Strategic giving:
seven reasons to support the DNC

If the last six disastrous years have taught us anything, it's that "who runs the world" matters.

And that we need to be ruthlessly logical and strategic to win.

On some questions -- endorse gay marriage? wait until after we win? -- people can and will passionately disagree.

But on others, I think it's pretty straightforward.

To wit:

1. It's crucial to the LGBT community that Democrats widen their hair-thin margin in Congress and win back the White House.

That's because, in the main, Democrats are our allies, Republicans are our adversaries.

Of the 107 Senators and Congressfolk with perfect 100% ratings from HRC in this past Congress, 103 were Democrats. Of the abysmal 156 who rated ZERO, 152 were Republicans. The difference could hardly be more stark.

Nine of the 10 current Republican candidates for President are rated "Anti-Equality" by eQualityGiving.org. None of the eight current Democrats are.

The other reason it's so important: the Supreme Court. One day, DOMA and lots of bad state laws should be ruled Unconstitutional. But it won't happen with more "strict constructionist" Justices like Antonin Scalia. (And yes, Giuliani now says he favors strict constructionists.)

2. Whether we spend fifty million democratic dollars on the primary battle or five hundred million, we will have the exactly the same result: one candidate whom we will all want to see win.

Where that extra $450 million could make a difference is in the general election -- both for President and Congress. Those results are not guaranteed.

3. It therefore makes sense to support ONE primary candidate, if you think he or she is clearly best, or else NONE of them . . .

. . . and to direct most of (or all) your fire power where it's really needed: to widen our lead in Congress and win back the White House. WIDEN AND WIN.

3a. But you know what? Our community should be found helping in every campaign. Just showing up and being part of the infrastructure gains us visibility, keeps the campaign thinking about us, secures us seats at the table. It would be good if whoever wins the White House has LGBT folks at all levels of his or her campaign and feels we contributed. So do get involved in ONE campaign, and maybe not even the one you feel is best on our issues. If we have a seat at the table, we'll be that much better able to gently push them to improve.

4. The best way to help widen our hair-thin lead in the Senate is to support our candidates directly. The Republicans are going to have to defend 21 seats this next time. It will be great fun writing checks to their challengers.

5. The best way to help widen our lead in the House is to directly support our 29 "front-line Democrats" (incumbents facing tough races . . . many of them newly elected in "red" districts just 4 months ago) - and to directly support the "red-to-blue" races that will be identified.

6. The best way to help win back the White House -- which I would argue may be even MORE important than widening our lead in Congress, though that is hugely important -- is to support the efforts of the DNC.

There are several reasons, but let me give you just two and I'll stop:

REASON NUMBER ONE -- THE EVERY PRECINCT PROJECT

For more than a year, the DNC has been feeding an army of 200 local organizers and communications directors whose goal is to deliver 50 incremental Democratic votes in every precinct . . . in every election . . . for every office . . . more or less "forever."

(In this sense, you are contributing to a "capital campaign" - human capital - not just 30-second spots.)

The 50 incremental votes are meant to come 25 from registering new voters, 15 from driving sporadic voters to the polls, and 10 from getting fence-sitters to come down on OUR side of the fence.

It won't all be this cookie-cutter -- and we won't get to 50 everyplace. But if we had gotten just TEN incremental votes in each precinct in 2004, let alone 50, we would have won Ohio, Iowa, and New Mexico.

And if we had begun this program in 1998, Al Gore would be in his second term, Bin Laden would be dead (if 9/11 had happened at all), there would have been no war in Iraq - and no Federal Anti-Marriage Amendment.

Supporting this force of 200 local organizers in 2007 - all trained, incidentally, by an outstanding DNC staffer who happens to be proudly and openly gay - is the single most leveraged way any of us can help to change the course of human events.

REASON NUMBER TWO -- OUR CANDIDATE WILL NEED MONEY

Unless our nominee chooses to forgo $85 million from Uncle Sam, the most money our nominee can legally accept from you for the general election is: ZERO.

And even if, as now seems possible, the candidates do choose to forgo that $85 million, the most they will be able to accept will be $2,300 - just as if they were running for one of 435 House seats.

The DNC, by contrast, can take chunks of as much as $28,500 per citizen (or Green Card holder!) per year . . . and can legally put $18.5 million directly at the presumptive nominee's disposal.

Whichever Democratic candidate you favor, this $18.5 million will go to help him or her win the general election.

By giving to the DNC, you can be sure your money is going to back a winner.

7. The reason to give NOW is that IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO LAY OFF OUR 200 LOCAL ORGANIZERS and tell them to come back in the summer of '08.

Changing the course of human events is not a summer job.

To keep doing the work - which already helped produce good results in 2006 - we need to meet payroll twice a month.

And to do that, the DNC needs your help.