Dear John:

This year has seen constant attacks on our democracy, disturbing disinformation campaigns designed to stoke fear and violence, and cynical manipulations of racial and social tensions to distract voters from the real crises facing our nation and planet.

Yet, on November 8, we saw just how resilient American democracy can be. Voters rejected all of the election deniers who were vying to take control of the election process in battleground states. Women stood strong for bodily autonomy. And youth voters turned out in near-record numbers for a midterm election.

Things could have been much worse. But my dear friends at the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) and I are keenly aware that America is still balanced on the brink and that many threats lie ahead.

More than 180 candidates who claimed that the 2020 elections were stolen won seats in Congress. Trump is actively scheming to take back the White House. And a Supreme Court stacked by right-wing dark money groups stands ready to dismantle even more hard-won rights and protections against corporate greed and overreach.

CMD’s intrepid crew of investigative reporters has been hard at work this year exposing these and other threats:

• CMD launched a new website, InsurrectionExposed, to expose the politicians, right-wing leaders, groups, and funders that orchestrated the Big Lie and the Jan. 6 insurrection, and that are still working to lay the groundwork to subvert future elections.
   
• CMD broke the story on how the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and other groups are colluding with Big Oil to get red states to blacklist companies that take into account climate risks and favor renewables.
   
• CMD exposed how ALEC and right-wing politicians like Scott Walker and Rick Santorum plan to force a constitutional convention that would give GOP politicians supermajority control over rewriting our nation’s founding document.
   
• CMD outed more than 200 ALEC legislators for belonging to far-right Facebook groups that spread disinformation and poison our politics.

***

CMD’s prize-winning role as a watchdog of powerful special interests is vitally important for all of us. As they prepare to celebrate their 30^th anniversary, I’d like to congratulate them on this milestone and all the tremendous work that they’ve done over the past three decades to shine a light on corruption and protect our freedoms.

***

CMD is not about to let up in 2023. They’ll be working overtime to expose who’s stoking the Right’s new culture wars and efforts to subvert future elections; the corporate interests and front groups trying to block climate progress and crush unions; and the Right’s dangerous drive to convene a constitutional convention aimed at crippling the federal government’s ability to protect working families, the environment, and equal rights.

But they can’t do it without you. Your continued support has been essential to CMD’s success so far, and as it enters its 30^th anniversary year, let’s take a moment to celebrate CMD so that it can keep doing what it does best—defending our fragile democracy!

Thanks to a $50,000 match, your year-end gift will go twice as far!
Donate Here!

So please make your generous tax-deductible gift today. Together we can make a difference and win back a democracy that works for all of us.

With deepest gratitude for your generous and ongoing support,

Robert Reich
Former U.S. Secretary of Labor & Co-Founder, Inequality Media