Federal Elections Commission documents are wonderful things, providing interesting little bits of information that the newspapers and television newscasts don’t bother their little heads about. This afternoon, I’m perusing a document called the Statement of Organization that was filed on August 11 this year. It’s for a group called Draft Gore. Yes, they’ve got a web site, and a mailing address too. It’s in Oakland, California.
However, Eva Ritchey, the treasurer for the organization, lives all the way across the continent, in Hendersonville, North Carolina. This seems to be a truly national movement, though it may cover the territory in between California and North Carolina rather sparsely. The group has a bank account, but has it taken in any money? There are, as of yet, no financial filings for the group. Maybe next quarter.
As an Internet presence, this is actually not a new group. The web site shows a picture with a DraftGore.com sign from New Hampshire in 2003, and refers to “building on 2004″. Building on 2004? As I remember it, the Draft Gore movement in 2004 fizzled. Maybe the group should not so much build upon its work of 2004 as learn from it and try a different approach.
However, there is good Gore stuff to look forward to in 2007. Next spring, Al Gore is scheduled to release another book, this one to be entitled The Assault on Reason. The subject matter of the book will focus on the way manner in which political discourse has become removed from a foundation in rational, fact-based arguments. That’s a much-needed perspective in these dark times. I won’t say that I’m a member of the Draft Gore movement, but as I have said about the campaign of Mike Gravel for President, I would welcome the addition of Al Gore’s voice to the 2008 campaign, as a challenge to the numbing mush that is currently the Democratic Party’s excuse for a political platform.
