Yesterday evening, President Obama signed the debt ceiling deal, marking an end to one of the most disheartening episodes we’ve seen yet from Washington.
A group of Tea Party extremists morphed a routine procedure to keep the nation’s lights on into a high stakes crisis. The result: trillions (that’s trillion with a t) in cuts to infrastructure and services, without asking multinational corporations or multimillionaires to pitch in even a single red cent.
And the “deal” was supported by majorities of Democrats and Republicans in Congress.
How did this happen? Columnist Peter Beinart at the Daily Beast gave one explanation[1]: “Since the economy collapsed in 2008, only one grassroots movement has emerged in response, and it’s been a movement of the right.”
I think it’s time we had a movement to go toe to toe with the Tea Party. That’s why I’m asking each of our supporters to help, and contribute $10 to Working Families today.
Make a $10 contribution to Working Families today.
If anything positive emerged from the wreckage of the debt ceiling debate it’s a renewed recognition that we need a movement too. Money and political power has not been so concentrated in the hands of few since the Gilded Age. We just can’t count on the politicians to solve our problems for us. We need to make them do the right thing.
That’s why Working Families was formed: to put the needs of ordinary families ahead of the wants of banks and billionaires once again. And today, that mission is more urgent than ever.
The Tea Party has heavy-duty corporate money to back it up, not to mention at least one cable news network dedicated to legitimizing its extreme views. We just have you. Hardly seems like a fair fight, to be honest, but we’re not backing down. I’m asking you to do the same. In fact, I’m asking you to step up.
Please contribute $10 to Working Families today.
We’re not going to match the corporate contributions to the Tea Party dollar for dollar – not by a long shot. But the kind of movement we need to build is one where everyone chips in a little.
If we don’t start taking a stand, things will only get worse.
The debt ceiling “deal” also creates an unprecedented “Super-Congress” made of 12 members of Congress authorized to make further debt reductions by November. That could put Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid on the line.
In times like this we can either give up or we can fight back. We’re ready to fight back, and we need your help to do it. Now more than ever we need a real movement to put working families first. To make politicians give us more than perpetual lip service on jobs, to tell our elected officials that it just is not acceptable to stand idly by as executives and CEOs rake in bonuses while hundreds of thousands of families are losing their jobs and the homes.
With so many families on the brink, and with the power of the Tea Party growing every day, there couldn’t be a more urgent moment to build this movement. That’s why we need your support.
Make your contribution right away.
Thanks, as always, for your help.