Got $27? Make Political Change.

We're all about change here at MOMocrats.  We like making our opinions known and our voices heard, in case you couldn't tell! 

It seems to be working -- things are growing here in our corner of the political blogosphere.  But sometimes, whether we like it or not, words aren't always enough in our system to see the change we want.  Sadly, those who give the money ultimately have a bigger say than those who don't.

So I've started a revolution at my place and my fellow MOMocrats agreed to let me talk about it here, as well.  So, I'm inviting everyone to dig out their change, check under the sofa cushions and in the pockets of those jeans you haven't worn for a while and see if you can put together $27.

$27.

That's my new mantra.

Several months ago, I read Melinda Henneberger's book, If They Only Listened to Us: What Women Voters Want Men to Hear. As she was promoting her book, Henneberger quoted a statistic in one article that if every woman who voted in the 2006 national elections had contributed just $27 to any presidential candidate or party, we would pour $1.3 billion dollars into the political system.

Mm-hmm.  That's billion with a 'b.'

  Women are really good at networking and writing and expressing our views.  We've got blogs and podcasts and we're not afraid to use them.  Whether we like it or not, though, we're apparently really bad at doing the one thing that makes the most difference in electing politicians who represent our views -- giving money.

As I read If They Only Listened to Us, I thought perhaps a better question was, "Why don't they listen?"  The answer, unfortunately, is an easy one.  We're happy to spring for the fancy lattes or the latest cute shoes (you know who you are!).  We don't hesitate to spend a few bucks on cocktails or the most recent cinematic experience.  And it's easy to complain that no one is listening. But when it comes down to digging out a little spare change from our wallets for politics, women are more reticent.

We are now down to one candidate for each party in this presidential campaign, so I'm calling on everyone to put this theory into action.  To help me, my excellent gal pal and fellow MOMocrat Lawyer Mama put her mad techy skillz into action and made this:

I've launched PunditMom's $27 Election Revolution!

I'm asking each of you to think about cutting back on the Starbucks just a little bit and contribute $27 to the candidate or political party of your choice.  It doesn't have to be John McCain or Barack Obama.  It doesn't even have to be a presidential candidate -- there are plenty of candidates running for national and local offices who could use a little extra cash to get out their messages. If we pool our money, so much the better.  But imagine what our $1.3 billion dollars would do, even as individual contributions, to increase the volume of our political voices.  Even John McCain would have to sit up and take notice of the issues we think are important.

It's time, ladies (and you guys, too!). 

I admit, $27 isn't a lot.  But if we can start with this and it doesn't feel too scary, think about what contributions we'd be willing to make next time?

Let's take back the political process and use it for our benefit.  What else would you be spending that $27 on anyway -- this?

Plus, if you send me an E-mail or leave a comment (you can find my E-mail address at PunditMom) letting me know that you've contributed $27 to any candidate or political party of your choice, I'll send you the html for this lovely little button! 

Come on, you know you want one! Let's start this revolution together!

MOMocrat Joanne is trying on her revolutionary garb at her place PunditMom.  You can also find her exercising her pundit muscles at BlogHer and The Huffington Post, where she's a regular contributor.

Comments

[Karoli]

One word to the wise...I've given about $600 in the primary cycle alone, not just to Obama but also to progressive candidates running in districts with a chance to turn blue, also causes and ActBlue. I'd suggest choosing your cause/candidate wisely, and then expect to receive more requests for donations. One downside to the grassroots fundraising is that my inbox gets 12-20 requests for more donations every day. It's really hard for me to say no, so I've decided to just budget a specific amount every month for donations so that I don't have to feel guilty about saying no.

[Lawyer Mama]

Woo HOO! So glad you put this up here. I'll have to post about it on my blog as well.

[Gunfighter]

So far, I have ponied up to the tune of $200, half for the DNC and the other half to the Obama campaign.

[Amy]

Ten minutes ago I had never donated to a political cause. One minute ago I logged on to the barackobama.com site and gave $100.00. I then forwarded the message to ten friends and changed my facebook account to read, "I just donated to Obama's campaign. Have you donated yet?"

Thank you for the blog post - it took me 35 years and the right candidate to get me moving!

Keep up the good work!