I've visited DK daily since 2003, but this is my first diary. Here goes!
I propose we in the netroots try a new way to make our presence felt: we strike. We'll identify a day or perhaps a few days during which we simply do not donate to any candidates. The Supreme Court has equated money with speech. So let's raise our voices! The key here is that we would need to withold our funds in unison.
I began to think about this after I received an email from the Committee for a Democratic Majority, which is ('honorarily') chaired by Ted KeInedy, asking me to imagine what Congress could achieve if only both houses had a veto-proof majority. Describing Mr. Bush's previous two vetoes and anticipating his third, it was suggested that if only Congress could override Mr. Bush's vetoes then all would be well.
Like so many others on this board, I've regularly been frustrated and disappointed by the lack of leadership shown by our new Democratic majority. I'm all for a veto-proof majority and I'll be happy to donate time and funds to make that a reality, but at this point, I'm feeling burned. Watching Congress as a whole fail to put anything on line when it came to Iraq and other critically important issues, I am having a difficult time just now accepting that things will be "oh-so-much better" and we'll really see change once we get past the next step. I feel more than a bit pandered to when I hear this argument, considering that Congress isn't even doing what it can without the veto-proof majority, as David Sirota discussed in a diary from last week. Buhdydharma also has a diary out on that topic that is now making its way up the recommended diaries.
I sent the Committee an email in response, stating that at present my donations would only be going to individual candidates, who I thought I could count on to remain firm and do all that was within their power to effect change. I wondered how many others had responded in kind, and then it occurred to me that perhaps something more organized would be more effective.
I'm not suggesting anything drastic that would seriously hinder efforts to get more Democrats elected and to pursue a course for change. I'm only suggesting that holding our collective wallets closed a few days might make an impression on wavering incumbent Democratic Congressmen and Democratic candidates.
What thoughts do others have about this? Is there something I'm not aware of regarding the financial transactions flowing from donations that would affect candidates' and lawmakers' ability to measure the effects of a mass withholding of cash?
[Please note that the reason I've been a lurker is because I have limited time and am usually only on the site once per day during the week. If anyone should have any comments, please don't take a slow response on my part to mean I've abandoned the diary or am not interested in what you have to say.]