March 22, 2013

Is This the Quote of the Day?

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Here is John Boehner, explaining the Republican plan for negotiating over the upcoming debt ceiling:

I’m not going to risk the full faith and credit of the federal government.

Steve Benen suggests this is a “game over” moment. Sure, Boehner claims that Republicans will raise the debt ceiling only in exchange for big cuts in entitlements, but that’s an empty threat if he’s serious about not risking America’s credit rating. So that means there won’t be a big fight over the debt ceiling.

Maybe. Or maybe this is just boilerplate from Boehner and doesn’t mean much of anything. I’m not sure. But I agree that Boehner can’t have it both ways. Either he’s going to insist on dollar-for-dollar entitlement cuts or he’s going to back off from debt ceiling hostage taking. He can’t do both.

And while we’re on the subject, I’d still like to see just what entitlement cuts Boehner and his caucus want. They like to yak about this stuff endlessly, but they sure seem to clam up mighty quick when you ask for actual details.

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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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