Dems Fundraise Off RNC Memo

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The Democratic Party is using a lurid Republican National Committee strategy presentation as part of its own pitch for campaign dollars. In two separate emails sent out today, both the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) blasted the RNC presentation, which was reported on Wednesday, for spreading “GOP lies”—and solicited contributions in an effort to stop them.

In an email solicitation Thursday, the DSCC described how the RNC presentation instructed members to “capitalize on fear of President Obama and his ‘trending toward socialism’ to raise money,” citing a slide titled “The Evil Empire” depicting Obama as the Joker. “We know they use fear and lies, but this evidence shows that it is part of a coordinated effort at the highest level of the Republican Party,” the email says. “If this type of attack infuriates you half as much as it infuriates me, you need to act now. Make an immediate donation to the DSCC to fight the Republican lies and smears.”

In a similar email blast, the DCCC cited the RNC presentation to encourage its base to contribute an “Emergency Rapid Response Fund” that would back its effort to pass health reform and protect members in vulnerable districts who support the bill, as Greg Sargent reported earlier this afternoon.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that both sides are trying to capitalize upon fear to rally popular support. The Republicans are bent on demonizing Obama and the Democrats, and the Democrats, in turn, are raising the alarm about the GOP attacks to appeal to their disenchanted base.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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