December 3, 2008

Against Nepotism

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This is a bipartisan plea. Can we stop with the scions of powerful families grabbing vacant positions for themselves? That means no Jeb Bush, who is considering a run for a Florida Senate seat; it means no Caroline Kennedy, who is apparently a contender to fill Hillary Clinton’s New York Senate seat; and frankly, it also means no Terry McAuliffe, the Clintons’ close confidant and former money man who is weighing a run for governor of Virginia despite being from New York state. If there was ever a time that the American people said decisively that they want new blood in Washington, it’s now. Let’s not perpetuate the old boys club in the face of that.

Update: Since none of the individuals mentioned in this post is getting a job directly from a relative, the title would probably be more accurate if it was “Against Legacies.” But I’m going to embrace a broader, more colloquial definition of “nepotism” and leave it as is. Just, uh, in case you were wondering.

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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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