It still works, even in the era of Trump

What I was thinking about on the way home MoJo Reader, You probably know how an email like this typically goes: LAST CHANCE: Our fall pledge drive ends today and we still need to raise $20,000 to make our budget. We can't afford to come up short, so [please make a tax-deductible donation to support our journalism today](. But I'd rather write about a date that's 51 weeks in the past: November 8, 2016. At about 11:30 p.m. on the West Coast that night, gathered in our conference room with lukewarm pizza, we realized Donald Trump had been elected president. To me, that's what this fundraising push is about. It's not about the budget spreadsheet that says we'll pay for our reporting by raising $200,000 from readers like you this month. It's not even about the [major revelations]( the Russia investigation recently brought to light. It's about building a sustainable model for unwavering investigative journalism—reporting that doesn't pull punches, like a year ago today, when MoJo’s David Corn was the first and only journalist to report on the [Steele dossier]( before the election. That’s what Mother Jones can do because you, our readers, keep us strong and independent. With your help, we’ll keep fighting back against deception and lies—and we are confident that in the end, truth will out. [That's why I hope you'll support Mother Jones.]( We—and I know a lot of you did, too—felt the urgency that night, the realization deep in our bones that fact-finding journalism was now more important than ever. But over the last couple of months, as we've written about and heard firsthand from you, [holding onto that compass]( has been challenging—which is by design, because the Trump and his allies aim to overwhelm and confuse us. We have to resist that pull by staying grounded and focused on the work ahead. We have to push back by digging deep into what's actually happening, pursuing stories that Trump and his allies want to keep secret, and getting them to millions of readers for free. And we have to remember it makes a big difference, even—especially—in the era of Trump. After all, as a reader pointed out, it was investigative journalism that forced Trump's pick for drug czar to withdraw from consideration after his cozy ties to pharma companies were exposed (a [story]( MoJo's Julia Lurie broke before it went to prime time on 60 Minutes). And as we found out when we sent Ari Berman to [investigate]( voter suppression in Wisconsin, it's not just Trump or Russian hackers (or "somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, okay?") who are assaulting our democratic institutions and norms. What it boils down to for me is this: Trump-era politics are built on the suppression of information the public is entitled to know—because it makes lying easier. Mother Jones exists to make lying harder. [If you want journalism that makes it harder for the powerful to lie, I hope you trust that Mother Jones is up for the challenge, and that you'll pitch in with a tax-deductible donation today](. Because reporting like that can't be sustained by advertising; to do it, we need the independence—the ability to [choose what we write about]( and determine how hard to push—that comes with support from readers like you. No matter how overwhelming it can feel from time to time, our readers' support is what gives me strength and determination for all that's ahead—and it's what I was thinking about on the way home that night last November. Mother Jones was founded to do the type of journalism the moment calls for. We're incredibly grateful to have readers who believe in us and help make it happen. I hope you'll help us [continue that tradition today](, as we wrap up our fall pledge drive and make the final push to close the gap to our $200,000 target. Sincerely, Monika Bauerlein, Chief Executive Officer Mother Jones [DONATE]( P.S. If you've donated in the last several hours, thanks—and please accept our apologies for sending you this friendly reminder. --------------------------------------------------------------- This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To stop receiving Mother Jones' fundraising and subscription emails, or manage your preferences for our emails, click [here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- [www.MotherJones.com]() 222 Sutter Street, #600 San Francisco, CA USA 94108