On Friday night a friend in Orlando sent me a .mov file of a TV ad progressive Democrat Alan Grayson had been running this week in his race to replace garden variety rubber stamp Republican Ric Keller as the congressman from Florida's 8th CD. I see a lot of ads but this one just knocked me out. I had read the Vanity Fair story on Garyson's ongoing battle against war profiteers so I was familiar with the content. I just thought the ad was incredibly powerful. I posted it on YouTube late Friday and I blogged about it at DownWithTyranny and Daily Kos. This morning I noticed there were nearly 20,000 hits and some incredible comments. Please take a look at the 30 second ad:
It's gone viral and I thought some of these comments would be worth looking at:
"This is the best campaign ad of the season so far."
"[Grayson] is running a good campaign with one of the best commercials I've ever seen, and doing it without any help from the DC establishment."
"Hell yeah, that's the kind of ad all Democrats should be running."
"Now THAT'S a campaign ad."
"That is what AWESOME is!"
"Alan Grayson, who is running for Congress in FL-8, has unveiled a powerful TV ad. I hope we see more like this."
"Alan has been the only candidate with a TV ad up, and what a TV ad! If every Democratic candidate had an ad this powerful to run, we wouldn't be talking about gaining 12-20 House seats; we'd be talking about 30-50. Of course, not every candidate has a story as compelling as Alan's."
"This is how Democrats win elections."
"Alan Grayson (Blue America, FL-08) is exactly the kind of Democrat we need. A don't-give-an-inch, take-no-prisoners, put-the-criminals-in-jail Democrat."
"It's nice to see a candidate who is running on kicking some ass."
"Alan Grayson will nail cheaters to the wall."
"This guy is on the right track."
"Our country will be better off with more people like Alan Grayson in office."
"Wow. Send this guy to Washington!"
[From a journalist:] "I never, ever, ever endorse candidates. It's not appropriate for a journalist, at least not for me. I mean, I try to be up front about where my biases lie, but I still have that voice in my head whispering: 'don't endorse.' That said: Alan Grayson, running for Congress in Florida's eighth congressional district, is exactly the kind of politician I want to see in office."
"This is really excellent. It appeals to Republicans and Independents with its theme of fiscal responsibility, and it appeals to Democrats with its reminder that the Iraq war has diverted funds from everything more important-- at home and abroad."
"As someone who is concerned about government accountability, I admire exceedingly Alan Grayson, now running for our 8th District here in Florida."
[From a Republican:] "Who would have thought that a Democrat would love this nation so much that he cares about where all of our tax dollars are going in the no bid contract war in Iraq? Alan Grayson cares, and he deserves your vote if you live in the Orlando area."
"We need a new type of Congressional representative. And Grayson is one behind whom honest Republicans as well as Democrats ought to rally."
"Grayson freakin ROCKS!"
"I love this Democrat running for Congress. He isn't running from a big business background, but on grass roots, and that is why he needs your help to keep this campaign running. It's your tax dollars that he is fighting for. I'm loving this dude!"
If you like it, you can help keep the ad on TV and help replace a zombie-like Bush follower with a progressive with a sharp and independent mind... one who means business, the people's business! The Blue America ActBlue Alan Grayson page is open 24/7.