May 1, 2018

A Trump “Family” Roundup

I hate to spend all my time on the various and sundry foibles of the idiots who Donald Trump has chosen to lead our country, but today feels like it deserves at least a roundup. Let’s start with one of Trump’s former cabinet secretaries:

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said Tuesday the GOP’s decision to repeal Obamacare’s individual mandate without a broader overhaul of the heath care system will likely increase costs on consumers who remain in the program.

….“There are many, and I’m one of them, who believes that that actually will harm the pool in the exchange market, because you’ll likely have individuals who are younger and healthier not participating in that market, and consequently, that drives up the cost for other folks within that market.” Mr. Price’s comments were a turnabout from his time in the administration, when he said the mandate wasn’t working and that people were shirking coverage because they didn’t like what President Obama’s signature program had to offer.

So Price was just a loyal capo who was lying to protect his boss? I guess so. Now let’s turn to a current cabinet member:

Seriously? Do they all have mob nicknames? Is Pruitt known as Scott “Black Gold” Pruitt? Why not? Next up is Trump himself:

In fairness, if Bornstein were my doctor I’d probably want all my medical records back too. But did they have to do it in such a…um…moblike way? Maybe they did. Finally, here’s Pruitt again:

“A lobbyist.” “Ethics.” “Raises questions.” That’s DC-speak for “he’s a made man.”

I guess that’s it. I feel like maybe I’ve forgotten something that should be on this list today, but then again, I feel like that every day. I’m sure someone will let me know if I left off anything important.

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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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