Dear MoveOn member,
This past Sunday, The Boston Globe surprised almost everyone by publishing a full-page, full-throated, editorial in which it joined the call for Elizabeth Warren to run for president.1
This was a huge announcement. The Globe's endorsement dominated political news coverage, from CNN to The Washington Post to MSNBC, and has upended conventional wisdom about what the Democratic primary might end up looking like.
But as The Nation's Washington correspondent, John Nichols, explained, this is exactly how draft campaigns work. Here's what he wrote on Monday:
The first element of a movement to draft a candidate for the presidency—and, make no mistake, a serious effort to draft Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren into the race for the 2016 Democratic nomination is now afoot—involves popular mobilization. Grassroots activists have to get engaged in the development of a campaign that tells a reluctant candidate that there really is a base of support out there in first-caucus and first-primary states—and across the country. This has happened, as an increasingly ambitious "Run Warren Run" movement has taken shape in Iowa, New Hampshire and other states.
The second element is trickier. To the grassroots mobilization must be added a measure of elite opinion that might tip a reluctant prospect (as Warren surely is) toward serious consideration of a candidacy. ... And now The Boston Globe has provided formal confirmation of the enthusiasm.2
The Boston Globe editorial shows how we can translate grassroots energy into elite opinion. But let's not stop with The Boston Globe. Letters to the editor are the first step in showing editorial boards across the country that there's a groundswell of support for the newspaper to take a position.
Our simple online tools make it easy to submit your letter to one or more of your local papers. All you need to do is say, in your own words, why you think Elizabeth Warren joining the presidential race is so important.
Our Run Warren Run campaign undeniably has momentum, from hundreds of thousands of activists across the country to field offices in New Hampshire and Iowa to a growing shift in what media and political elites are thinking.
Let's keep that momentum going by getting more newspapers to showcase the Run Warren Run effort.
Thanks for all you do.
–Mark, Stephen, Ben O., Maria, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Democrats need Elizabeth Warren's voice in 2016 presidential race," The Boston Globe, March 22, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=303679&id=110394-10220574-EM1mRPx&t=3
2. "The 'Draft Elizabeth Warren' Campaign Gets a Big Boost from 'The Boston Globe,'" The Nation, March 23, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=303680&id=110394-10220574-EM1mRPx&t=4
We're part of a growing grassroots movement to convince Senator Warren to run for president. Help build the momentum—start a monthly donation here or chip in a one-time donation here.
PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. This email was sent to eddie alfaro on March 27, 2015. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.
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