December 14, 2010

DC Ticker on ABC News: Sanders, Buy; Steele, Dump

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I’ve previously explained the DC Ticker I compile most days, which is now being featured weekly on ABC News’ website show, Political Punch, hosted by Jake Tapper. Here are the picks featured on the latest PP:

* Sen. Dick Durbin, buy. The No. 2 Democratic in the Senate, a liberal, is the most effective advocate for Obama’s tax-cut deal in the Upper Chamber. As the bill passes without too much trouble in the Senate, Obama can thank him.

* Sen. Bernie Sanders, buy. The independent senator from Vermont became a progressive hero when he filibustered the tax cut deal. He’s not going to be able to stop it, but he earned himself a Twitter hashtag (#filibernie).

* Sen. John Thune, buy. With grumbling on the right about the current crop of 2012 GOP presidential contenders, Thune offers what many Republicans yearn for: a fresh face. It worked for the Ds in 2008.

* Sen. John Cornyn, buy. He’s signed up for another tour leading the National Republican Senatorial Committee. No surprise–he knows that 2012 at this point looks like it’s going to be a great year for Republicans in the Senate.

* Michael Steele, dump. After the GOP achieved a historic victory in the midterm elections, almost everyone in the party wanted the chairman gone. Yet he’s running for re-election. If he loses, he probably won’t get a Fox News show.

You can receive the almost-daily DC Ticker report by following my Twitter feed. (#DCticker is the Twitter hashtag.) Please feel free to argue with my selections—though all decisions of the judges are final. And please feel free to make suggestions for buy or sell orders in the comments below or on Twitter (by replying to @DavidCornDC).

DC Ticker is merely an advisory service. It and its author cannot be held liable for any investments made in politicians, policy wonks, or government officials on the basis of the information presented. Invest in politics at your own risk.

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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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