Larry Lessig Believes Democracy Is Screwed. So He's Running For President To Save It.
Source: Huffington Post
WASHINGTON -- Larry Lessig, a well-known legal theorist and political activist, is taking the plunge into electoral politics, announcing on Tuesday that he will formally explore a run for the presidency in 2016 as a Democrat.
Lessig, a Harvard law professor, will be a distinctly unconventional White House aspirant. In an interview, he said he will run on a singular platform: the Citizen Equality Act, which includes campaign finance reform, an end to partisan gerrymandering, and a vast expansion of voting access that would make Election Day a national holiday. Should he win and lead the passage of that agenda, Lessig said he'll promptly quit, handing the office to his vice president, whoever that may be.
“This is not a 'Rent Is Too Damn High' campaign,” Lessig said, referencing the infamous 2010 gubernatorial run of Jimmy McMillan in New York. “This is a campaign about how we need to intervene to make democracy possible again. Raising the salience of that issue is enormously important. I think there is more of a chance that we do more than just raise the salience. ... It is a shot worth taking regardless of the criticism that will come.”
Individuals have run for the White House before with the aim of spotlighting an issue more than occupying an office. Lessig is of that vein, having warned about the pernicious influence of money in politics for years now. It's almost fantastical to imagine the swift series of successes that would result in him challenging William Henry Harrison, who died after 32 days in office, for the shortest presidency.
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/larry-lessig-2016_55c93a18e4b0f1cbf1e61b66?kvcommref=mostpopular
More at link, including video. More people panicking as Bernie continues to steamroll, I suppose. Bernie light.
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