October 17, 2007

Larry Craig is a Friend of the Series of Tubes, Though He Says Otherwise

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Last night, Larry Craig and his wife sat down with Matt Lauer to discuss the senator’s sex scandal. At one point, Lauer asked Craig if he knew the Minneapolis airport bathroom he was caught in is a hot spot for gay sex, a fact Craig would presumably find on the internet.

Craig responded, “Matt, you won’t believe this. But I don’t use the Internet. I don’t have a computer at my desk. I’ve never used the Internet. It’s just not what I do.”

Huh. Is Craig really at Ted Stevens’ level of online illiteracy? Thanks to the folks at the Washington Examiner, we know he’s not.

According to them:

    Craig is a member of the Congressional Internet Caucus.

  • He co-sponsored a bill designating June 2007 as National Internet Safety Month.
  • He was presented with the 2007 Internet Keep Safe Coalition Award.
  • On his Web site, he lists as a top accomplishment a Silver Mouse Award given to his site in 2003 and 2006 by the Congressional Management Foundation in 2003 and 2006.
  • When he endorsed Mitt Romney for president, he did so on YouTube.

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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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