I hate to say it so starkly.

But that’s what you expect from me. [Mother Jones]( MoJo Reader, The war on democracy, the Democratic meltdown in Virginia, the ongoing investigation of the January 6 riot, the promotion of fascism on Fox News, and Sen. Joe Manchin blocking President Joe Biden’s social infrastructure and climate change bill—that’s what I’ve been writing about in recent days. But now I’m taking a quick break from that reporting to ask you a favor: [Will you support Mother Jones’ kickass journalism](? I sure hope you say yes because today is the last day of our fall fundraising push. We still have about $58,000 left to raise, and with all the critical news we have to cover (see above), we can't afford to come up short. I don't love asking for your hard-earned money. But we can’t do the indispensable and independent reporting you count on us for, if folks like you don’t help. If you can right now, [please support Mother Jones' essential journalism with a donation of any amount today to help us close that gap and finish this campaign on track](. Let’s review where we are right now. When Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump, many Americans believed a national nightmare was over. I hate to say it—and to say it so starkly—but that was just the beginning of another dark stretch of disinformation and demagoguery. The insurrectionist January 6 attack that Trump incited was the most obvious manifestation of the extremism, irrationality, and hatred still infecting our politics. For the past five years, we at Mother Jones have worked hard to cover the dangers and corruptions of the Trump years: revealing the most dangerous undercurrents and [rejecting the false equivalence]( that aided his ascendance. With the nation threatened by authoritarianism, cronyism, and right-wing fanaticism, we knew that no-holds-barred journalism was needed to battle the forces of Trumpism and reactionary conservatism. And we have seen, sadly, that this mission remains as crucial today. Just look at Tuesday's result in Virginia. In "[Glenn Youngkin's Campaign Is About One Racist Thing](," my colleague in the DC bureau, Nathalie Baptiste, wrote about how critical race theory—which is not actually taught in Virginia schools—became the centerpiece of Youngkin's campaign ads and how Youngkin managed to keep Trump at arm's length while embracing his politics and policies: If running a white grievance campaign sounds familiar, it's because it is. Donald Trump [sailed to the White House in a similar fashion](. The former president never really had any core policies besides pure, uncut racism… What will it mean if Youngkin defeats McAuliffe tonight? Well, it will certainly mean that CRT hysteria is a winner for the Republicans. Indeed, the Trump model has already been successful, particularly in the House of Representatives with newcomers like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Madison Cawthorne, both of whom have relegated legislation to the backburner while focusing on the culture wars. The difference, of course, is that Greene and Cawthorne ran essentially unopposed in red districts. If a Republican candidate rides a moral panic to the governor's mansion in a legitimate swing state, the floodgates will open. Forget faking moderation to capture those elusive suburban moms. The ticket to GOP victory and its central strategy appears to be riling up nice white people. If it can work again in Virginia in 2021—it could work in 2024. In winning, Youngkin demonstrated that Trumpism with a more kindly demeanor can succeed. Even with Trump gone from the White House, the Trump cult is as strong—if not stronger—as it ever was. He and his acolytes have been waging a war on American democracy—[delegitimizing elections](, [suppressing voting rights](, [gerrymandering](, and [passing laws]( to hand control of elections to GOP-dominated state legislatures. At the same time, they have been ginning up one phony crisis after another: mask mandates, Dr. Seuss, critical race theory like we saw in Virginia. They want the media and the citizenry to be distracted by artificial outrages rather than focus on the profound challenges the nation faces—climate change, income inequality, health care, social inequities, and more. They want to replace science and facts with conspiracy theories and racism-fueled grievances. And Facebook sure doesn't help, with algorithms that boost right-wing propaganda and suppress stories from independent media, [including Mother Jones](. All of this makes our job harder, as do spurious lawsuits aimed at us (including a Russian oligarch demanding documents from yours truly) that our CEO, Monika Bauerlein, [recently wrote about](. These are part of an alarming and emboldened movement to shut down the truth. So why should you [support Mother Jones](? Because the threat hasn't gone away, and neither have we. Because getting the truth out, no matter the odds, is our sole mission. My colleagues and I will keep reporting on Trumpian corruption and this assault on democracy. And we haven't forgotten about Biden and the Democrats, as we keep an eye trained on whether they enact the agenda they vowed to implement. Some of you might have seen the story I did recently on Sen. Joe Manchin. In the middle of the heated negotiations over Biden's $3.5 trillion social infrastructure bill, [I broke the explosive scoop]( that Manchin had told associates he was considering leaving the Democratic Party and becoming an independent, if the Democrats did not cut the president's Build Back Better package in half. The story went viral, and Manchin called it "bullshit." But not everyone bought his BS. Politico [observed](, "We've known Corn for a long time and we trust him. We've known his scrupulous editor Clara Jeffery for even longer...Corn and Mother Jones did not invent this. Manchin clearly told someone the account that Corn relayed in his piece." And Manchin beat a hasty retreat, acknowledging that, yes, he had indeed discussed leaving the Democratic Party. What was the impact of this scoop? If Manchin had been planning to use a threatened exit from the party as leverage in the negotiations, now that was off the table. This story showed that our reporting is consequential and cannot be dismissed even by the most powerful. This is the sort of work we strive to do every day: impactful journalism that exposes corruption, disinformation, and the creeping authoritarianism that imperil our nation. See my recent [article]( that examined whether Biden is doing enough to confront the Trump war on democracy and the [piece]( I did noting how Fox News and Tucker Carlson have embraced the hallmarks of fascism: No doubt, Donald Trump is a narcissistic, fearmongering, demagogic authoritarian with no respect for democratic values and norms, and his success in flimflamming tens of millions of Americans has been alarming… But fascism? Would that be rhetorically hyperbolic? Does hurling that loaded word make one seem hysterical? Enter Tucker Carlson. We're here to reveal the treacherous shenanigans and misdeeds of those in power and those seeking it (or re-seeking it!) and to shine a light on demagogic disinformationalists and deniers of democracy, whether they're in a TV studio, a Facebook group, a corporate boardroom, a Washington, DC, office, or a tacky mansion by the ocean in Florida. It's what drives all of us at Mother Jones. But—and it's a big one—we can only do this if we have your help. Without [support from readers like you](, I wouldn't have a job that I love doing. Nor would the dozens of reporters and editors with whom I work at Mother Jones. The work we do would not exist. We aren't funded by big corporate advertisers. We don't have a billionaire owner. We don't depend on hedge funds or high-flying venture capital funds for financial support. For some odd reason, they're not too keen on us. For 45 years, our support has come from readers like you who see the value in the reporting we do. Put simply, we rely on you—folks who crave being well-informed so they can be productive and active citizens and who understand that to combat the lies of the Trump era we need independent and fierce journalists who can deliver the truth and lots of it. This past year—and hopefully this email—has demonstrated that the stakes are damn high right now and that it's people like us who are laser-focused on the threats to our democracy (even if Trump is no longer in office) who will play crucial roles as next year’s midterm elections approach and we head toward the 2024 presidential contest. (Yes, he could be back.) [We have a lot of important work to do, and I hope you'll help us with a donation today](. You know how these fundraising appeals work. We tell you that we need your help and that we’re at risk of not meeting our goal. Well, that’s the truth here. $58,000 is a lot of money to raise on the final day of our fall fundraising push. But it's vital that we get as close to that number as we can today so we can continue to expose the forces that are arrayed against democracy, climate action, economic equality, racial justice, reproductive rights, and the other values and goals shared by most Americans. And you have my promise that we'll put your hard-earned money to good use doing the hard-nosed, fearless, and bold reporting you expect of us. Many thanks for reading and considering my pitch. The challenges our nation faces are large and it can be tough to be in the news business these days, yet I'm grateful Mother Jones has such a passionate community of readers. I thank you for being part of that, whether or not you can pitch in today. Onward, [David Corn] David Corn Washington DC, Bureau Chief Mother Jones [Donate]( P.S. If you recently made a donation, thank you! And please accept our apologies for sending you this reminder—our systems take a little while to catch up. 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