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MY DONATION "TRANCHES": A RESPONSE TO DAVID HOGG [1]

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Date: 2025-04-29

Like most everyone on this site, I’ve been hearing from David Hogg’s “Leaders We Deserve”, urging me to fund primary challenges to “ineffective” Democrats in safely blue districts. I have not done so, even though I share some of Hogg’s opinions. Incumbents should never be immune to challenge from within their own party. They must continue to earn the vote. And while I regard term limits, except in the case of federal judges who will never face voters, as foolish, preferring nonpartisan redistricting and campaign finance reform so we can oust office-holders the old fashioned way — with our votes, I’ve no problem if AOC decides to challenge Chuck Shumer; that’s up to NY Dems. (I voted “Yes” at the on-line Indivisible local leaders’ meeting which called for Schumer to step down as Minority Leader.)

With all that said, I’m faced with this problem: how do I allocate the modest war chest my retired pensioner’s budget allows me to donate to political causes? How much should go to purging timid Democrats, and how much should go elsewhere? I’m grateful to David Hogg for prompting me to think hard about my donor priorities. I’m now thinking of six “tranches”, reflecting the importance that different types of donations have for me. I have tried to balance political effectiveness with personal satisfaction. My priorities are a blend of the two.

Tranche #1 — local political organizations in which I participate face to face. I live in a pink community in a very red state: Oklahoma, where Democrats face defeat more often than victory. But we win a few and keep building for the future, and that requires some money to supplement our volunteer efforts and in-kind contributions (like stamps and gas money). So my first donations go to three local groups: the Pontotoc County Democrats, the Oklahoma Democratic Veterans, and Indivisible Oklahoma. (I serve on and off as officer or project leader in all three, so have a real voice in how the money is spent.)

Tranche #2 — local candidates . It’s rewarding to bring a check to a campaign kick-off for a candidate who knows me by name, and for whom and often with whom I’m phone banking and door knocking. (One state rep calls me his favorite driver, not because of my personal charm, but because I’ve got the best air conditioning and the best musical tastes on my Sirius XM.) And because I believe so strongly in a 50-state strategy, I’m not at all ashamed to be donating locally. Besides, of the five for whom I personally canvassed in ‘24, two won their races, and the other three significantly increased the Dem vote share.

Tranche #3 — national infrastructure-building organizations . I’m past the stage of impulsively giving to long-shot candidates with catchy on-line ads. (Think Amy McGrath.) Even giving directly to candidates, while important, often leaves the field deserted after the election is over. But there are groups more focused on building capacity for the next election and the elections after that. These include ongoing efforts like the Movement Voter Project, Run for Something, Contest Every Race, and Common Defense. Note that I haven’t included the DNC or the D triple C, whose priorities I’ve been questioning since David Hogg was in diapers.

Tranche #4 — alternative media . Exhausted by the NY Times both-siderism, the TV networks’ corporate priorities, and WaPo’s betrayal, I’m turning to voices who dare to contest the toxic media environment. I could read most of these for free, but since they are so essential to preserving US democracy I think of others as campaign donations. Examples include Heather Cox Richardson, the WaPo escapees at The Contrarian, The Atlantic and The Guardian (who messaged me how many of their articles I’d read and shamed me into subscribing), Daily Kos of course, and that marvelous new site for DK expats Mark Sumner, Hunter Lazzaro and Meteor Blades — The Journal of Uncharted Blue Places. I’m still a free rider on some, including my favorite laughs of the day — Jeff “Everyone is Entitled to my Opinion” Tiedrich, Andy Borowitz, and the amazing JoJoFromJerz. Maybe I boost their subscriptions by sharing their best hits on Facebook and BlueSky (where all can be found directly).

Tranche #5 — national candidates. There was a time when this was Tranche #1, and I still donate some this way. I was 0 for 4 in 2024, having donated to Biden and then Harris/Walz, and to US Senate candidates Sherrod Brown, Jon Tester and Colin Allred. (Make that 0 for 7 if I include OK Congressional candidates Dennis Baker, Madison Horn and Brandon Wade, but I count them in #2.) I’m seriously considering channeling these national contributions in 2026 through Oath, whose system for predicting maximum donor impact looks impressive to my veteran activist but unprofessional eye.

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