John,
“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” – Maya Angelou
We knew who Donald Trump was even before he descended his golden escalator to announce his first run for president in 2015. He was the man who promoted birther conspiracy theories against then-President Barack Obama. He was the one who denigrated Black and brown immigrants―ultimately ripping babies from their parents’ arms and putting children in cages. He was the one who called for and implemented a Muslim ban. And he was the one who called white supremacists “very fine people” as they marched in Charlottesville chanting Nazi slogans.
This is who Donald Trump has always been. And yet, Republican members of Congress, from Mitch McConnell on down, lined up to support him. They were willing to trade three Supreme Court Justices and more than 200 federal judgeships, and their beloved Trump-GOP tax scam for the rich and corporations, in exchange for their undying support of a lawless president.
And while this support may finally be fading, with 10 GOP members of the House voting yesterday to impeach Trump, and Mitch McConnell reportedly considering a potential Senate conviction of Trump―make no mistake: these Republicans, and their billionaire donors, gambled the future of our democracy for their own selfish ends.
The Tea Party wave of 2010 started as a racist, anti-government, anti-tax movement, funded by none other than the billionaire Koch brothers.
During his career of political bankrolling, the late billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson funded Trump and GOP causes for years, putting his own interests ahead of our country and our people.
The list of billionaire and congressional enablers runs deep.
Now, it’s time to fight for a future that holds Trump and his sycophants accountable, undoes the damage that they have done, and invests in our country’s future.
Joe Biden has signaled that he is ready to roll back the tax cuts for the rich and corporations and make a major investment in COVID relief and our country’s future “in the trillions of dollars”.[1]
Even as we fight to hold this impeached president and his enablers accountable, it is also time to begin the difficult work of legislating in the midst of a pandemic. We must rebuild our economy, recognizing the pre-pandemic inequalities that have for generations put working people, women and Black and brown people at the end of the line.
We must invest in a future that invests in our schools, healthcare, Social Security and so much more.
We must enact some form of a wealth tax, that reverses the astonishing $1 trillion growth in wealth―a 36% increase―billionaires have accumulated since the beginning of the pandemic, according to an Americans for Tax Fairness study.[2]
With you, we are ready to lead that fight, to call for a just tax system and economy that puts working people first and demands the rich and corporations pay their fair share in taxes.
As we prepare for the beginning of the Biden administration, and Democratic control of both bodies of Congress, will you make a donation to Americans for Tax Fairness today to fight back against the billionaire and Wall Street donors and create a future that leaves no one behind?
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Thank you for your courage and relentless activism and support at this critical moment in our country’s history.
Frank Clemente
Executive Director
Americans for Tax Fairness
[1] “Joe Biden wants to set aside deficit concerns to invest in ailing U.S. economy,” NBC News, Jan. 9, 2021
[2] “Net Worth of U.S. Billionaires Has Soared by $1 Trillion―to Total of $4 Trillion―Since Pandemic Began,” Americans for Tax Fairness and Institute for Policy Studies, Dec. 8, 2020
