For my inaugural post on Daily Kos, allow me to introduce you to our new resistance organization: Fight Back PAC. Our not-so-modest objective is to be the answer to the question asked so often in the aftermath of the hugely successful women’s marches and spontaneous anti-Trump protests: This show of grassroots energy is impressive, but can it be channeled into true political strength?
Our premise is that what has been missing among the many resistance groups that have emerged since Trump’s election is an organization to harness the financial strength of the movement. The organizing component—the “troops on the ground”—is being done by an array of organizations new and old, from DFA, Planned Parenthood and MoveOn to the Women’s March and Sister March entities to Indivisible groups and beyond. We have established Fight Back PAC to be the complementary “air cover” to this ground game. We like to think of it as a smart, strategic War Chest of the Resistance. We believe that Small Money brings Big Power and our organizing philosophy aims to make that a reality. If we can merge the energy, passion and financial muscle of the grassroots with professional political expertise, we can create a true political powerhouse and help fulfill the grand ambitions of the resistance movement.
We see our mission as divided between three primary goals:
- Expanding the political map by making more seats competitive at the federal and state level.
- Supporting promising first-time candidates.
- Providing operational funding to other grassroots organizations.
In so doing, we believe we offer a powerful value proposition to the grassroots. Sure, this year’s Special Elections have been easy pickings: the grassroots has moved resources first to Kansas, then to Georgia and now to Montana. But when we get to next year’s mid-term elections, that process becomes trickier. Sure—you may have a favorite candidate or two to support with your small dollar contributions, but where does the smart money go after that to help the Democrats take back the majority? If you’re sitting in Seattle, you may never hear about a hot new candidate in Iowa that could retake a Red seat. And if everyone’s individual donations become too diffuse, they may be spread too thin to actually convert a few unlikely seats. That is where Fight Back PAC comes in. With the help of our National Activist Council—a network of community leaders and activists across the country who are our eyes and ears on the ground—we will find those diamond-in-the-rough candidates who might not get a lot of financial support from the establishment Democratic infrastructure, but who could be in the hunt with some financial backing. And then we will support those candidates with all the tools in the modern campaign arsenal—television and digital ads, primarily, but also mailings and radio ads where those can be effective. At the end of the day, victory can often be a function of resources. With grassroots support, we can put more seats in the “W” column.
Check out our website: FightBackPAC.com. Watch our introductory video. Read more about our mission and about us—our leadership and National Activist Council. Join the fight! And watch this space for an announcement tomorrow about how you can join the fight with us in Montana.