March 6, 2009

GOP Hispanic Outreach FAIL

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From the conservative website Right Wing News (via The Next Right):

I was talking to a very credible Capitol Hill source (who wishes to remain anonymous) today and that person told me a story that just blew my mind…

He told me the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s 19th Annual Legislative Conference will be taking place next week in DC.

Here’s the kicker: supposedly, the Democrats have 20 senators scheduled to attend various events and receptions. The Republicans? Are you ready for this? They have no senators currently scheduled to attend. Zero. Nada. Zilch.

You know what’s great about this? This is easy minority outreach for Republicans. It’s not like they’re being asked to go visit the NAACP or speak to an immigrants’ rights march. This is the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, an organization filled with business leaders who presumably have wealth, oppose regulations, and want to see lower corporate taxes. And yet, when the Right Wing News author followed up with the HCC (my acronym), the staff there confirmed that Republicans were taking a pass.

Hispanics are the fastest growing minority in the control and will soon dominate politics in the western United States. Effective Hispanic outreach by the Dems and a complete lack of attention by Republicans could mean long-term Democratic control of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada, all current or former key swing states.

Update: Ryan Grim reports that Republican lawmakers have been embarrassed into attending the HCC conference! That was quick.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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