Dear MoveOn member,
The corruption scandals swirling around the GOP candidates for both of the Georgia Senate runoff races continue to deepen.
The news broke last week that the Justice Department, FBI, and Securities and Exchange Commission investigated Senator David Perdue this year for the sale of at least $1 million of stock in a financial firm whose board he previously sat on. The CEO sent Perdue an email two days before his stock sale that mentioned "upcoming changes" at the company. Weeks later, the CEO announced he was stepping down, and the company's stock price plummeted.1
Both Perdue and Senator Kelly Loeffler were also investigated earlier this year for insider trading at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic.2 Both dumped stocks and bought others in key sectors after receiving early, confidential briefings about the coronavirus. They lined their pockets with these stock sales while publicly downplaying the threat of the virus.
The last thing Perdue and Loeffler want is for their corruption and self-dealing to be front and center in Georgia's crucial Senate runoff races. It's their kryptonite.
And that's why, John, MoveOn is launching a major ad campaign to shine a spotlight on their corruption, including putting up billboards in the most highly trafficked areas of Atlanta.
Will you chip in $5 a month to erect billboards in high-traffic areas of Atlanta to help more Georgia voters learn about the corruption and self-dealing of the two GOP Senate candidates, keep them up through the election, and head into 2021 strong and able to fight for progressive change with Joe Biden in the White House?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
At a campaign stop in Georgia last month, President Barack Obama called Perdue and Loeffler the "dynamic duo of doing wrong."3
He said that the two senators "were publicly telling you that the virus would be no big deal, but behind closed doors, they were making a bunch of moves in the stock market to try to make sure their portfolios were protected instead of making sure you were protected. Man, that's shady. That ain't right. They downplayed the pandemic in public, and in private they're trying to see if they can profit from it. Both of them, not just one of them, both of them. They're like Batman and Robin gone bad."4
Perdue and Loeffler know how damaging these scandals could be to their races. Perdue backed out of his final general election debate after his Democratic challenger, Jon Ossoff, called him a crook in their second debate and the interaction went viral.5 Perdue continues to refuse to debate Ossoff.6 Loeffler is so worried that she went so far as to run an ad calling the Trump Justice Department investigation "fake news" and a "witch hunt" and claiming she'd "done nothing wrong."7
These scandals are toxic to their races—if we get the information out. But not enough voters know about their corruption.
That's why MoveOn is launching a major ad campaign on the GOP candidates' corruption that includes high-profile billboards—if we can raise the money. Billboards are a great way to reach Georgia voters, because people there spend so much time in the car or on mass transit. Drivers stuck in traffic are like a captive audience, and our billboards will drive home the winning message—if we can replenish our campaign funds in time to get them up and keep them up.
The polls are TIED in the races.8 We CAN win both races. But we need to get this information out.
We need your help. Will you chip in $5 a month to help put up billboards spotlighting the GOP candidates' corruption, keep them up to power Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock to victory, and enable us to keep up the fight in 2021?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Together, we can win these runoff races, take the Senate gavel from Mitch McConnell, and get to work passing urgent legislation to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and build an America for all.
Thanks for all you do.
–Chris, Isbah, Heather, Gabi, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Stock Trades by Senator Perdue Said to Have Prompted Justice Dept. Inquiry," The New York Times, November 25, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/147096?t=6&akid=285319%2E40999114%2Ekt-cSN
2. "Perdue and Loeffler’s Well-Timed Stock Trades Give Georgia Democrats an Opening," Mother Jones, November 25, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/147097?t=8&akid=285319%2E40999114%2Ekt-cSN
3. "'They're like Batman and Robin gone bad': Obama targets Georgia senators in final pitch for Democrats," Yahoo News, November 2, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/147098?t=10&akid=285319%2E40999114%2Ekt-cSN
4. Ibid.
5. "Perdue and Loeffler’s Well-Timed Stock Trades Give Georgia Democrats an Opening," Mother Jones, November 25, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/147097?t=12&akid=285319%2E40999114%2Ekt-cSN
6. "Georgia Sen. David Perdue declines to debate opponent ahead of January 5 runoff," CNN, November 16, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/147099?t=14&akid=285319%2E40999114%2Ekt-cSN
7. "Loeffler Releases New Ad on Stock Debacle & Exoneration," AllOnGeorgia, June 10, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/147100?t=16&akid=285319%2E40999114%2Ekt-cSN
8. "Latest Polls, U.S. Senate, Georgia," FiveThirtyEight, accessed December 2, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/145082?t=18&akid=285319%2E40999114%2Ekt-cSN
Want to support MoveOn's work? With control of the Senate at stake, Republicans are flooding Georgia with cash, because they are desperate to do whatever they can, including spreading misinformation and engaging in voter suppression, to maintain control of the Senate as Joe Biden takes office in January. Which is why MoveOn is running a massive campaign to combat the GOP's lies, win in Georgia, and flip the Senate.
Will you chip in to win in Georgia, flip the Senate, and fight for progressive change in 2021?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
PAID FOR BY MOVEON
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