Politics
They call D.C. “Hollywood for ugly people.” I worked as an organizer, speechwriter, narrative strategist, creative director, and movement leader.
The Green New Deal
I was Creative Director of The Sunrise Movement, the generational movement to win a Green New Deal. I was often called “Mr. Green New Deal” for my visionary push to redefine climate movement; to focus on everything we have to gain, not just what we have to lose. As a director of the Green New Deal campaign, I helped rewrite the United States’ climate agenda.
Through our innovative messaging and mobilization strategy, Sunrise staged actions at political offices across the country. Our campaign successfully pressured the entire 2020 Democratic Field to develop comprehensive climate plans. Climate change was discussed for the first time in a presidential debate. The Sunrise Movement endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders for President — Bernie credited our campaign for his rising polls and electoral successes.
The Sunrise Movement was widely praised as a revolutionary new force in American politics. We succeeded through masterful storytelling and narrative strategy, mass trainings, sharp talking points, vivid style guides, disciplined action aesthetic, and Hollywood quality hype videos.
I am proudest of the Creative Network I developed while at The Sunrise Movement. Our Video, Graphic Design, Action Art, and Public Narrative networks trained, resourced, and mentored thousands of young people. Our toolkits allowed anyone with a cellphone to produce powerful videos of actions across the country; making our movement appear omnipresent.
The Green New Dealmaker
My greatest political prank was masterminding a campaign to beat the Kennedys in Massachusetts. Ed Markey is a septuagenarian senator who led the fight for The Green New Deal on Capital Hill. An entitled Kennedy clone decided to primary Senator Markey. Polls were so overwhelmingly in Joe Kennedy’s favor, Markey was privately advised to concede his seat.
The ad I wrote and directed for Ed Markey, “The Green New Dealmaker,” is a cinematic tribute to Markey’s obscure political career, culminating with the incendiary punchline: “With all due respect, it’s time to start asking what your country can do for you.” The ad was produced for only $4000 (I worked pro bono), but it received over 5 million views. My work was praised by Pod Save America and The Washington Post as the best political ad of the year. My intervention turned polls upside down. Weeks later, Ed Markey won his race by a landslide — the first person to defeat a Kennedy in Massachusetts.
Ed Markey called me on election night, shortly after receiving a congratulatory call from Joe Biden. Ed said, “Alex, you asked me to take the biggest leap of faith of my career. Thank you for this wonderful adventure.”
How The Best Campaign Ad Of The Year Beat The Kennedys
The fact that Senator Ed Markey was able to shift momentum in his race, change the early conventional wisdom, and use savvy marketing to align his campaign with a new generation of activist voters is a big news story. The fact that he won the race is an even bigger story.
The video that made it all happen may be the biggest story of all…
“It's always our strategy to lean into a controversy. We believe that we can win.” O’Keefe says that Democrats don’t always play hardball, but Sunrise is willing to go there: “In the Democratic Party people try to play it safe. But we want to expose the contradictions of the political machine and assumptions about electability that are used to tell us why we can't demand more.”
Pod Save America Interview
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren was the first politician I wrote speeches for. Most people in D.C. dream of the opportunity, but I came into speech-writing sideways. When I was 21, I was contracted to edit a video of Warren’s first big speech about Trump, but her speechwriter dropped out days before. I offered to write the speech at no additional cost. Warren loved my work, and the resulting video amassed 40 million views on Facebook, launching the topic of Trump’s tax returns into the mainstream. I continued to write occasional speeches for Senator Warren, who frequently returned to the explainer video style in her 2020 campaign.
Alicia Keys
I was privileged to work as Alicia Keys’ speechwriter for The Black Panthers’ 50th Anniversary, and the Vote Love campaign in 2016. Ms. Keys is still a down-to-earth homie from the block, she treated me and my crew with tremendous grace.
Charles Booker
A small team of Sunrise Movement leaders came together to launch a visionary political campaign that would bring Kentucky into the national spotlight. For the first time, I designed a campaign from its inception. I wrote and directed Charles Booker’s announcement ad, and his finale ad, book ending a story of Southern Socialism — “From the hood to the holler.” Both videos went viral, amassing millions of views and driving critical donations.