Boswell, Democratic congressman from Iowa, wrote me to ask for money to defeat his Republican opponent, who Dick Cheney is doing fundraising for. Here's what I wrote back:
I will support you if Dean's new organization tells me to. I know he supported you earlier, and I donated money then, but I am waiting for his direction on the congressional races. If you want my support, you might want to approach Dean about it. If I give you money, I want you to know that it is because of Howard Dean, and his goal to take back congress with the help of people across this country. I want you to know clearly where the money came from.
I urge you all to respond the same way (or say you're waiting for Kos's direction). Let's not dilute our contributions. I am hoping that Dean's new organization can make our voices heard, giving him power to influence the party, if we bundle our contributions under his name (or Change For America, or whatever the new organization will be). I'm not giving my money to some Iowa Congressman who owes me, a professor in Hawaii, nothing. He has to owe someone for the money he gets from people like me who are outside his district.
I'm ready to give a lot of money this fall, but not blindly.
What do you guys think?