July 15, 2008

Sigh. A Brand New McCain Flip-Flop. This Time, the DREAM Act

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I’m getting tired of slamming the guy over and over, but the DREAM Act is important to me so I’m going to mention this.

Speaking at an event hosted by La Raza, a nationwide organization that fights for the rights of Hispanic Americans, John McCain was asked by a young girl if he would commit to supporting the DREAM Act. McCain said, “Yes. Yes, but I will also enforce the existing laws. That’s why we must secure the border.”

That’s great. It really is. I hope McCain means it, because he has said pretty explicitly in the past that he is opposed to the DREAM Act. For example, the conservative National Review quoted McCain as saying, “I would have voted against it I have said a thousand times, I have heard the message from the American people. They want the border secured first.”

Of course, that was in the primary, when McCain was getting hammered for supporting comprehensive immigration reform by the conservative base. Now it’s the general and there are moderates and Hispanics to which McCain must appeal. Recently, there have been so many mistakes, flip-flops, little hypocrisies, big hypocrisies, deceptions, and policy boondoggles that none of them are getting any oxygen. It’s all just a wash, and it shouldn’t be.

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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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