Last month, two Denver-based liberals named Jack Teter and Kyle Huelsman started the Can You Not PAC as a joke. But when they raised more than $2,000 within the first day, they realized there was more support for their efforts than they thought. And what are those efforts? According to the website itself, the goal is quite simple:
Can You Not PAC is a political action project that aims to dis/empower and dis/incline people in positions of privilege, specifically straight white men, from ambitions of running for office in progressive urban districts.
Yes, Teter and Huelsman think there are some inconsistencies in current liberal logic. While white, straight, male Democrats profess a belief in social justice, women’s equality, racial disparities, and all the rest, they are betraying these beliefs by running against minority candidates who – according to them – would be much more qualified for the job.
“If I’m a Democratic operative and I want the most progressive policy possible and data tells me that progressive policies do better when there are more women and people of color and LGBT folks in office, why would I run against those folks except to feed my own ego?” Huelsman told Slate.com.
Hmm.
Republican donors who can’t bring themselves to write a check to the Donald Trump campaign should consider the Can You Not PAC an acceptable alternative. Anytime liberals choose to eat their own, we should provide the seasoning. This initiative is as confoundingly stupid as conservatives who want to run a third-party candidate against the Republican nominee. There’s this bizarre faction on both sides that says, “Well, this is the way I want it, and if I can’t have it exactly that way, then I’m willing to let the other side win.”
Already, Trump is peeling off white Democrats who have become disillusioned. In a campaign season that has included a pandering “Hispanic” Democratic debate, a candidate who has said that white people don’t know what it’s like to be poor, a candidate who has threatened to put coal miners out of work, and a media that consistently hints at the hidden sexism and racism of Bernie Sanders supporters, it’s not difficult to figure out why some voters are heading for the exit.
The Can You Not PAC is unlikely to persuade even one white man to give up his political aspirations, but it may convince a great many white men to contemplate whether or not they still believe in the Democratic Party. As such, it should be encouraged.
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