YES.
First, all we have to do is publicize Senator Sessions’ “real” name. Really, JEFFERSON BEAUREGARD SESSIONS, III? No wonder the guy goes by “Jeff.”
But on to the real reasons…..
- Ron Sparks “gets it.” By that I mean he understands the struggles that the average Alabama voter meets every day: paying a car payment, house payment (or rent), the worry that your job is going overseas, and the price of gas.
- Ron Sparks is a strong consumer advocate whose message resonates with regular people: From the Daily Kos blog: “During his first term in office, he secured new trade markets for the state in Cuba, improved Alabama’s school lunch system from a grade of F to a B-plus (you can see Sparks’ video message on YouTube), moved to protect Alabama’s water resources, and generally served as a hard-nosed consumer safety advocate. His successful tenure allowed him to build a broad coalition of support, from the Alabama Education Association, to the conservative Alabama Farmers Federation (which endorses very few Democrats), to the AFL-CIO and the Business Council of Alabama. And he was able to build this coaltion all while being a fiery, populist Democrat.”
- Ron Sparks is a friend of the Netroots. Just check this diary on DailyKos!
- Ron Sparks reminds us of why we’re Democrats. From the Alabama Democratic Web site, we offer this quote:
“I don’t know about you, but I’m getting tired of the $3 a gallon gasoline. I’m tired of seeing Exxon-Mobile bringing out these $10 billion profits. I’ll tell you something: There’s something wrong when you pay an executive, a CEO of a large company, $28,000 an hour,” Sparks said to applause. “We haven’t increased minimum wage in this country since 1997. We had a minimum wage in Washington, and they tied the estate tax to it.”
With all that going for him - not to mention that 2008 should be a banner Democratic year - I’m predicting that we Democrats can reclaim a US Senate seat.
Help us out! Encourage Ron Sparks to challenge Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, III in 2008.
