Most of the comments and emails in response to my calls for small, online donors to stop giving money to Blue Dogs, and to candidates who refuse to rule out joining the Blue Dogs, has been positive. There has been some pushback, most of which is focused on the idea that a Blue Dog in Congress is better than a Republican in Congress.
The response to such criticism is simple: general election voting and candidate donations are entirely different progressive activist calculations. In a general election, often voters are faced with a choice between a current or prospective Blue Dog, and with a Republican. In such a scenario, the most progressive outcome is for the Blue Dog to win.
However, when donating to campaigns, progressive activists are not limited to such a narrow range of options. With 435 congressional districts, 100 Senate seats, primary elections and general elections, Gubernatorial elections, state legislative elections, local office elections, and Presidential elections, progressive activists have literally thousands of elections to choose from when deciding where to send their small donations. Even beyond elections, there are advocacy organizations, media outlets, charities, and other, non-electoral destinations for progressive money. With such a dizzying array of choices, there is no reason any of that money should go to candidates who support an organization that actively works against progressive causes on a regular basis.
There may not be other places for progressives to go with their vote in some general election campaigns, but there are always other places for progressive money to go no matter the campaign. There is nothing incommensurate with only donating to Progressive candidates and still only donating to Democratic electoral campaigns. While you are only given two realistic options in most general elections, you have literally thousands of donating options at any given time. It behooves Progressives to be sending their money only to candidates and organizations that stand with their causes, rather than those that seek to thwart them. Because money is so essential to politicians and because relatively fewer people do it, donating money speaks a lot louder than voting to politicians. As such, if you want to move the Democratic Party to the left, you need to make it clear that your electoral donations will only go to candidates whose elections will further that goal.
One of the inevitable outcomes of that conclusion is stop donating to Blue Dogs altogether.
|
