October 22, 2018

Barack Obama Just Delivered the Greatest Imperative to Democrats Ahead of the November Elections

“The biggest threat to our democracy is indifference.”

At a Nevada rally on Monday, former President Barack Obama delivered one clear message to Democrats ahead of Election Day: Vote.

“This November’s elections are more important than any I can remember in my lifetime,” he said. “And that includes when I was a on the ballot.”

Nevada is a battleground state for Democrats this midterm election, with an open governor’s seat and Democrat Jacky Rosen running a tight race against incumbent Republican Sen. Dean Heller. And, as Obama pointed out on Monday, Nevada could be the first state to an elect an all-female legislature.

“This is not just about one person in the White House,” he said, pointedly avoiding naming President Trump in his speech. “This is about Congress and governor’s races and state legislative races…If all it took was being president, I would have solved everything.”

At one point in the speech, Obama specifically spoke to young voters: “You wouldn’t let your grandmother decide what you wear. You wouldn’t let your parents decide what’s on your playlist.”

“You can’t just give your power away,” he added.  

And while in Vegas, the former president—and dad joke aficionado—couldn’t resist the temptation of a betting joke, at one point saying, “I know you can bet on anything here in Vegas—but you don’t want to bet that the Republicans are actually going to protect your health care.”

In his concluding words, Obama warned that failing to vote in this election may have grave consequences. “The biggest threat to our democracy is indifference,” he said. “The biggest threat to our democracy is cynicism that says ‘we’re just gonna stay home because my vote doesn’t matter.'”

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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.

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