March 14, 2008

Day Three: No Straight Talk from McCain on Parsley’s Call for Destroying Islam

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mccain-rod-parsley250x200.jpg No call back from the McCain camp yet.

For the third day in a row, I’ve called Jill Hazelbaker, the communications director for the McCain campaign, seeking a comment on televangelist Rod Parsley’s call for destroying Islam. McCain, as I reported on Wednesday, has campaigned with this politically influential megachurch pastor, has accepted his endorsement, and has praised him as a “spiritual guide.” And I’ve been told–once again–she is unavailable.

McCain and his campaign will not say anything about Parsley’s advocacy of a Christian war against Islam that seeks to eradicate what Parsley dubs a “false religion.”

Where’s the straight talk now?

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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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