If you want to find out more about this dangerous idea of mine, follow along after the jump.
It struck me when I read this comment by standingup , that maybe there is something else we can do other than support the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). Perhaps it is time for a Progressive Congressional Campaign Committee? There already exists a Progressive Congressional Caucus. Why not a Progressive Congressional Campaign Committee? So I sent the following email to Bill Goold, Policy Advisor, Congressional Progressive Caucus:
Yesterday's vote on the Iraq war funding bill has created an incredible amount of consternation among progressive Democrats. There is much gnashing of teeth and pounding on keyboards going on in the progressive blogosphere. Many folks are discussing leaving the Democratic Party. Others feel betrayed by the Democratic Leadership. An email sent last night from the DCCC was particularly galling to many progressives, leaving them very cold about the idea of ever supporting the DCCC again.
In light of that, I want to suggest to you that now might be a good time to consider a Progressive Congressional Campaign Committee if one does not exist already. I feel you may find tremendous support for such an idea amongst the progressive Democratic community.
So what do you think? Is this an idea worth pursuing. Is there something like this that exists already that we can get behind? Act Blue, perhaps? I'd be interested in your ideas.
3 comments:
I think it is worth pursuing because the actions of yesterday proved one point.
Americans are not represented by their elected officials at the federal level....regardless of party affiliation.
I for one think that this is a fantastic idea. I kniow that I would be willing to contribute dollars to a PCCC, but I will never contribute to the DCCC after what Rahm did to Cegelis!
Legally, would progressives be able to establish a PCCC with the same powers of the DCCC, while continuing to act within the Democratic caucus?
What would this due to internal cohesion within the Democratic caucus (not that there is much to start with!)? And what races would the PCCC focus on?
I would support the idea with my votes and contributions, but only if the goals are clearly stated and defined. The last thing we need is to replace Democrats with Republicans because we wanted to "send a message."
I think the first step is to focus on open seats where a moderate or conservative Democrat is vacating a Democratic district. We should act to replace those moderate or conservative Democrats with Progressive ones that will more accurately represent their district.
Case in point is Harold Ford's old district in Tennessee. A conservative Dem (Ford) was replaced by a great progressive voice.
Post a Comment