On my marvelously capable would-be competitors:

Tuesday is decision day. At this point I am leaning heavily toward getting into this race because I feel that I bring to it ideas and perspectives that no one in the race has set forth. Still, I think it is extremely important to recognize that my plan does not spring from frustration with the other candidates. Nor is my candidacy built on conviction that I am a better candidate than all of them or perhaps any of them. The most important thing about this race is that everyone who is in it has extremely valuable things to contribute, yet none can fully succeed unless the mindset of people across the board needs to change. I am part of a small but extremely mighty national giving circle’s political research committee. One of the things that one committee member says a lot is that regardless of what we do, we are “not” the Democratic Party. Fundamentally I disagree.

If we limit our understanding of the Democratic Party to the people who serve in Democratic organizations, or who serve on the DNC or campaign staffers and elected officials, we lose sight of a core truth. The Democratic Party is the nearly 75,000,000 people who voted to make Kamala Harris President, but it is also the 15,000,000 who bothered to vote in our Presidential primary process despite it not being competitive. It is everyone who donated to one of our campaigns. If we are to win the fight to save the country we love, it will be because of the actions that millions take, not because of the actions that DNC members alone take it. It will take all of us, and for something that will take all of us, it will require that a lot be asked of all of us.

This is the most important question: how do you ask people to stretch just a little bit on your behalf because they think it is worth it? That starts with treating them with more respect and making it clear that success or failure really does rest on the actions you do or do not choose to take. As someone who has knocked on tens of thousands of doors of strangers and made thousands of calls, it is clear to me that those two actions alone, (now considered to be the principal volunteer action within campaigns), while nudging some voters to take action, are not enough. While some people in the party have tinkered with different ideas, they are always supplemental, and funded at a lesser level.

Perhaps instead we need to replace the very core of what and how we do things. Such change will come only when we all decide it is necessary. Were I to run it would be because I believe we need fundamental not modest changes to be confident in the future. The people who are running so far are all very good candidates. But this race should most of all be about the depth of the platform, not just the strength of candidate resumes. Whoever wins will need each and every one of us to be successful.