Nag nag nag nag nag
by kos
Fri Mar 28, 2008 at 11:16:35 AM PDT
I hate it, you hate it, the candidates hate it. No one likes to fundraise. But until we have publicly funded campaigns, there are two sources of money for candidates -- special and corporate interests or regular people. This isn't a question of living in the fantasy world of our dreams, but in our current reality.
So we can let AT&T buy our candidates, or we can have regular Americans "own" them. It's the difference between serving their corporate masters and serving their constituents.
It sounds crass, it sounds ugly, but I see it differently -- it's one way (of several) that we can directly invest in our democracy. Few of us have serious money in our bank accounts, so this is the way we can look for the candidates who most inspire us and reflect our values, hopes, and aspirations.
There are a lot of people who visit the site, more than a million (Nielsen pegs it at 1.2 million). Just a fraction of you guys, giving $10 or $20 or $50 or $100 to one or more of the Blue Majority candidates can make a serious contribution to a more (small "d") democratic Congress, one that is responsive to people, and one that will work effectively with President Barack Obama to usher in the most progressive era in generations.
But that won't happen with a Congress in which Republicans and the Blue Dogs continue to maintain an effective majority. So we need more bona fide progressives, and every candidate on our Blue Majority list this cycle qualifies. The days in which we'd support _any_ Democrat in pursuit of the majority are gone. Now's the time to focus more on the second half of our "More Democrats, Better Democrats" motto. Let's help elect a Congress in which the Blue Dogs are valued for their contributions to the party, whenever they decide to contribute, but can no longer join the discredited Republican minority and effectively veto progress.
Our goal is 6,500 contributions by the end of the quarter (which is Monday). We're making good progress toward that goal. What I would really love to see is all our candidates on the list with over 1,000 contributors. That's likely too aggressive a goal, but hey, I'm allowed to dream, right? We're close with Maffei, Seals, and Massa. Further away with Trauner, Noriega, and the two newest candidates -- Garcia and Byrne.
But it should would be nice, wouldn't it? So pick one or two candidates, more if you can afford it, and even if it's just $10 a pop, do it.
It feels good, and it'll feel even better when we expand not just our Congressional majorities this November, but our progressive majorities. It's important, and it won't happen if all we do is sit around and read blogs.
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