Hi all --
I'm updating my charitable giving, and want to put my (modest, but regular) contributions earmarked for "electing progressives" into the best bucket -- "best" meaning "having the greatest impact."
I am a proud progressive, and want to make the country and the Democratic Party more progressive -- but I am also a realist, and I understand that if I want my coalition (the Democratic Party) to be a MAJORITY coalition, I must accept that it will include some people who are not as progressive as I am. If electing a moderate Democrat is NECESSARY to keeping Democratic control of Congress, for example, I have no problem giving to and working for that moderate Democrat.
My goals are to elect the most progressive candidates it is possible to elect NOW, while also working to change the electorate to make them more open to electing even more progressive candidates in the future.
I want to support an organization that directly supports progressive candidates in a sophisticated manner (meaning "no money wasted on candidates with no chance of winning"), and one that has a major impact on the outcome of elections -- since the most important vote any elected official will cast is the one to determine whether their branch of government is lead by a Democrat, or a Republican.
I am entirely open to giving directly to the DNC -- that is clearly where the greatest impact lies (or is it?), and mainstream Democrats are not evil. But if I could have a comparable impact by giving my dollars to a different organization, one more specifically focused on electing PROGRESSIVE Democrats, I'd be interested in doing so. There is, almost certainly, some level of trade-off between supporting progressive candidates specifically and working to achieve a Democratic majority in general, but I'm looking for the least possible trade-off.
I'm interested in the input of this group: where should I direct my dollars to have the greatest impact on electing progressives and maintaining/regaining Democratic majorities?