Now that we know promotion of causes at DKos is directly related to the amount of interest you generate, I'd like to perform a public service to help folks learn how to spike the needle.
You're not going to get any discussion at Netroots, or any higher-level promotion, just because your cause is, quote unquote, "worthy". It's got to have punch. It's got to pull eyeballs.
You want to jazz things up? Follow me..
First, there has to be sex. We all already knew this, I'm not breaking any ground here, but maybe I can help with some suggestions for specific areas.
Environmentalism - Search for images of partially-clothed flower children. Protests are good, and naked protests are primo. Nothing like a good Earth Day logo on a bare midriff to pull folks away from your competition (formerly known as your fellow progressive activists). Want to present the hard reality of any bad environmental situation? Show how it will affect people without clothes.
Immigration - You may have a tendency to expand your points on this complex issue with deep, thoughtful background touching on all aspects of its history. Don't. No one reads anymore. Univision gets fairly high ratings among important demographics even though they don't speak Spanish! Short captions under photos of broad-shouldered Latino actors, or bouncy Latina actresses, can serve as your entire argument, with bonus points added if they happen to be talking to the press at the time.
War - You guys are out of luck. Once upon a time, when the bad guys were Nazis or Communists, war was a solid pull on its own. But that day is long gone, and if your war story isn't WWII, you've got nothing. Viewers are tired of bad wars with no clear winner, and what else are you going to talk about? Bad Republicans get us into wars, bad Democrats get us deeper in wars, bad Independents sit around pretending they've never voted for anyone in their life.. you want to rehash it for them? This is going to take a total rebranding. I'm thinking Zooey Deschanel.. or that other actress that looks like her.. I'll get back to you.
Everything - Include pictures of cats with pithy sayings related to your issue. The ratings process doesn't count brains, it counts eyeballs, and folks with eyeballs like funny cats.
Everything - One effective way of bringing in numbers even when your cause isn't that popular: post about popular topics such as TV shows, movies, musical artists, or current memes, and include tags that reference your issue. The bean-counters don't know WHY people looked at your content, all they know is that they DID.
Everything - If you can somehow include a reference to a missing white girl, you're golden.
I'm not saying you need to skip all the science and statistics, I'm sure they are important at some level. But they aren't job 1. You need ratings first; charts didn't work for Ross Perot, and they certainly aren't going to work for you.
Line up some serious PR talent, baby. Get the best agency your cause can afford, and make those folks following some other pet issue weep in envy at your publicity machine. Win the game.. before those jerks at 'Let's Get Rid Of The Electoral College' do.