September 30, 2013

I Think Republicans Are Confused About the Word “Compromise”

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Budget ping pong continues today, with the Senate expected to simply ignore the latest House bill and send back a clean Continuing Resolution that funds the government. The Washington Post reports that Republicans continue to object:

House Republicans are weighing several options for what to do when the Senate rejects their latest bill, senior GOP aides said Sunday. The possibilities include: Trying again to repeal the medical-device tax….Attacking a different part of the health-care law, such as a special board created to keep Medicare costs low….Proposing to eliminate health-insurance subsidies for lawmakers and their staff members.

Republicans repeatedly refer to these options as compromises, just like their past offers. “On Sunday,” reports the Post, “Republicans tended to argue that they were trying to compromise with Obama and the Democrats to avoid a shutdown while pursuing conservative principles.”

So I need to ask again: what exactly do they think is the compromise here? Obviously they’re trying to get something they want, but what exactly are Democrats getting in return? I don’t get it. If my neighbor threatens to steal my car, and then comes back and says he’ll settle for just stealing my TV set, what kind of compromise is that? What am I getting out of the deal?

And just as a reminder, keep in mind that all of this compromising is for a CR that lasts only six weeks. Six weeks! Then we get to play this game all over again with fresh new demands compromises.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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