Who will win the first Democratic Presidential Debate? I do not know. There is, however, one debate that I can abate, deflate and negate, right now. And that is the debate between principles and effectiveness. I’m not taking sides, but let me tell you something about Bernie Sanders that you probably didn’t know. He served for 16 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, and for much of that time, Bernie passed more amendments on the Floor of the House than any other Member of the House. That’s right: the one Member who belonged to neither party passed more amendments than any Member who belonged to either party. Good, solid progressive amendments. Lots of them. He was principled, and he was effective. Bernie has moved on to the other side of the building, the Senate side. The Member who now holds the title of “Most Amendments Passed” in the last two years is … me. Solid, progressive amendments. Principled, and effective. Make a contribution of $3 before tonight’s presidential debate if you want to see me in the Senate in order to: (a) fight back against the GOP’s radical, reactionary agenda AND (b) make sure that Democrats march behind our flags of Justice, Equality and Peace >> Tonight, you will see several Democratic Presidential candidates who have demonstrated that there is no need to compromise between principles and effectiveness. We may have bleeding hearts, but we also have a backbone, and guts. We are Progressive, and we are Proud. In this Presidential debate, we’re at the starting gate.

We won’t tempt fate, or take the bait.

Our principles are innate, not just of late.

Our values are our armor plate.

When united, we choose the head of state – and his/her running mate.

We will punch above our weight.

We won’t let the Tea Party dictate.

We are the ones that the right wing cannot subjugate.

And every Progressive is our soul mate. (I’m a poet, and you didn’t know it.) Tell the Democratic presidential candidates that we want and need unapologetic progressives, by donating $3 or more to my campaign today >> Courage, Rep. Alan Grayson

Candidate for U.S. Senate