Dear MoveOn member,
We often send you emails, especially in these days of Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell, about all the awful things the GOP is doing and how we need to stop them. All that is true, of course, but this is a different kind of email.
Today, we want to talk about someone we think you should support simply because of his character, his commitment to our values, and how great we think he will be as a United States senator.
His name is John Fetterman, and he's the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania.
John was born in York, Pennsylvania, to teenage parents, one of whom worked nights to put himself through college. After becoming a "Big Brother" as a young adult, he mentored his "Little," who had lost his father to AIDS and was losing his mother to the same. He then joined AmeriCorps and set up computer labs in Pittsburgh for adults trying to finish high school before setting up a program in Braddock, one of the poorest towns in Pennsylvania, to help high school dropouts get their GED.1
Within four years of starting that program, he became mayor, winning a crowded primary by a single vote.
Before we go on, we hope you'll consider donating $3—or whatever you can afford—to his campaign for Senate. We aren't asking you to give it to us, so that we can then give it to him. Instead, we want you to give it to his campaign directly, by clicking this link or either of the links below.
As mayor, and then later as lieutenant governor (yes, he went from mayor of a town with fewer than 2,000 residents to win statewide office!), John fought for LGBTQ+ rights, having officiated at one of the first same-sex marriages in his state. He called out a highway that was going to be built right through his town as "environmental racism," since his town of Braddock is 80% Black, and for years he has led the statewide fight for criminal justice reform. He has pushed for the innocent to be freed, for second chances for nonviolent offenders, and for the simple act of reducing the exorbitant fees associated with applying for parole or a pardon.2
And now as a candidate for U.S. Senate, John has not shied away from the core progressive values he has always fought for. These bullets are directly from his website, so you can see it in his own words:
That's why we are asking you to give directly to his campaign today. Chip in $3—or any size donation will help, as he is refusing corporate PAC money and his opponent is self-funding to the tune of over ten millions dollars so far.4
But just in case the case for John is not strong enough for you, here are a few things you should know about his opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz.
Yes, that Dr. Oz.
The same Dr. Oz who was a carnival barker on TV (does that sound familiar?) selling miracle cures and bilking vulnerable Americans out of money they desperately needed for real health care. The same Dr. Oz who falsely proclaimed that green coffee extract was a "magic weight loss cure for every body type."5
The same Dr. Oz who was endorsed by Trump and who mentioned him 70 times on his Twitter account leading up to his primary win but who then quickly took Trump's picture down in order to hide that fact from swing voters in the general election.6
So whether you are looking for a real progressive working-class hero who will bring a voice to the Senate we have not seen in a generation, or you simply want to keep a former circus act out of the U.S. Senate who will put Mitch McConnell and the GOP back in power, we hope you will give today.
Thanks for all you do.
–Chris, Emily, Nakia, Kenia, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "John's Story," Fetterman, accessed August 13, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/165518?t=5&akid=330147%2E40999114%2Esfwc9n
2. Ibid.
3. "John on the Issues," Fetterman, accessed August 13, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/165519?t=7&akid=330147%2E40999114%2Esfwc9n
4. "A self-funded campaign and sliding poll numbers point to trouble for Dr. Oz in Senate race," Yahoo News, August 8, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/165520?t=9&akid=330147%2E40999114%2Esfwc9n
5. "Dr. Oz Grilled In Congress, Admits Weight Loss Products He Touts Don't Pass 'Scientific Muster,'" HuffPost, July 17, 2014
https://act.moveon.org/go/165521?t=11&akid=330147%2E40999114%2Esfwc9n
6. "Dr Oz backs away from Trump support after GOP primary win," Yahoo Entertainment, June 22, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/165522?t=13&akid=330147%2E40999114%2Esfwc9n
PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, https://act.moveon.org/go/10999?t=15&akid=330147%2E40999114%2Esfwc9n. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Federal candidates or officeholders mentioned above are not asking for more than $5,000 per calendar year from individuals or other federally permissible sources, nor are they asking for any funds from corporations, labor unions, or any other federally prohibited sources.
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