Losing badly

Republicans are on the verge of taking control of the Senate—but we've got a breakthrough strategy to get Democratic voters to the polls if we can raise enough money to pull it off like we did in 2012. Can you chip in $3? Chip in $3

Dear MoveOn member,

If you haven't been paying attention to the midterm elections yet, here's a quick update: Democrats are losing. Badly.

Nate Silver, who picked every single state right in 2012, says the Republicans have a 60% chance of winning the Senate.¹ The Washington Post's polling experts put it at 82%.² And if they're right, the tea party's entire agenda will be on a fast track through Congress.

But there's still time to turn this election around—and we've got a plan to do just that.

Here's the deal: In 2012, we quietly tested a groundbreaking new voter turnout strategy that proved to be one of the most effective tactics we've ever seen. In state after state, Democratic voter turnout increased by between 0.5% and 3.5%. That might not sound like much, but in a toss-up election, it's huge. And because turnout is usually lower in a nonpresidential election, our impact this year could be even bigger.

Here's the rub: in 2012, MoveOn members donated $850,000 for this project—enough to allow us to contact 12 million voters in 20 states. And we can only run projects like this again if MoveOn members pay for it—can you donate $3?

Yes, I can contribute $3 to help stop the tea party takeover of the U.S. Senate.

Maybe you're thinking you'll just take a break this election, that there isn't that much at stake. If so, think again.

If Republicans take over both houses of Congress, they'll have total control over the budget. Can you imagine what a true tea party budget would look like? They'll voucherize Medicaid, slash funding for the EPA, and the budget cuts in the sequester will seem like a warm-up act.

And you can forget about getting any reasonable judges confirmed for the Supreme Court if there's a retirement in Obama's last two years. Republicans will shut down the entire court system before they allow Obama to replace Scalia or Kennedy with a progressive and overturn Citizens United.

Polling experts agree that if the election were held today, Republicans most likely would take over the Senate. There's still time to prevent it—but we need to get started NOW.

Can you contribute $3 to help stop the tea party takeover of the U.S. Senate?

As always, MoveOn is committed to electing not just any Democrats—but progressive Democrats.

So if you donate here you can be sure none of your money will be wasted on pro-war, anti-choice, Wall Street-loving pseudo-Democrats. Chip in $3 today.

Thanks for all you do.

–Ilya, Manny, Stephen, Corinne, and the rest of the team

P.S. If you're wondering, the big breakthrough from 2012 is a simple voter report card letting people know how often they've voted in recent elections. Once people realize it's a matter of public record whether they've voted or not, they feel a lot more obligated to do their civic duty. It's a little guilt-trippy, but it works. And there's too much at stake not to use tactics like it. Click here to chip in.

Sources:

1. "Nate Silver: GOP Has 60 Percent Chance Of Winning The Senate," Talking Points Memo, August 11, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=300302&id=99735-10220574-k6GS15x&t=6

2. "Election Lab," The Washington Post, accessed August 11, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=300303&id=99735-10220574-k6GS15x&t=7

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

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PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. This email was sent to eddie alfaro on August 12, 2014. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.