Hello,

It's hard to explain just how dangerous Mitch McConnell has been to our democracy, but please, let us take a few minutes to try. Nothing is a more critical threat to our constitutional ideals right now.

When you look at how democracies devolve into autocracies, the pattern is frequently the same. Often it starts with economic downturn, disruption, or growing inequality. New leaders come to power by promising to fix everything while demonizing a minority group or groups. They attack the integrity of independent and critical press along the way.

Once in power, they stack the courts with judges who will side with them. They manufacture emergencies and crises. And when their slow erosion of norms and consolidation of powers are challenged through the judicial system, the judges they put there defend them and declare their actions are constitutional.

The similarities to what Mitch McConnell has done over the past decade are stark. And while Mitch might not be trying to claim the power at the top for himself, he has continually attacked and undermined our democracy in ways that have precariously set the stage for malicious actors to seize unprecedented levels of power.

When President Obama was in office, McConnell obstructed and held up so many of his judicial nominees that, by the time Donald Trump took office, there was not just an open Supreme Court seat belonging to Merrick Garland, but also 107 other judicial vacancies that Trump could begin filling with people who would be loyal to him.

Since Republicans regained the White House, Mitch has changed the Senate rules again and again and again to swiftly and efficiently stack the courts with lifetime appointments of right-wing judges. Earlier this year, he invoked the "nuclear option" to limit debate to just two hours per nominee. And as a result, the Senate has been able to confirm a record-breaking 162 judges nominated by Trump to the courts - including a quarter of all circuit court justices.

This is Mitch McConnell's strategy: When Democrats were in power, he blocked and obstructed Obama's judicial nominations, and now with Republicans in power, McConnell is doing everything he can to ram through Trump's nominees and fill the vacancies he created.

It might be a strategy that Mitch McConnell thinks is simply harmless political and partisan gamesmanship, but to those of us watching it more closely and critically, the damage being done to our democracy right before our eyes is terrifying.

By helping him pack the courts and then doing nothing when he declares fake "national emergencies," attempts to get foreign governments involved in our elections, or otherwise engages in clearly-unconstitutional offenses, Mitch McConnell is teaching Trump - and any other autocrat who might come after him - that he can consolidate power and rule without Congress.

Mitch McConnell is aiding and abetting Trump in eroding the very fabric of our democracy. Mitch swore an oath when he became a senator to "defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic." But it is clear that Mitch himself has now become a threat to our constitution.

In 2020, Mitch McConnell is up for reelection, and he's already started blanketing Kentucky with ads to try to get reelected to another 6 year term. But America can't afford another 6 minutes of McConnell, let alone another 6 years.

That is why we created Ditch Mitch - a new, completely grassroots organization that is solely dedicated to supporting Mitch McConnell's Democratic opponent and defeating Mitch when he's up for reelection in 2020.

We're building a grassroots movement that is taking Mitch on: running TV, radio, and digital ads to expose the truth about him to voters; mobilizing and organizing on the ground; and ensuring his Democratic opponent has enough funding to run their own campaign at the same time. That is our mission.

Mitch is wasting no time getting ready for 2020, and we can't either. We've set a goal of raising another $20,200 today to fund our efforts to send Mitch McConnell packing for good, but right now we are just $6,147 short of hitting that goal.

Already, over 85,000 everyday people have donated and joined our grassroots movement to defeat McConnell. If you're as concerned as we are about what Mitch McConnell is doing, then please, can you give whatever you can afford right now to help us hit our goal and Ditch Mitch? Every dollar you give today will go directly to ensure we end Mitch McConnell's political career once and for all.

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Mitch thinks he can get away with anything - cutting Social Security and Medicare; giving tax cuts to the wealthy; blocking Merrick Garland; ramming through Brett Kavanaugh - and he's willing to risk all of our democratic ideals to get what he wants.

But together, we're going to make him see that the power of the people is stronger than anything his corporate campaign donors can buy.

Thank you for helping us build the movement that will defeat McConnell next November,

The Ditch Fund
























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Paid for by Ditch Fund and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Ditch Fund
PO Box 15320
Washington, DC 20003

Contributions or gifts to Ditch Fund are not tax deductible.


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