Professor launches PAC to target politicians who thwart #MeToo
SAN JOSE — Stanford law professor Michele Dauber, whose campaign toppled a Bay Area judge this year over a controversial sentence in a high-profile sex assault case, is moving on to a much bigger target: politicians across the country who don’t take violence against women seriously or who have committed sexual misconduct themselves.
On Monday, Dauber launched a political action committee aimed at specific politicians from California to Tennessee. Unlike PACs whose primary goal is electing women, the Enough is Enough Voter Project aims to ensure that the #MeToo movement that erupted last fall and is now roiling the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh remains a powerful force, particularly in blocking lowerlevel politicians from ascending to higher office.
“All across America, predators are finally being held accountable: They are losing their jobs and being investigated and subsequently prosecuted in court,” the group’s website notes. “However, elected office is one of the places where accountability has lagged behind. The Enough is Enough Voter Project is committed to making violence against women a voting issue.”
Dauber’s board includes Kathy Spillar, the executive director of the Feminist Majority, and Emiliana Guereca, co-executive director of Women’s March Los Angeles, who brings to the table an email list of more than 800,000 supporters. Leading Democratic pollster Celinda Lake is conducting polls for the group. She called Enough is Enough a “game changer” and “one of the most exciting developments in politics.”
“It’s turning a cultural revolution into a political revolution,” Lake said. “Even if they don’t win every race, I think it will change behavior and change which candidates the parties will run.”
By jumping into the fray only six weeks before the Nov. 6 election, Enough is Enough must quickly raise money to have an impact. Dauber declined to say how much the group hopes to tap or has already been promised. As a “super PAC,” it may collect unlimited sums of money in some states from corporations, unions, associations and individuals, then can spend unlimited sums to overtly advocate for or against political candidates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Unlike traditional PACs, super PACs like Dauber’s are prohibited from donating money directly to political candidates, and their spending must not be coordinated with that of the candidates they benefit.
But Dauber has already proved she is no slouch when it comes to fundraising, collecting more than $1.4 million to recall former Judge Aaron Persky — primarily from powerful women in Silicon Valley.