Yesterday Ben Braver, a progressive state Senate candidate in the Tampa suburbs turned 22. In the 18 years Blue America has been operating, I don’t think we ever asked anyone to contribute to a candidate because it’s their birthday.
This time, we kind of are. Ben is 22; please give him $22— or any amount you want. But not really as a birthday present. Instead do it because he’s part of the bright future of the Democratic Party, the state of Florida and the U.S.
Braver made a good case about this whole “future of the” thing. “Who,” he wrote, “has a greater vested interest in our nation than the people who will enjoy the benefits of wise decisions and suffer the consequences of short-sightedness? Who will work more tirelessly to secure a future where America flourishes than those who will be here longest? [T]hroughout my time on the campaign trail I have been told countless times by constituents, friends, and random passers-by that we need change, that we need energy. The desire for fresh faces I have seen is not just trans-partisan, it’s growing stronger.”
Obviously he brought up the debate “between the two oldest candidates for president in American history” and noted “the yearning for someone who could energetically throw Trump’s bluster and lies back in his face is palpable.”
