Money: who to give my political $$ to.

Last week, I got a couple of calls from political organizations asking for money.  Since I am not wealthy I wondered what to do...

Cross posted at http://blueollie.blogspot.com

I got calls from DFA and from the DNC; they were seeking money (I had given in the past).  I also have mailings from Dick Durbin's PAC  and Barbara Boxer's PAC.   Since I am not wealthy and I give to other causes (small amounts to the DLC, American Red Cross,  USO, ACLU, Public TV,  as well as larger (but modest) amounts to my church (Universalist Unitarian of Peoria) my university and the Naval Academy Alumni Foundation, I have to think carefully.

I see it this way:  it is my money and, from now on, I'll give my political contributions to candidates who represent my values.  This means I'll support local progressive candidates with money and "sweat", as well as the more national candidates who represent me and my values.

So, the next time an umbrella organization asks for money, I'll see who they give money to.  If they support DINO's (Democrats in Name Only), forget it.

In the recent past, I've given money to Barbara Van Auken, John Kerry, Paul Hackett, Dick Durbin and Barbara Boxer (all small amounts), as well as to other selected local candidates and I'll probably continue to support these kind of candidates.  But, if a candidate says "X" needs funding and "X" is what I consider to be a DINO, then I won't give money to that PAC.   An example is my getting an e-mail message from Senator Clinton's PAC asking money to support Senator Byrd's reelection.  Forget that; let his "conservative constituents" support him.

Here is a listing of the kind of Senators I would consider supporting:

1. Barbara Boxer (D- CA)
   
2. Dianne Feinstein (D- CA)
   
3. Christopher J. Dodd (D- CT)
   
4. Richard J. Durbin (D- IL)
   
5. John F. Kerry (D- MA)
   
6. Edward M. Kennedy (D- MA)
   
7. Paul S. Sarbanes (D- MD)
   
8. Debbie A. Stabenow (D- MI)
   
9. Harry Reid (D- NV)
   
10. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D- NY)
    
11. Charles Schumer (D- NY)
    
12. Ron Wyden (D- OR)
    
13. Russell D. Feingold (D- WI)
    
14. Barack Obama (D-IL)
    (see update)
15. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)

Oh yes, this is a list of senators that plan on joining in on the "no" vote against cloture for the Alito nomination.  Senators Harkin and Obama haven't said that they won't support a filibuster, but they have said that the numbers don't look good.  I hope that they join in anyway.

Bottom line:  I don't have much extra money, so I am going to pay attention to who is goes to.
If there is a progressive Democrat out there who sees that I am being short sighted in this approach, let me know either here (Daily Kos) or at my personal blog http://blueollie.blogspot.com if you are afraid of being "troll rated" at the Kos.