Dear MoveOn member,
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.—who has long peddled far-right conspiracy
theories—has put an end to the speculation and made it official: He's
running for president in an independent bid that could spoil the election
for President Joe Biden and hand an Electoral College victory to Donald
Trump in 2024.^1
From the moment he first started running, it's been clear that Kennedy is
no Democrat. He's spread conspiracy theories and misinformation about
everything from vaccines to Ukraine, repeatedly taking positions that put
him well outside the mainstream of the Democratic Party and close to the
QAnon wing of the Republican Party.^2,3
Now that Kennedy has seen what the rest of us have known for months—that
he has next to no support among Democratic primary voters—he's decided to
take his campaign independent.
Let's be clear: The winner of the 2024 election will either be President
Biden or the Republican nominee, which will most likely be Trump.^4
Kennedy's independent campaign will serve only to siphon votes that
otherwise would've been cast for one of the other candidates.
This makes MoveOn's voter mobilization work even more critical than it
already was.
[ [link removed] ]Can you donate $9 to help us lay the groundwork to turn
out voters for President Biden in key states across the country?
In 2020, the Electoral College was decided by a few thousand votes in a
handful of states—and we expect the same to be true next year.^5 If
Kennedy manages to win votes from just a fraction of independents or
moderate Republicans who otherwise would've voted for Biden, he could
throw the election right to Trump, putting the future of our democracy on
a knife's edge.
And we should be clear-eyed about the threat here. While Kennedy never
managed to garner any real support among Democratic primary voters, his
Super PAC raised $11 million within hours of his relaunching his campaign
as an independent.^6
Plus, Kennedy is talking about courting the support of fellow conspiracy
theorist Elon Musk, who has already hosted Kennedy during livestreams on
X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.^7
The combination of big money and support from big names like Musk could
create the conditions that allow Kennedy to siphon a significant number of
votes away from President Biden—especially if Musk continues to use the
reach of his recently purchased social media platform to boost Kennedy's
standing.
Our democracy can't afford another four years of Trump in the White House.
But that's exactly what Kennedy's independent campaign could give us if we
don't put our voter mobilization efforts into overdrive.
[ [link removed] ]So John, please don't sit this one out. If you want to make
sure we have everything we need to put MoveOn's proven voter turnout model
into action and make sure as many people as possible turn out for Biden in
key swing states, give $9 or anything you can today to help
us fight back.
Thanks for all you do.
–Mohammad, Emily, Madeleine, Cheryl, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announces independent run for president, ending
Democratic primary challenge to Biden," CNN, October 9, 2023
[link removed]
2. "RFK Jr. says he's not anti-vaccine. His record shows the opposite.
It's one of many inconsistencies," AP News, July 31, 2023
[link removed]
3. "RFK Jr. says Russia 'acting in good faith' in Ukraine invasion, US in
part to blame for war," The Hill, June 22, 2023
[link removed]
4. "CBS News poll finds Trump's big lead grows, as GOP voters dismiss
indictments," CBS News, August 20, 2023
[link removed]
5. "Narrow Wins In These Key States Powered Biden To The Presidency," NPR,
December 2, 2020
[link removed]
6. "RFK Jr. super PAC raises $11 million within hours and courts Elon
Musk's support," Politico, October 10, 2023
[link removed]
7. "With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. interview, Musk again uses Twitter to
promote candidates aligned with his views," CNN, June 5, 2023
[link removed]
Want to support MoveOn's work? Book bans have skyrocketed thanks to
right-wing state laws which have forced teachers to remove books from
their classrooms. In response, MoveOn is launching a "Banned Bookmobile,"
filling it with books that the far right has banned, and driving it around
to hand out those books, for free, in highly trafficked areas that will
attract media attention. To keep the Banned Bookmobile up and running into
2024, we need your help.
Will you chip in to power our critical work?
[ [link removed] ]Yes, I'll chip in.
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