Meet the Attack Lads

Dirty politics has been around since Thomas Jefferson’s oppo researchers went after Alexander Hamilton’s mistress in 1800, but there’s more money in it these days. With campaign expenditures hitting record levels—nearly $1.2 billion was spent in 2004, much of it channeled through shadowy independent-expenditure groups, 527 committees, and the like—those schooled in politics’ darker arts are cashing in like never before. And for the off years, there’s always corporate marketing and “grassroots lobbying,” which increasingly employ the tricks of the campaign trade. Here are some key players from years past, and their current allegiances.

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Instructions: Click on the images below to watch the ads and meet the attack lads.

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THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.

It’s the most important month of the year for our fundraising, with upward of 15 percent of our annual online total coming in during the final week—and there’s a lot to say about why Mother Jones’ journalism, and thus hitting that big number, matters tremendously right now.

But you told us fundraising is annoying—with the gimmicks, overwrought tone, manipulative language, and sheer volume of urgent URGENT URGENT!!! content we’re all bombarded with. It sure can be.

So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

The upshot? Mother Jones does journalism you don’t find elsewhere: in-depth, time-intensive, ahead-of-the-curve reporting on underreported beats. We operate on razor-thin margins in an unfathomably hard news business, and can’t afford to come up short on these online goals. And given everything, reporting like ours is vital right now.

If you can afford to part with a few bucks, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones with a much-needed year-end donation. And please do it now, while you’re thinking about it—with fewer people paying attention to the news like you are, we need everyone with us to get there.

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