Dear fellow MoveOn member,
These three words make me almost giddy: Chairman Bernie Sanders.
As none other than GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan reminded us last week, if the Democrats win back control of the Senate, Bernie is in line to chair a major committee—most likely the powerful Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.1
That means he'd lead the Senate Democrats' agenda on those issues. Just think about Bernie taking charge to advance the public option, free college for working families, and expanding Medicare—issues that are now all part of the Democratic platform.2
But here's the sobering reality: As Hillary Clinton has gained ground in the polls, Democrats running for the Senate have lost ground.3 What's likely happening is known as "anticipatory balancing"—as Clinton's lead becomes clearer, moderate voters split their ticket as a check on her party's power.
That’s why we need to get every progressive voter in states with tight Senate races—including millennials and Bernie voters—to the polls. MoveOn is running a massive get-out-the-vote operation—exactly the kind of voter turnout program that has proven to make a difference in close races.4
Will you chip in $2.70 now to help Democrats win control of the Senate, so that Bernie becomes a powerful committee chairman?
A new poll from NBC and The Wall Street Journal finds that—by a 53%–to–40% margin—registered voters say they'd be more likely to support a Republican candidate for Congress who would be a “check and balance” to Clinton over a Democratic candidate who would help Clinton and Democrats pass their agenda.5
We’ve seen what happens when Republicans are in charge of Congress. They stop at nothing to obstruct the agenda of a Democratic president. They’ve done it with President Obama, and they have for more of the same planned for a President Hillary Clinton. Just this week, Senator John McCain said as much, declaring that no Clinton nominee for the Supreme Court would get Republican support.6
Democrats still have a 60% chance of winning the Senate, according to the latest forecast from The New York Times.7 But many of the most competitive races—as in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and New Hampshire—are exceedingly close.8
In these very close races, it's going to come down to turnout. We must do absolutely everything we can to get progressive voters to the polls. But Election Day is only 19 days away, and time is running out. Eddie, will you help out by chipping in $2.70 to MoveOn now?
Yes, I'm in. I'll chip in now.
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, who’s in line to become the Senate Democratic leader, confirmed this week that Bernie "will chair a significant committee if we win the majority."9
This is our chance to make Bernie the chair of a powerful Senate committee. And we definitely can do it—if we join together, right now, while there’s still time to make a difference in the tightest Senate races.
Click here now to chip in $2.70.
Thanks for all you do.
—Robert Reich
Sources:
1. "Paul Ryan: If Republicans Lose the Senate, Bernie Sanders Wins," The Nation, October 17, 2016
https://act.moveon.org/go/6323?t=17&akid=171895.10220574.eo41eH
2. "The most progressive Democratic platform ever," The Washington Post, July 12, 2016
https://act.moveon.org/go/6324?t=19&akid=171895.10220574.eo41eH
3. "Senate Update: Clinton Is Surging, But Down-Ballot Democrats Are Losing Ground," FiveThirtyEight, October 13, 2016
http://act.moveon.org/go/6269?t=21&akid=171895.10220574.eo41eH
4. "Lessons from GOTV experiments," Yale Institution for Social and Policy Studies, accessed October 20, 2016
http://act.moveon.org/go/5717?t=23&akid=171895.10220574.eo41eH
5. "Clinton Holds 11-Point National Lead Over Trump: NBC/WSJ Poll," NBC News, October 16, 2016
http://act.moveon.org/go/6325?t=25&akid=171895.10220574.eo41eH
6. "John McCain: Republicans will block anyone Clinton names to the Supreme Court," Think Progress, October 17, 2016
https://act.moveon.org/go/6326?t=27&akid=171895.10220574.eo41eH
7. "2016 Senate Election Forecast," The New York Times, accessed October 20, 2016
http://act.moveon.org/go/5411?t=29&akid=171895.10220574.eo41eH
8. "Battle for the Senate 2016," RealClearPolitics, accessed October 20, 2016
http://act.moveon.org/go/6327?t=31&akid=171895.10220574.eo41eH
9. "Paul Ryan: If Republicans Lose the Senate, Bernie Sanders Wins," The Nation, October 17, 2016
https://act.moveon.org/go/6323?t=33&akid=171895.10220574.eo41eH
Want to support MoveOn's work? Senator Elizabeth Warren says, "I'm so enthusiastic about MoveOn's smart and targeted plan to hire a network of organizers in key battleground states to mobilize and train volunteers to knock on hundreds of thousands of doors. It's bold and ambitious—and exactly what is needed to help swing Senate races, resoundingly defeat Donald Trump, and give Democrats a fighting chance to take back the House." Will you chip in to help make it all possible?
Click here to chip in $2.70, or whatever you can afford.
PAID FOR BY MOVEON
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