Draft Schweitzer 2008 petition is here! Sign it now!

[Cross-posted at many major liberal blogs and websites.]

Introducing the Draft Schweitzer 2008 petition, designed to convince Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer of the tremendous grassroots support he will find if he agrees to stand for the Presidency in 2008. Now those of us who want the Governor to run can finally take direct action on his behalf!

Please note -- and this is important: you DON'T have to be certain that you're voting for him in order to sign the petition. You just have to want the guy to run. Running will increase his national stature and help spread his reformist Democratic message across America, revitalizing the Democratic Party and helping it win elections.

The petition won't be sent to the Governor until Dec. 31, 2005, so we've got some time. However, at the end of this month (July), I'm turning over site administration to my co-blogger, Kevin McCarthy. Before then, I'd like to have one hundred signatures on the petition. So tell your friends. Tell your parents. Tell your husbands. And let's tell Governor Schweitzer how we feel!

Thanks to Kari Chisholm, who knows everything about politics, and to strandsofpearl, who is currently building a Schweitzer2008 Store and who provided valuable editorial assistance. Here's the text of the petition, written by Kevin and myself.

Draft Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer for President in 2008

We, the undersigned, declare our fervent hope that you, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, will stand for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2008.

America is in a state of crisis. Our military is stretched to the breaking point, hindering our national defense. Our soldiers and their families are enduring enormous strain due to lack of planning, producing overextended tours of duty and reduced veteran benefits. Our international standing is at an all-time low. Our domestic economy is suffering from a prolonged recession exacerbated by the policies of this administration, which is increasingly dividing our nation into haves and have-nots. Corporate special interest groups rule the halls of government, helping themselves to the spoils of power instead of helping the American people. The natural world is under continued assault by the government charged with protecting and conserving it. More and more Americans are finding their rights and liberties eroded. Partisan politics is dividing our country into two bitterly opposed camps, destroying America's spirit of community.

With the soul of our nation under attack by its own government, you and you alone have shown the kind of honest, principled, and decisive leadership necessary to restore this country's integrity and spirit. Where other politicians perform chameleon-like acrobatics in speeches, you are comfortable in your own skin. You stand for what you believe, and you lead with your heart rather than by what polls or focus groups say.

Furthermore, your leadership on issues of national importance has marked you as an outstanding standard-bearer of the Democratic Party, making you, more than any other Democrat, fit for the national stage. Your open-armed welcome to Montana's Native American community has shown the tolerance and willingness to compromise which are necessary to conduct successful foreign policy. Your innovative energy policies have set a standard that, if enacted at a national level, may well avert the looming energy crisis. Your attacks on corporate interests and your creative economic problem-solving are revitalizing the economy of Montana and are sorely needed in the rest of the country. Your passionate defense of conservation along with your devotion to individual liberty will be a welcome corrective to the disastrous policies of the current Republican administration. Your selection of a Republican for your lieutenant governor running mate is ample evidence that you are willing to be flexible in trying to end the partisanship that is gridlocking and poisoning Washington D.C. and spreading to the rest of the country. You recognize the hotbed of corruption that national politics have become, and your moral strength gives you the power to change things in our nation's capital, to renew American government from within. Most importantly, your inspiring honesty and belief in the American dream transcend politics and provide an opportunity to re-engage the American people in the political process, giving our government back to the populace.

For these and many other reasons, we urge you to consider our country's aching need for your leadership, and to take your message to America by running for President in 2008.

As any viable Presidential candidate must begin campaigning by January 2007 at the latest, this petition will be sent to you, Governor Schweitzer, on December 31, 2006. Thereafter, we hope to be able to support you with votes and donations rather than simply signatures.