If you’ve ever signed up with an online progressive organization as a volunteer, or agreed to get email from the Democrats about their campaigns, you’ve probably been hit with a variety of this year’s online database gimmick: Voting “for” a Democratic candidate, in competition with other Democratic candidates, to see which candidate earns further support from an organization. Democracy for America pioneered the concept, with its online voting for DFA All Stars. Russ Feingold is doing it with his Progressive Patriots. John Edwards has done it with his One America Campaign. This week, it’s the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee that’s using the appeal, with its Campaign for Change, through which anyone can vote for one of 35 candidates for the House of Representatives. The three top victors get the benefit of extra assistance from the DCCC.

Well, it’s certainly nice to see the DCCC encouraging campaigns to organize their volunteers online. But there’s a little catch about all these opportunities to “vote” for a congressional candidate to receive support. Voting requires giving the DCCC your name and contact information for its big computer database. It looks like this supposed opportunity to have a say by voting for a candidate is just a way for the DCCC to get the names, numbers, addresses, and emails of likely Democratic voters.

Wouldn’t you know it, one of the rewards for top vote-getting candidates is a fundraising email sent out the DCCCs big email list - and that email list is made bigger by the vote-getting competition. It’s all a bit circular, isn’t it?