Dear MoveOn member,
I'm Robert Fox, MoveOn's chief operating officer. I'm responsible for managing MoveOn's budget and making decisions about what campaigns we are able to fund. I don't usually send emails to MoveOn members, but I'm writing you today because I'm getting worried.
Donations to MoveOn—and our other progressive partners—have dropped sharply in 2021, and with fewer than 100 days before we enter the crucial midterm election year—in which Republicans are heavily favored to win control of Congress—we need to close our budget gaps, or we won't be able to run the election campaign we'll need to stop the GOP from retaking control of Congress.
While MoveOn and other progressive groups are struggling, Donald Trump and Republicans on the far right have been silently building war chests worth hundreds of millions of dollars while passing laws to suppress Democratic votes, especially from voters of color, low-income voters, and young voters. That means that if we don't start taking action right now, we could be in for a shellacking in 2022
I don't mean to scare you, John, but I need this to be your wake-up call.
Please, if you are able, will you chip in $5 a month to help ensure we have the ongoing resources we need so that I can approve all of the big plans on deck for the 2022 midterms and put MoveOn in the best position to fight back against the GOP? If you chip in monthly, we'll send you this MoveOn enamel pin for FREE as a thank you!
Yes, I'll chip in monthly and get a free MoveOn enamel pin.
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
It's not unusual for energy to go down from Democrats and progressives when a Democrat is in the White House—and the four years under Donald Trump were more exhausting than anything I've ever experienced—but we cannot let our guard down and give Republicans the opportunity they need to strike.
It's happened before. When Barack Obama was elected in 2008 and Democrats took control of Congress, Republicans got together to come up with a scheme to take back control. Donors funneled tens of millions of dollars into a program called REDMAP, a plan to take over state legislatures and use partisan gerrymandering to redraw blue districts in swing states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.1 It resulted in Republicans' winning back the House, even though they received a million fewer votes than Democrats, and it has created lasting effects that give Republicans an unfair advantage even today.2
And we all see what's happening now: GOP-controlled state legislatures are passing blatantly racist voter suppression laws to try and steal the next election.3 And unless we can kick our work into high gear, they may just get away with it.
2022 is less than 100 days away, which means we're starting to budget for next year's election, and the work to win the midterm elections is already well underway. We need your help, John. Will you chip in $5 a month? Remember, when you chip in monthly, you'll get a free MoveOn enamel pin as a thank you.
Yes, I'll chip in monthly and get a free MoveOn enamel pin.
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Here's the good news: MoveOn has never needed to match Republican spending dollar for dollar. Our expertise is in creating innovative strategies that are more effective for less money and using our grassroots supporters (that's you!) to implement them at scale.
For example, in 2020 we built out a friend-to-friend voter turnout strategy that studies have shown was five times more effective than traditional strategies like phone-banking and door-to-door canvassing. At the same time, we also built out a highly trained team to identify, track, and take down online disinformation aimed at voters and rushed to adapt all of our work to be safe and effective during the pandemic.
That's what MoveOn does: We work quickly, efficiently, and with a singular focus on building a better world for every single one of us.
The work is far from done, and I can't stand the idea that our inability to fund our election program to the fullest could contribute to Republicans' regaining power in Congress and putting a stop to President Biden's agenda.
So I'm asking: Will you please chip in $5 a month? (If you start a monthly donation today, we'll send you a free enamel pin as a token of our appreciation.)
Yes, I'll chip in monthly and get a free MoveOn enamel pin.
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Thanks for all you do.
–Robert Fox
Sources:
2. Ibid.
3. "Voting Laws Roundup: July 2021," Brennan Center for Justice, July 22, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/157593?t=12&akid=307110%2E40999114%2ElLPP3h
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