Let me cut right to the chase on this one:
Yes.
Absolutely.
Unequivocally.
Both in Georgia, where Jon Osoff took the day- despite the hilarious spin by the Republicans, where twenty point swings are actually proof America is in line with Trump’s agenda- and here in Virginia, where, despite being outraised 7:1, the Democratic candidate took the day, we’ve seen the power of the Netroots. Funding candidates with grassroots power, through donations that come in a dollar at a time.
That means we have the power now- and special interest groups are running scared.
Think about that for a minute. Look at what Jon raised in Georgia, and revel in how powerful a hundred thousand people who give ten bucks is. It’s a beautiful thing. And I can tell you for a fact, it’s the only reason I am where I am right now.
I’ve had over a hundred and fifty individual donors to my campaign to date, and while the majority of the money I’ve raised has come from Virginia, I’ve had donors chip in all the way from Alaska to Florida. And a lot of my friends running, too- Tristan Shields in the 18th, Angela Lynn in the 25th, Kenny Boddye in the 51st- have counted on that same people-powered success to put us where we are now.
This is an even bigger deal considering that we all just agreed not to take money from the largest political contributor in the Commonwealth:
See, in Virginia, we’re still the wild west as far as campaign finance goes. Not only are unlimited donations allowed, there’s almost zero accountability on where that money comes from. My opponent, who is the best-funded delegate in the entire Commonwealth, has received almost three hundred thousand dollars alone from a single donor.
Running for office, a candidate has two jobs- talk to voters, and raise money; right? That’s what you’re told, over and over again. So you can see how the siren song of folks who can write checks with lots of zeroes in them can take hold- especially from an organization like Dominion, which has an enormous amount of muscle that can be flexed in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
I don’t know if folks around here have realized the magnitude of the power they’re holding now- it’s huge. I know the full implications of that hadn’t dawned on me until recently. Think about it
You’re helping make it easier for politicians to ignore funding from folks like Dominion, fight opponents funded by mining magnates that’ve been sued by the Feds for dangerous work conditions- and to help keep us accountable to voters. I know, that’s a novel idea these days, but, DAMN! It feels good!
Keep it up; we can’t win without your support. You may not be here knocking on doors with me, but I can’t get out there and do it without your help. Whether it's $10, $27, or even a single dollar at a time, every bit helps keep my campaign people-powered and voter-centric!
And not only does literally every dollar help, it goes a long way for us. And we’ve all got an uphill battle to fight- against gerrymandered districts, voter suppression, and an opposition that wants to set us all against each other, re-litigate primary fights, destroy our big tent for their own craven and corrupt benefit.
Keep it up. This is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s going to take every one of us, together, to bring our country back from the brink. But together, we CAN do it.