-needed and solid platform for progressive ideas nationally, or (if he wins) getting in there where policy is made and one vote matters so very much?  Okay, I know what Al would say because we all saw what Al did, and I love him for it. 

There's a reason Beck, Hannity and Limbaugh never ran for anything.  Their proffered sense of faux patriotism, in conformity with their notion of conservatism, doesn't allow them to take a pay cut -- because they love their country so much, Feh!

Go for it Big Guy.