Today Senator Dodd has picked up another great blogger endorsement. David of Blue Mass Group, Massachusetts' leading community blog, has a ringing endorsement post up now.
[T]here's only one candidate among the current crop who has really stood out on multiple occasions when true leadership was called for. Even when it meant taking a lonely stand that was going to annoy not only the president, but the head honchos of his own party. Even when it meant leaving the campaign for an indeterminate period of time, because what was going on in the US Senate -- his day job -- was more important. Sure, other Democrats quickly fell into line once he got the ball rolling. But on Michael Mukasey, on habeas corpus, and most recently on FISA, one guy has taken that all-important first step, regardless of the cost to his campaign and to his comfort level in the go-along-to-get-along Senate.
That guy is Chris Dodd.
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At the end of the day, I want someone whose leadership I can count on when the going is really rough. Obama, Clinton, and the rest of the gang may well be able to deliver that, and I hope they can. But we really don't know, because they haven't done it yet. (And no, telling auto workers that cars need to get better gas mileage doesn't count.) Dodd was the first Dem to publicly oppose Mukasey when the rest of the Dems seemed resigned to the notion that if we don't confirm this guy, Bush will just give us someone worse; and he probably annoyed Harry Reid no end with his FISAbuster, thereby making life more difficult for himself should he remain in the Senate. He has consistently led the pack on some of the most important issues to have hit the Senate recently; the others have followed.Finally, a word about "electability." Dodd, of course, is not favored to win the nomination, nor is he expected to come close in any of the early caucuses or primaries. I don't care. I am not interested in basing my vote on what I, the pollsters, or the media think that other voters are going to do. I cannot control their votes, and of course it's possible that the predictions may be wrong in any event. The only vote I can control is mine, and I plan to cast it for the candidate who I think would actually make the best president. Hopefully he will remain in the race through February 5 so that I have the chance to do so.
As I said above, on some very big recent issues, Dodd has consistently led, and the others have followed. I want the leader.
Absolutely! Leadership is what this country needs, and as we saw earlier today with Jason Rosenbaum's post on MyDD, Dodd's supporters are people who think the best way to pick our country's leader is by looking at who is leading now. That person is Chris Dodd and David makes a great case for why. Welcome to the Dodd Squad, David!
Comments
Please, could you remind all these enthusiastic people that there's a great world out there not connected to the internets? I'd say we need a water-cooler brigade, if everyone hadn't turned to bottled water. But, you get the idea.
Slowly, the spine doth grow:
Senator Dodd: As an anti-torture advocate, I support you because of your leadership on this issue and for your persistent support for habeas corpus. I encourage you to follow your conscience and to speak loudly and clearly in ethical and legal terms that Americans will understand. You are an underdog in this race and have nothing to lose. You have the opportunity to make a vital contribution to the debate in this country. Go out on a limb and do it. Filibuster, raise emotions. History will be grateful - and who knows? You just might win.
**Also -- you really should have been there for the Mukasey vote. No matter what the count was expected to be. It was your duty, as a senator, to register a vote against an Attorney General who could not say that drowning without killing is torture. And as it turned out, you *could* have filibustered after all. Even more importantly, though, you should have filibustered the Military Commissions Act. We kept waiting for someone, anyone, to show moral and political leadership there. It was such a clear case. It would have made that person a hero. More importantly, it was the right thing to do.