Lessig Responds to Critics on MayDay PAC

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This partisan reality suggests an obvious strategic response: Rather than battles that force supporters of reform to betray their party loyalties, we need to focus on races where a partisan battle is not an issue. We need to engage in more primaries. The data supports the idea that we could move partisan voters towards our issue in safe seats more easily than contested seats. And that means supporting candidates in primaries in safe seats who would make our issue central, so we give voters a chance to vote for reform without worrying that they would weaken the chance that their party would win.

That’s just one of the lessons we’ve discovered so far. There’s more in this memo. By the end of the month, we will release our final data analysis, along with all the data we have used to make that analysis, so that others can crunch the numbers and draw their own conclusions.

There is no hiding the fact that Tuesday will make it hard to convince the skeptics. The “moonshot” that we launched in May assumed the only way that we’d win over the skeptics was if we did what they said couldn’t be done. We didn’t. They remain skeptical. And the ultimate question for us will be whether that skepticism makes our plan just too ambitious.

At this point, I am unsure. I have been overwhelmed by the emails from many of you, pledging continued, even greater support for our cause going forward. Thank you for that. But my commitment from the start was not to waste your time or money. And so we will study carefully what next steps make sense, given the lessons we have learned.

There’s no question about whether we’re giving up. We can’t give up. You know that we must win this fight, and I continue to believe that when voters see that victory is possible, their love of country will inspire them to act.

We need to show them victory is possible. Because it is. And because of your commitment and support, we are one critical step closer.

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