February 25, 2020

“Anybody But Bernie” Has Come Too Late

Bob Daemmrich/ZUMA

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In 1972 we had ABM—Anybody But McGovern. In 1976 we had ABC—Anybody But Carter. In 1992 we had another ABC. In 2016 Republicans staged an ABT. You might notice a trend here: these movements always start too late. Every one of these folks went on to win their party’s nomination.

In the past week, we’ve finally started to see the rise of a serious ABB—Anybody But Bernie. But if history is any guide, this is a strong indication that it’s already too late for the anti-Bernie forces. He’s gonna win the Democratic nomination.

I’ll admit that in the aftermath of 2016 I no longer trust history as a guide as much as I used to. Still, it’s not nothing.

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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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