Dear John,

For decades, the Republican Party has focused on cutting taxes and shifting wealth to the top 1% at the expense of everyone else.

The question for Democrats is why would anyone other than the tiniest sliver of the wealthiest people vote for a party with that agenda?

I’ll tell you why: Because Republicans have mastered the art of using manufactured crises around cultural wedge issues to divert the public’s attention.

We’re seeing it happen right now. Republicans in Washington are demanding harmful budget cuts as part of the debt ceiling negotiations to preserve their tax giveaways to the rich. Meanwhile, their presidential candidates are fearmongering around “woke-ism,” transgender people, and critical race theory.

Unfortunately, the corporate media is falling for it, just as they have over and over, including in past election cycles.

This is where Inequality Media Civic Action comes in. We’ve mastered the strategy of using social media to explain what’s really going on through simple, easy-to-understand posts and videos — and how the Republicans’ agenda affects voters personally.

We know our strategy is working, but we rely on donations from everyday people like you to make it happen. Will you make a donation to Inequality Media Civic Action to fund this vital public education work, including as we launch our 2024 election campaign?

Consider the list of fake fears that Republicans are whipping up right now:

1. “Woke.” Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis told Fox News that “the woke mind virus is basically a form of cultural Marxism.” But what even is “woke”? Can anyone define it? It seems like an all-encompassing term for what we used to consider tolerance — an attribute that in a different age was considered positive.
2. “Trans people.” Former president Donald Trump says that one of his top priorities if he’s reelected in 2024 will be a “sweeping federal rollback of transgender rights.” But there’s not a shred of evidence that trans people are threats to anyone. They’re just scapegoats.
3. “Critical race theory.” Republican governors are banning CRT from schools in Florida, Texas, Virginia, and elsewhere. But what are they afraid of? Giving students an accurate education about the role of racism in American history? These bans are just a scare tactic to appeal to white, culturally conservative voters.
4. “Couch potatoes.” Republicans are demanding that work requirements be added to food stamps and welfare. Like Ronald Reagan’s so-called “welfare queens,” the “couch potato” myth is a cruel pretext — and a racial dog whistle — for further shredding of the social safety net.
5. “Out of control government spending.” Rubbish. Discretionary spending has fallen more than 30% in the past 50 years as a percentage of the nation’s gross domestic product. Some of the biggest drivers of recent deficits are the Bush and Trump tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, which will have cost $8 trillion and $1.7 trillion, respectively, by the end of fiscal year 2023.

All five of these so-called crises have been manufactured by the GOP. They’re entirely made-up.

Why? To deflect attention from the near-record share of the nation’s income and wealth now going to the richest Americans.

The super-wealthy and big corporations don’t want the rest of America to notice they’re rigging the economy for their own benefit. So they deflect, distract, and use scapegoating, racism, and outright lies to disguise what’s really going on.

Friends, we won’t let them get away with it — but we need your help to reach the millions of people, and voters, who need the facts.

Will you make a donation to Inequality Media Civic Action to fund this vital public education work as we launch our latest campaign?

Thanks for joining with us in the fight for truth,

Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action