July 21, 2020

The Portland Moms Are Giving Trump a Headache

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Former FBI Director James Comey writes today that while it might be legal for federal agents to invade Portland, it’s also really stupid. After spelling out exactly how stupid it is, he asks a question:

So it’s dumb and self-defeating on many levels for the feds to engage the way they have in Portland. No sensible law enforcement leader would approach it this way. Which begs a question: Is televised conflict the goal?

What is there to say except “duh”? Of course that’s the goal. This whole thing is purely a campaign contrivance. Trump is trying to run on the idea that our (Democratic) cities are in flames and only a (Republican) president can save them. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t enough violence to keep that notion alive, so he decided to manufacture some.

Of course, it’s turning out to bite him in the ass thanks to the genuinely brilliant strategy of the “Portland moms.” The video that most people are seeing shows a bunch of scary-looking Trump thugs on the one hand and crowds of middle-class moms singing lullabyes on the other (skip to 1:18 in the video below):

Trump is now threatening to send federal agents into Chicago, but if the folks in Chicago are smart enough to adopt the same strategy, Trump is going to get nothing for his efforts.

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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.

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