Chris and I have been working to figure out the specifics on the MyDD community polling project.  There are basically two things you need to do to get a poll done.  One, you need to hire a pollster.  There are lots of variables here.  Do we want a nonpartisan pollster who could potentially make news, but who will not be as interested in asking the kinds of questions we're looking at?  Do we want a partisan pollster who will eschew conventional wisdom, but carry less perceived credibilty?  Ultimately, in reading through your comments and responses, we realized that the value here is not in creating news, but in getting new information on the attitudes of the American people.  So we're going with someone who polls a little differently.  Chris is going to announce who we've chosen pretty soon, but it's not a conventional choice and I think you'll be psyched with who he is and why we went with him.  He reads MyDD, for starters.

The second thing to do is to find a legal vehicle to do the polling.  We are pleased to be working with Start Change, the 501c(4) organization that emerged from the successful Sinclair action in 2004.  Their mission - "to make sure our media is fair, businesses are honest, and our government is not radicalized" - coheres nicely with what we're trying to do here.  Start Change is run by some excellent people who emerged in the 2004 cycle.  They are brilliant, honest, and incredible activists, and we are very pleased to be able to work with them.  When we all donate to make this happen, you can rest assured that your emails will be kept by people who won't spam you, and your money will be used wisely.

We're really excited to be doing this.  It's very easy for us as bloggers to talk from the cheap seats, and both Chris and I feel to some extent that we've been in some cases more critical than constructive.  Ultimately, politics is what we make happen, and we're going to make this small piece happen.  All of you who chimed in, or who plan to donate, you're making a real difference.