Dear MoveOn member,
In response to last month's stimulus bill that offered too little for working Americans, while giving billions to the rich and powerful, Senator Lindsey Graham raged that giving money to those in need would "incentivize" people to quit their jobs.1
The same bill provided a $500 billion slush fund to huge corporations, but Sen. Graham didn't see any problems with that.
Similarly, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell first attempted to provide even more money to his corporate backers while blocking the poorest Americans from any aid whatsoever, and when it became clear that Democrats would not let it pass, he said that Republicans would have to "gag and vote for" provisions to help everyday Americans.2
That is who Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell are, it is how they lead the Senate, and it is why we must defeat them and end GOP control in November.
New data just released shows that their appalling response to the coronavirus pandemic may just be the final straw for voters and could give us a real shot at ending their reign of cruelty in the Senate this fall.
Jamie Harrison, Lindsey Graham's challenger in South Carolina—whom MoveOn members in the state have enthusiastically endorsed—raised almost $2 million more than Graham in the first quarter of 2020, joining a list of eight Democratic challengers who are outpacing Republicans in the most competitive Senate races across the country this year.3,4
This is good news, but it doesn't change the reality that Graham, McConnell, and their fellow GOP senators have the backing of billionaire donors and the same corporations they just gave $500 billion to. Those moneyed interests will be fighting as hard as they can to keep their lap dogs in power.
Trump's response to the pandemic has shown just how critical it is to defeat him in November, but the reality is that even if we defeat Trump, Democrats will not be able to pass any meaningful legislation unless the Senate is also in their hands, because McConnell and his cronies will make sure that the Senate remains a "legislative graveyard."5
Even before this crisis, the GOP-led Senate was serving as Trump's frontline offensive team for his worst policies.
In 2017, they passed a $1.5 trillion tax giveaway to the ultra rich and corporations.
With Susan Collins' decisive vote, they confirmed sexual predator Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
They refuse to pass bills to protect our elections from foreign interference or to expand vote by mail and early voting—two options now desperately needed in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
They refused to call any witnesses and acquitted Trump in his impeachment trial.
And much, much more.
MoveOn has identified 10 critical battleground states where we will work to not only defeat Trump but also to defeat Republican senators like Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Susan Collins, Martha McSally, Thom Tillis, Kelly Loeffler, and more. But with the realities of long-term social distancing, we need to rework our program to succeed from afar and ensure that an onslaught of GOP cash doesn't buy them another victory.
Thanks for all you do.
–Chris, Sky, Pulin, Isbah, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Republicans Are Worried Coronavirus Stimulus Bill Is Too Generous to the Unemployed," Vanity Fair, March 25, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/119789?t=4&akid=262247%2E40999114%2E9_AebV
2. "Sidelined in the final days of stimulus talks, McConnell again learns the risk of getting ahead of Trump," The Los Angeles Times, March 27, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/119790?t=6&akid=262247%2E40999114%2E9_AebV
3. "Democratic challenger outraises Graham in South Carolina Senate race," The Hill, April 16, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/119791?t=8&akid=262247%2E40999114%2E9_AebV
4. "Democratic Challengers Dominate Fundraising in Key Senate Races," Bloomberg Government, April 16, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/119792?t=10&akid=262247%2E40999114%2E9_AebV
5. "House Democrats have passed nearly 400 bills. Trump and Republicans are ignoring them." Vox, November 29, 2019
https://act.moveon.org/go/119793?t=12&akid=262247%2E40999114%2E9_AebV
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