Presidential Campaign a Race in More Ways Than One

Crosswalk.com ^ | July 14, 2004 | Nathan Burchfiel

[Land_of_Lincoln_John]

(CNSNews.com) - This year's presidential election is more than just a political race for liberal and conservative activists. It's a foot race too.

The group Run Against Bush is using one of the president's favorite activities - running -- to raise money aimed at preventing Bush from obtaining a second term. The group offers T-shirts for a $25 donation, helps members communicate about upcoming road races and how to plan their own, and encourages members to solicit athletic "sponsors" so the funds can be used in the campaign against Bush.

William Coleman, the co-founder of Run Against Bush, said his group supports presumed Democratic nominee John Kerry, but added that its larger emphasis is on blocking the president from winning a second term in November.

"Everyone has a different set of issues and some people might not be fully behind John Kerry or fully support all the issues he supports and what we recognized was that despite that, a lot of people feel very strongly about George Bush," Coleman said.

But Run Against Bush is not without competition.

Run For Bush was founded by Patrick Brown, who sought to counter the anti-Bush message even while adopting the Coleman group's tactics. "[I] just didn't like the negative tone of [Run Against Bush]," Brown said, "but I thought it was a great idea."

Campaigning joggers allow "different people to get involved, people that might not necessarily be the kind of people that would knock on doors or go to campaign rallies but might be interested in wearing T-shirts as they go out and run everyday," Brown said.

Run Against Bush also operates at the grassroots level. It was founded by eight friends who "weren't the type of people who could go and give $2,000 to a campaign." Coleman said they "wanted a way to get more involved and more active."

Coleman compared his group to AIDS Walk and Race for the Cure, annual events to raise awareness and funds for AIDS and cancer research. The 2003 Race for the Cure raised $2.3 million for breast cancer research, according to the event's website.

Run Against Bush will distribute money "in a manner that will most efficiently support John Kerry," according to its website. "Even if we cannot agree on who should be president," the website states, "we can agree that this country will be better off when George W. Bush is out of office."

Coleman said his 6,000 member group has raised more than $160,000 and donated $15,000 of it to the Democratic National Committee. The group, he said, is also looking at ways to give to state Democratic parties, especially in battleground states, media campaigns and voter registration efforts.

Brown said Run For Bush is different because, "in part we're running for something, not blanketly [sic] against something."

Brown has more modest goals for Run For Bush. "Just order your shirt [for $13.95], lace up your shoes, and go outside to hit the trail, the track or the gym," he stated on his website. "We have chosen to use this slogan and these shirts for publicity only, not for fundraising."

Because of the complexities involved in raising funds through a political action committee, Brown stated that his campaign will stick to word of mouth. He also claims to be excited about his group's progress. He told CNSNews.com that he's sold shirts to Bush supporters in almost every state and "we already have some groups that are getting organized."

He explained that because of its lack of a paid staff, Run For Bush depends on members to organize events.

Coleman's group, Run Against Bush, uses the Internet to organize members and publicize races (a rally and run is planning in Boston for the Democratic National Convention) and has been around since February, much longer than the one month Brown and his sidekicks have been working on behalf of President Bush.

The Boston event being planned by Run Against Bush, called "Run for Your Freedom from the Tyranny of King George," will include the rally in downtown Boston and the run along the historic Freedom Trail.

Coleman told CNSNews.com that the name for the run draws a parallel to 1776, when colonists were running from "that King George."

"We feel that the administration is missing the boat in terms of some of the basic freedoms we take for granted in this country," he explained. "Fighting things like terrorism and pushing through certain ideological agendas have taken over and we need to be reminded of those things."

Coleman said the group is also planning events for the Republican National Convention in New York City Aug. 30 to Sept. 2. "We're looking to do an ongoing relay throughout the course of the entire convention," he

[Land_of_Lincoln_John]

Coleman (of Run Against Bush) compared his group to AIDS Walk and Race for the Cure, annual events to raise awareness and funds for AIDS and cancer research. The 2003 Race for the Cure raised $2.3 million for breast cancer research, according to the event's website.

WRONG!!!!!

Those groups are running for things!!!!

Runners Against Bush:

A Runner For Bush

Support Run For Bush!