Listen. Its been a rough few days. There are bad things happening in America, mostly (OK, pretty much entirely!) on one side, the side that likes to march around at night with torches and deny the personhood of millions of people, the side that has copies of The Turner Diaries strategically scattered around the house.
So! Lets talk about Jack Bergeson, the adorably ambitious and entirely positive teenager from Kansas, whos running for governoron a platform that includes raising the minimum wage, higher salaries for teachers, no tax increases on families making less than $60,000 a yearand, the reason why were here, marijuana legalization.
As the Kansas City Star and other outlets have reported, Jack Bergeson is 16 years old and lives in Wichita, Kansas, where hes a junior in high school and works part-time in his familys restaurant. (Fizz Burgers and Bottles, at 7718 E. 37thStreet N.The next time were in Wichita, were stopping in for a meal.)
He cant vote or buy cannabis in nearby Colorado (or cigarettes, or a lottery ticket, or many other things reserved for adults), but under Kansas election law, he can run for office. So he went ahead and filed papers to do just that.
Bergesons political heroes are a varied array, including Bernie Sanders, Ross Perot, Jessie The Body Venture and former president and U.S. military hero Dwight D. Eisenhower. He also wants to revolutionize the countrys broken healthcare systemwere downand fully legalize medical cannabis.
As for outright legalization? Whoa, there. Bergeson is tepid, but willing to explore the issue.
From the Star:
I thought, you know, lets give the people of Kansas a chance, Bergeson said. Lets try something new that has never really been tried anywhere else before.
Bergeson described his run for the Democratic nomination as an anti-establishment campaign that would focus on bringing a clean slate.
Since its Kansas, one of the 35 and counting states where the Republican Party has the governors office, Bergeson is a bit more center-right on sacred cows, like gun ownership. He supports open carrywhich, hey! Its Kansas. Tackle that thorny issue later.
As the Star noted, Bergeson has a running matehis 17-year-old classmate, Alexander Cline, whos vying for the position of lieutenant governor in the Bergeson administration. Cline has at least one major political advantage, albeit a personal one: Since hell be 18 in the next election, hell be able to participate in the democratic process and cast a vote.
A political scientist contacted by the Star noted that the candidacy shouldnt be immediately dismissed as a joke.
Since young people famously cant be bothered to vote, having a young person running for office could be an engagement toolperhaps even a more effective one than old centrist Democrats trying hard to appear woke and bae on social media.
And its ...
