New PAC Idea: Take No Shit Dems W/ Poll

So I read the monsterious NYT Mag article on the cutting edge of the Democratic Party and it got me to thinking. A friend of mine and I have been kicking around this idea for a PAC: "Take No Shit Democrats (TNSD)". If there are rich bastards out there with millions of dollars just waiting to fund new, innovative liberal "pioneers" why shouldn't this idea get some merit.

So, I humbly submit to you, Kossacks, my plan to return respectability to the Democratic Party's message. Please, read and comment. Hopefully a few of you are still out there and not in bed!

TNSD: Bringing respectability back to Democratic politics

Far more important than embracing a particular liberal, centrist or progressive ideology is embracing candidates who refuse to waver from their own. It is seen over and over again in politics from school boards to the United States Senate: a politician takes a principled stand, perceived as unpopular, and is abandoned by the party establishment. Nobody wants to back a loser, and in this world of finite political resources, these candidates are seen as expendable when contrasted with an "acceptable" candidate more willing to play ball.

It is our belief that when a candidate takes a public stand on a controversial issue that may lead to vulnerability on Election Day, it is not time to tuck tail and run, but exactly the opposite. We believe that voters, above all else, respond to candidates they deem respectable. Voters don't expect to agree with a candidate on one hundred percent of the issues. What they do expect is to know where their options for representation stand on them, and that, once elected, they will follow through on their professed beliefs.

Thus, we propose to found this committee for one goal: to provide support to these candidates, both materially and, if possible, financially. When the party bosses deem a race or a candidate inviable the carpet is pulled out from beneath the campaign and the resources are moved to a more attractive race. It is our goal to fill that vacuum, taking up where party officials left off- coordinating ground level volunteers while providing campaign support and funds.

Inherent in this endeavor is the idea that taking such stands will inevitably result in defeat some of the time. Alienating voters is a risk one takes when making a public stand. But, the true question is what is better: respectability in defeat or a disingenuous (and temporary) victory? Candidates lacking the ethos to maintain a firm stand on issues will, eventually, talk themselves into a rhetorical corner, leaving themselves open to attacks from the opposite party using the candidate's own words as ammunition.

By providing top notch campaign triage for candidates who have taken a politically risky stance, we believe that ultimately the liberal base of support will grow. Democrats will be seen as truth-speakers and, despite what at first might seem like political suicide, respectability for party members under our guidance will grow. To be sure, we will face setbacks, but like anything, they will be temporary. The long term goal is to provide Americans with candidates for political office at every level who are candid about their philosophies and reasons for running.

The biggest problem facing politicians in the current harshly partisan electorate is not the "other side" but the largely cynical, untapped number of Americans who view the political process as corrupt. By supporting the candidates who can gain the trust of voters, we stand the added possibility of attracting new people to the process. Like we've seen in past instances- the Dean campaign being the best example- people are motivated to support candidates they believe speak the truth and hold their best interests, and not special interests, at heart. The only way for a candidate and our party to win over these people is to tell them honestly and openly about our values and our ideas and not skirt controversial ones in a transparent atempt to please everyone. If we accomplish this, only then can we truly call ourselves the "party of inclusion."