Let Us Now Pledge to Sign Ever More Pledges

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The problem with Twitter is that it’s so full of snark and jocular banter that it’s often hard to tell when something is serious. Then again, maybe this is actually a problem with real life, not with Twitter. Maybe real life has gotten so Onion-esque that it’s hard to tell it apart from a Steven Wright standup routine.

To wit: Yesterday I saw a tweet roll across my screen about the Koch brothers insisting that conservatives fight any climate legislation unless it contained an equivalent tax cut. Hah hah. That’s a laff riot.

But no. It’s real. Of course it is. But here’s what I don’t get: what’s the point? The pledge binds signers to “oppose any legislation relating to climate change that includes a net increase in government revenue.” But every Republican in Congress has already signed Grover Norquist’s pledge that binds them to oppose any legislation at all that includes a net increase in government revenue. So does this mean we’re going to get a flood of sub-pledges from every wingnut group out there? Republicans must now pledge to oppose any legislation relating to abortion that includes a net increase in government revenue. Ditto for gun control legislation. And healthcare legislation. And environmental legislation. And mass transit legislation. And homeland security legislation. And food stamp legislation. Etc.

Well, why not? They don’t have much else to do, do they?

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In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't find elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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