C&L Fundraiser 2012

Crooks and Liars, one of the coolest big blogs, is holding a donation drive. I imagine most readers here are familiar with Crooks and Liars, but if not, it's a great place to catch up on political video clips. I periodically guest post over at C&L as part of the Mike's Blog Roundup crew, and C&L is really unique among bigger blogs in consciously, deliberately trying to spread the love and link smaller blogs. It's one of the blogs I give to every year, and if you've got the means, it's worth considering a donation, however modest. Funds have gotten tighter, as founder John Amato writes:

As C&L continues its donation drive I thought I'd clear something up. Yes, we do have ads on all of our pages. It's because of the way tags and html work that they show up on every page, but not all ads are equal. First party ads are buys that give bloggers a great CPM ratio, but now they are disappearing in favor of cheap Google ads which pay pennies to the blogs on which they appear.

It used to be that progressive groups, presidential and congressional campaigns, think tanks and the like would buy first party ads on all of our sites. That funding stream is crucial to our survival, but in the last two years many have switched their buys, including prominent groups that claim to support progressive media. It's frustrating on many levels, but the simplest reason they should buy first party ads again is because we are the only sites that carry a distinct progressive message. Also, we reach vast audiences on a daily basis that these groups need to support them in these troubled times. We often promote progressive causes of these groups when possible, but nowadays it's not reciprocated. I hope that changes.

You've seen the amount of money flowing into the market during this election season. There's no reason for them to shortchange some of the people most responsible for turning the tide against conservative rule. Do we have work to do? Absolutely, but a movement takes time to build. It took conservatives many decades to achieve what they had hoped. The blogosphere has given us a vehicle to express our ideas to a vast audience like never before. The progressive movement will grow too, but we can't get discouraged by short-term setbacks.

Here at C&L we will continue to cover the news and also support progressive groups and media. Please donate what you can. It is very appreciated. The monies collected will support our staff and our ongoing web improvements.