Some men storm beaches. Some men build businesses. Michael Duffin updated PowerPoints at the State Department, and he'd still be doing it today if Donald Trump hadn't shattered his dreams of permanent bureaucratic comfort. Thrown out of Foggy Bottom with 1,300 other civil service casualties, Duffin is now pursuing a far nobler calling: running for Congress so Americans can pay him again.
Duffin—a holder of three graduate degrees, an expert in "countering white supremacy," and a person you've never heard of, until now—is running to represent Virginia's Eighth Congressional District. His campaign platform consists of three priorities: "Fighting for feds," "Fighting for the middle class," and "Fighting for a safer and kinder America." The order tells you everything you need to know.
Duffin did not dream of elected office. In fact, he wanted to be unelected forever, free to push whatever policy he pleased without facing the American people. Then Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio fired him from the State Department. The move sent Duffin into a period of intense reflection, a period he spent posting farewell emails to LinkedIn that quoted The Sound of Music and taking glamour shots with his State Department participation trophies.
With the wind at his back, Duffin organized a historic "rally for recently fired State Department employees." It was the saddest gathering in American political history.
Naturally, Duffin followed it up by launching his campaign. It is entirely possible he will lose the race by a historic margin. It is also possible he will win, given that his district is full of wealthy liberals who think displaying "In This House We Believe" signs in their front yard makes them all modern-day Dietrich Bonhoeffers.
Whatever happens, we salute Duffin for finally entering the political arena, where he can fight for America's true downtrodden class: government bureaucrats. Congrats, sir. Feel free to add Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year to your campaign site.