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DRUDGE….Many years ago I had the bright idea that if you really wanted to understand everyday Americans, you ought to read the National Enquirer regularly. So I did for a few weeks — and then gave up. It was just too boring.

I feel the same way about Drudge. I read him from time to time because I know that other people do, but I always drift away because there’s really nothing much there. He only occasionally has exclusive news, and most of what he does have comes from sources inside MSM newsrooms and consists of a few sentences blurbing a story that shows up in its full form an hour or two later at the MSM site itself. Big deal. His roundups of basic news are no better than just reading a few front pages yourself. Sure, conservatives like him because he helped bring down the Clintons, but he hasn’t done much since then. For the rest of us, it’s basically kind of a boring site.

In other words, count me in Steve’s camp. I mean, I get it, but I still don’t get it. Why do people still read the guy? Isn’t he sort of the disco of right-wing news sites?

WE CAME UP SHORT.

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So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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