May 1, 1997

The Right Party

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The Right Party

Esprit gets between Clinton and his Calvin.

#167 Ron Burkle, 44, Los Angeles, Calif. Party: D. $132,000 total contributions.

View Burkle’s itemized contributions.

Food 4 Less supermarket mogul Ron Burkle threw the Hollywood political event last September, raising $4 million from a guest list that included Steven Spielberg (#52), Lew R. Wasserman (#18), Rob Reiner (#205), and Sharon Stone. Partygoers enjoyed a show starring the Eagles (with #51 Don Henley), co-host Barbra Streisand (#364), and emcee Tom Hanks (not to mention comic relief by Mother Jones‘ Paula Poundstone).

Bill Clinton was also in attendance, and according to a DNC source, co-host David Geffen (#42) arranged to have close friend Calvin Klein seated next to the president. Esprit co-founder Susie Tompkins (#90) noted the two men together and worried that the president would be photographed next to Klein, whose CK Jeans ad campaign had been lambasted as kiddie porn by conservatives — and both Clintons. Aides swapped the president’s seat, and the first lady wound up sitting next to Klein. No photos or reports of the incident ever surfaced.

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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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