Pre-Payday Question
I get paid tomorrow, and I want to help Obama with some of the money. The risk of McCain winning times the badness of a McCain victory is big enough that it's worth focusing on. The only thing is, I want to give it to somebody who's running more aggressive ads than the Obama campaign.
Ideally, I'd be donating to some 527 group who is showing women that McCain hasn't cast a pro-choice vote in years (maybe forever, I haven't checked all the way back). Or somebody who's showing seniors that McCain has always been trying to cut Social Security. Other similarly aggressive ad campaigns would interest me. Of course, Obama has made my life tough by discouraging donations to 527s, preventing me from having a bounty of hard-hitting ads to choose from. Any ideas?
I think the best work in this regard is being done online by bloggers like Jed Lewison (of The Jed Report) and Robert Greenwald (of Brave New Films). Jed has a paypal link for tips on his homepage, and Brave New Films has a "Donate" link on theirs.
If you're limiting yourself to helping someone who's buying TV time, though, you could do worse than the Ohio Democratic Party. Here's a link to their add regarding McCain's role in the DHL boondoggle.
Posted by: FearItself | August 17, 2008 at 07:23 AM
I would just give to NARAL's 527 or political education committee, or ... oh, crap, what is the group that tries to link choice and work/family issues? FamiliesUSA?
Posted by: Nicholas Beaudrot | August 17, 2008 at 07:41 AM
Neil,
I had some more thoughts on this matter. You might want to check out the diary on OpenLeft on which I outline an idea to address the shortfall you have described.
Posted by: FearItself | August 17, 2008 at 08:46 AM
Little OT, but...
I was giving my pittance direct to both Obama proper
and to Move-On when they declared for Barack...
But then FISA happened and I am a one-trick pony,
my shtick (always wanted to use that word, had to look up the spell/s)
IS Civil Liberties.
So I finally went with Greenwald/ActBlue/Strangebedfellows
fund..but the bubbles are gone from the champagne.
Hurts a bit, the sad end of his maybe actually Transformational.
Shoulda knowed better, o'course.
Posted by: has_te | August 17, 2008 at 08:50 AM
Planned Parenthood Action Fund, who made this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqnmXSXtDkQ and (with MoveOn) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7Z4dxjRv4g
https://secure.ga0.org/02/08_donate
Posted by: Matt | August 17, 2008 at 12:23 PM
Please don't give it to MoveOn. They'll just use it to fund ads about how Democrats are wimps who won't let their sons join the army.
I'd give it to the AFL-CIO. They're putting out the best stuff I've seen anywhere, in any election.
Posted by: KathyF | August 18, 2008 at 12:34 AM
The only thing is, I want to give it to somebody who's running more aggressive ads than the Obama campaign.
Q: What makes you so sure that your judgment about how Obama should be spending his campaign money is better than Obama's own judgment about how he should be spending his campaign money?
Posted by: Brock | August 18, 2008 at 08:55 AM
A. For one thing, there may be attacks that Obama doesn't want to make for fear of being criticized for going negative. I'd like to donate to someone disconnected from Obama who can make those attacks without bringing any such criticism upon him.
Posted by: Neil the Ethical Werewolf | August 18, 2008 at 08:41 PM
In that case, why would Obama be "discouraging donations to 527s"?
Unless you think he's doing this with a nudge and a wink, I submit that the best use of your money (insofar as electing Obama is your goal) would be to donate to his campaign.
When you've maxed out on that, then look for a good 527.
Posted by: Brock | August 19, 2008 at 09:53 AM
As far as I can tell, there's no room for nudging and winking here.
Early in the campaign told a bunch of big donors that Obama would look darkly on them if they gave to 527, and it was pretty widely reported in insider kinds of publications. That dried up the funds David Brock and his giant anti-McCain 527 project depended on, which is why they had to close their doors. There really isn't room for a double message here, because you're talking to lots of people and it'll get out.
Obama scored whatever points are to be gained by washing his hands of 527s. Apparently he thought that those points were worth weakening the 527 groups. Now I disagree, but that's not important. If I can fund a good 527 ad, he can have his cake and eat it too.
(A friend who works on campaign finance in DC has told me that one of the Davids -- I forget whether it was Axelrod or Plouffe -- was shown a web ad and said, 'wow, that's pretty awesome! who did that?' The woman showing it to him said, 'one of the 527s who you took away funding from.')
Posted by: Neil the Ethical Werewolf | August 19, 2008 at 10:51 AM