I get a lot of emails like this. Need to post more of them. Today's is from reader Andrew Johson of Chicago. The DNC sent him their "2010 Presidential Survey," which was basically a fundraising letter. Andrew was having none of it. He writes:
Like many, I received my DNC "2010 Presidential Survey," and true to my "Don't Ask, Don't Give" pledge, they won't receive any money from me. I did fill out the survey, though, and sent it with an attached letter since the survey's "Comments" section only contained a puny four lines.Here's the letter he sent back to the DNC:
Dear Democratic National Committee,
I will not be donating any more money to the DNC until it is clear to me that the politicians my money serves in turn serve the interests I hold dear. I am deeply dissatisfied with the disconnect between the rhetoric of hope and progressive change and reality (as exemplified by the Obama administration thus far). Health care: a debacle muddied by DNC-funded ads like those featuring Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson, denouncing and celebrating the end of the “public option” in HCR legislation, even though Obama campaigned IN FAVOR of such a thing in order to secure votes of people like me who see a desperate need for such a thing to challenge the hegemony of the health insurance industry.
As a gay American wooed by Democratic campaign promises of progressive change toward the purposes of repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and support of marriage equality, I am utterly devastated.
Despite this economy and its prospects, I have money to donate and a desire to use it politically to advance the interests of our nation. I DO NOT see at this time the DNC as a beneficiary of such largesse, as meager as mine may be, as long as it supports and promotes ideals its progressive base detests. Republicans will never get my money (their “ideology” and reality ensure that much), but neither will Democrats until and unless they start enacting the kinds of reform our nation needs.
The DNC sends me a survey and a solicitation for money; I send you back my honest reply: no way, not now--earn it. The political power I possess is with my vote and with my wallet. If the DNC wants WE THE PEOPLE to help fund its operations, then it must start serving we the people again. Right now, I feel like a fool having contributed to a political party with a significant majority in Congress which has effected so little progressive change in a post-George W. Bush America.
And while I can appreciate “pragmatic” approaches to governing, President Obama has yet to take a consistent leadership role in helping to shape progressive change. Far too often he is content to pass the buck to Congress (where it is true the process must take hold), but in doing so he plays it safe by invoking a desire for bi-partisanship and by many times failing to take a firm, definitive stance on key issues, all the while allowing the Republican and conservative political and media machine control the narrative.
It has become clear that representatives in both political parties are utterly beholden to the corporate interests that fund them; the recent Supreme Court decision in Citizens United vs. FEC only portends much, much worse. I will not throw my hard-earned money down a well of gridlock and this dismal status quo.
I sincerely hope someone at the DNC has taken the time to read my thoughts here, and perhaps even pass them along. I look forward to the day when I can enthusiastically donate to the DNC, when it is clear that the money I send is helping to shape the political reality I believe in and know is right to advance our nation’s interests, especially for America’s middle and lower classes who desperately need governance that will stand up for their well-being.
Sincerely,
Andrew S. Johnson
