Dear MoveOn member,
Donald Trump just handed us an enormous political gift—and if we take advantage, it could end his chances at re-election.
For years, Trump has promised not to touch Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid.1 But a few weeks ago, he admitted at the World Economic Forum in Davos that he would pursue cuts if re-elected.2
Then, last week, Trump released his 2021 budget cutting these programs by $1.7 TRILLION.3
Cutting Social Security is opposed by eight of 10 voters over 50. And when you look at a list of the states with the most voters over 50, it's like a carbon copy of the key battleground states: Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Hampshire, Wisconsin … 4
If Trump underperforms among seniors by even one to two points in these key battleground states, the election is over.
Cutting Social Security in an election year is such a politically radioactive idea that, frankly, we can't believe our good luck.
To take advantage, we want to make sure every dime we spend is specifically targeted at the voters who really care about this issue. TV is terrible for that, because if you buy a television ad, you're going to be charged for everyone who might see the ad, whether they are likely to care or not.
But social media is a totally different ballgame. Sites like Facebook allow us to make sure our ads are reaching exactly the right people in the right states. Want to target independent voters over 50 in key battleground states who always vote? We can order that right up.
Everyone knows that senior citizens vote at a higher rate than any other age group, and they tend to skew toward Republicans. So if you're a Republican president trying to win re-election, going after their benefits is a pretty bad idea.
Let's put it this way: If you were literally trying to create an issue designed to peel off Trump voters and swing the key battleground states in the 2020 election, this would be it.
But if we're going to take advantage, we need to blow it up ourselves. Democratic candidates are working to secure the nomination, and the mainstream media is too distracted with Trump's latest celebrity pardon or outrageous tweet to focus on kitchen-table issues like this.
Since we never thought that Trump would give us such a huge gift, we don't have funding set aside for ads going after Trump's Social Security cuts. We only need to raise $20,000 to run a test ad campaign targeting these voters, and if it works, we'll go bigger. Will you donate $3?
Thanks for all you do.
–Chris, Allison, Justin, Anne, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Trump vowed to not cut Social Security and Medicare — hours before proposing just that," Vox, February 10, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/117137?t=4&akid=257869%2E10220574%2EI5FF0-
2. "'Hobnobbing With Billionaires in Davos,' Trump Admits—If Reelected—He Will Seek to Cut Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare," Common Dreams, January 22, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/117138?t=6&akid=257869%2E10220574%2EI5FF0-
3. "Trump vowed to not cut Social Security and Medicare — hours before proposing just that," Vox, February 10, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/117137?t=8&akid=257869%2E10220574%2EI5FF0-
4. "These Are the Youngest States in America," Time, November 3, 2017
https://act.moveon.org/go/117139?t=10&akid=257869%2E10220574%2EI5FF0-
Want to support our work? The MoveOn community will work every moment, day by day and year by year, to resist Trump's agenda, contain the damage, defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the nation's pendulum back toward sanity, decency, and the kind of future that we must never give up on. And to do it we need your support, now more than ever. Will you stand with us?
Click here to chip in $3, or whatever you can afford.
PAID FOR BY MOVEON
This email was sent to Mar Alfaro on February 27, 2020. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. If you'd like to receive less frequent emails from MoveOn, you can click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.
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