Down with the ship!

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Now that Tom DeLay’s scandal woes are finally hitting the big time, the big question is whether or not the Democrats are actually going to capitalize on all this.

The other day I started fretting that liberal groups were failing to tie DeLay’s corruption woes into a larger story about the way the Republican Party in general has conducted itself over the last four years. The new anti-DeLay ads, after all, offer congressional Republicans a chance to “wash their hands” of DeLay. The worry here is that the GOP will just purge the House Majority Leader, carry on with its rule-bending, K Street-cozying business, and life would carry on as ever before. Well, it’s probably safe to set those fears aside. First the Washington Post reports that conservative groups are all holding hands and lining up behind their fearless leader. Then, over at TAPPED, Garance Franke-Ruta notes that the GOP is doing everything humanly possible to make DeLayism synonymous with the Republican Party. So I stand corrected! It’s not often that the rats actually lash themselves tightly to the sinking ship, but hey, who’s going to complain here…

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From the desk of Mother Jones CEO, Monika Bauerlein...

Newsrooms can be funded in many ways. One of the most controversial (and volatile) ways is by a for-profit corporation or a billionaire owner. We see it across the headlines on a weekly basis: the claw backs in public media, the gutting of The Washington Post, the bending over backwards to appeal to Trump and his allies.

But not here.

When Mother Jones first started publishing 50 years ago, our founders made a critical decision: to be a reader-supported nonprofit. They knew that no corporate owner would be interested in a muckraking newsroom; they also knew that no muckraking newsroom would be interested in following the agenda of a corporate owner.

And so, we’ve been reader-funded for half a century. We rely on contributions from our readers—readers like you—whether it’s $50, or $15 a month, or whatever fits your budget. People give what they can, and every donation makes a difference for our newsroom, which has grown tremendously—in size and reach and renown—since its inception in 1976.

You may be wondering: What does it take to publish an investigation? And what does my donation actually fund? The answers are one and the same: It takes people, resources, and time. And that’s what your donation funds directly.

Every donation Mother Jones receives from readers fortifies our newsroom, whether we’re covering underreported scandals out of Washington, DC, or the most important news of the day. And right now, each donation will be doubled because of our $50,000 match. So when you make a donation—$5, $50, any amount—it’ll go twice as far.

Your support keeps us going. If you’re able, donate today.

Thanks for reading.

—Monika

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