Principled presidential candidates with unrecognized names aren't going to light that spark. We ignore these facts at our peril. To be successful, activists have to start with a clear perception of what is not what we wish things were. Another point that both essays ignore is the question of whether a presidential campaign alone is capable of sparking a social movement. Not only is this message not true-but the people know it's not true, and they won't be moved by it.
Social movements begin when people see that they have an actual choice.
A single candidate-even a presidential candidate isn't enough of a choice. Electoral politics won't spark a social movement until the American public sees a wider slate of progressive candidates, running at all levels across the nation. It's the goal of the Independent Progressive Politics Network, and it's a goal worth working for. Finally, the most basic question is whether social movements can even be sparked through electoral politics or whether social movements require a more fundamental element of cultural transformation, which in turn produces a change in electoral politics. Without a change in people's values, no one will elect that slate of progressives anyway.