Dear MoveOn member,
It's day 5 of the Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump, and there's
not a single ad on TV right now putting pressure on the Republican
senators most likely to break with Mitch McConnell to force witnesses to
be called and for the White House to hand over documents related to the
Ukraine scandal.^1
Yet a new poll shows that about 72% of Americans agree that the trial
"should allow witnesses with firsthand knowledge of the impeachment
charges to testify," including 69% of Republicans.^2 Yes, 69% of
Republicans agree! Rachel Maddow called the results "stunning."^3
It would take only four Republican senators to join with the Democrats to
turn McConnell's kangaroo court into a fair trial that can uncover the
full extent of Trump's transgressions.
We urgently need to turn up the heat, John. There are 11
impeachment ads running on TV right now, and all 11 support Trump. There's
not a single ad targeting Republican senators to demand a fair trial and
hold Trump accountable, causing Chuck Todd of "Meet the Press" to ask,
"Why aren't Democrats making life miserable for vulnerable Republicans on
impeachment?"^4
MoveOn's Creative Lab, which has created powerful ads seen by millions of
Americans, has swung into action to produce hard-hitting ads and start to
get them up on TV in the states with senators we can influence, after
MoveOn members chipped in an incredible $300,000 in the last 36 hours. But
it's very expensive to run TV ads, and we need to raise another $200,000
by Monday to place the ads in time for the planned Senate vote on whether
to hear from witnesses, which is likely to take place late next week.
[ [link removed] ]Will you make an emergency donation of $3 right now to
help us run hard-hitting impeachment ads on TV in key states?
The second article of Trump's impeachment is for obstructing Congress:
covering up witnesses and withholding documents from the American people.
Trump has blocked his closest aides from testifying and has refused to
hand over a single document—a single email, text message, letter, phone
transcript ... any document—related to the Ukraine scandal.
All 53 Republican senators actively participated in the cover-up last
Tuesday night, voting 10 separate times to block subpoenas for Trump
administration witnesses and documents, and to otherwise rig the trial
rules.^5
Trump bragged about it, saying, "[H]onestly, we have all the material.
They don't have the material."^6
But McConnell was forced to agree to a Senate vote on whether to hear from
witnesses after the opening arguments and senators' questions—which means
that we have a narrow window of time to increase pressure on the
Republican senators who have been wavering.
We have organizers on the ground in the states of key senators and are
lighting up the Senate switchboard with phone calls, but it's not enough.
We need to raise another $200,000 by Monday to get our hard-hitting
impeachment ads up on TV in the key states. And we need your help to do
it.
Will you rush an urgent donation of $3 to help us run
hard-hitting impeachment ads on TV in key states?
[ [link removed] ]Yes, I'll chip in now.
Together, we can hold Trump accountable. But it's going to take each and
every one of us.
Thanks for all you do.
–David, Ann, Schuyler, Isbah, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Why aren't Democrats making life miserable for vulnerable Republicans
on impeachment?" NBC News, January 21, 2020
[link removed]
2. "Let them speak: Most Americans want witnesses in Trump impeachment
trial - Reuters/Ipsos poll," Reuters, January 22, 2020
[link removed]
3. "Impeachment trial may be headed for a classification showdown," The
Rachel Maddow Show, January 22, 2020
[link removed]
4. "Why aren't Democrats making life miserable for vulnerable Republicans
on impeachment?" NBC News, January 21, 2020
[link removed]
5. "After Republican senators block new impeachment evidence, Trump boasts
about what he's withholding," The Washington Post, January 22, 2020
[link removed]
6. Ibid.
Want to support our work? The MoveOn community will work every moment, day
by day and year by year, to resist Trump's agenda, contain the damage,
defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the nation's
pendulum back toward sanity, decency, and the kind of future that we must
never give up on. And to do it we need your support, now more than ever.
Will you stand with us?
[ [link removed] ]Click here to chip in $3, or whatever you can afford.
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