May 6, 2008

Another Example of Why You Can’t Trust the Right on Politics of the Left

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


Yesterday, I made the case that those of us on the left shouldn’t use the arguments of those on the right, even if they ring true, in our own internal debates. An Obama supporter, for example, shouldn’t use a right-wing blogger’s case against Clinton as evidence because the right-wing blogger’s motives are suspect: does she really like Obama, or does she simply want to sow seeds of discord and stir up trouble. She doesn’t have the left’s best interests at heart, after all.

Yesterday, the Obama campaign found an excellent example of my point. Here is the text of a National Right to Life robocall being made to Democrats in Indiana:

“Hello, this is National Right to Life PAC, asking you to vote against Barack Obama in tomorrow’s primary election.

“Barack Obama has said that his first act as President would be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act, which would enshrine abortion on demand into federal law and would require tax funding of abortion. This bill would legalize partial birth abortion again.

“Barack Obama even voted against saving the lives of babies who survive late term abortion.

“You can vote in either party’s primary. If you vote in the Democratic primary, please do not vote for Barack Obama.

“Thank you.

“This message not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. NRLPAC, NRLPAC.ORG, 202-626-8805 is responsible for the content of this advertising and paid for this call.”

I shouldn’t have to point out that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are both proudly pro-choice and no Democrat (or independent, or Republican) can distinguish between the two candidates on the issue of abortion. Presumably, the National Right to Life recognizes that this protracted Democratic primary fight is helpful for the Republican Party and is inveighing against the Democratic frontrunner. Don’t trust ’em!

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.

payment methods

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.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate