October 12, 2010

DC Ticker: Cheney, Buy; Nazi Guy, Sell

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Last week, I explained the DC Ticker I compile most days, which is now being featured on ABC News’ website show, Political Punch, hosted by Jake Tapper. Here are the picks featured on this week’s PP:

* Dick Cheney, buy. After a summer heart operation that was quite serious, the ex-veep is back in the saddle, once again making speeches defending his administration and criticizing Obama. We still have Dick Cheney to kick around.

* George Allen, buy. From “macaca” to back-at-ya. He’s considering a 2012 run for his old Senate seat in Virginia. With purple Virginia looking more reddish these days, the fellow might have a good shot against the man who defeated him in 2006, Democratic Sen. Jim Webb.

* Sharron Angle, buy. Polls show her ahead or close in the race against Democratic Senate majority leader Harry Reid. Given how lousy a candidate she’s been, it shouldn’t be this close.

* Rep. Walt Minnick, buy. In the (supposed) Year of the Tea Party, can a first-term House Democrat win reelection in the conservative wilds of Idaho? Dems are increasingly confident Minnick can hold his at-risk seat.

* Rich Iott, sell. Nazi reenactment? Say no more. (But it’s never a good thing when a candidate is compelled to clarify that he does not subscribe to the tenets of Nazism.)

You can receive the almost-daily DC Ticker report by following my Twitter feed. (#DCticker is the Twitter hashtag.) Please feel free to argue with my selections—though all decisions of the judges are final. And please feel free to make suggestions for buy or sell orders in the comments below or on Twitter (by replying to @DavidCornDC). Don’t forget: DC Ticker is merely an advisory service. It and its author cannot be held liable for any investments made in politicians, policy wonks, or government officials on the basis of the information presented. Invest in politics at your own risk.

WE CAME UP SHORT.

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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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