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Elizabeth has made a decision: Her presidential primary campaign will be run on the principle of equal access for anybody who joins it. Make a grassroots donation today.
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You know what shocked Elizabeth the most when she first ran for office in 2012?
It was something political experts said she “needed” to do to win, and it’s one of the reasons our government works so great for the wealthy and well-connected: “Call time.”
Call time is when politicians spend hours and hours on the phone with their big donors, making friendly small talk and asking for their opinions on public policy. Often, those opinions don’t reflect what most voters care about.
A Wall Street banker might talk about how they want financial regulations repealed. A billionaire might say it’s “class warfare” for Democrats to make sure everyone pays their fair share in taxes. A wealthy heir wouldn’t share personal stories about struggling to pay for child care or prescriptions.
Big donors are disproportionately wealthy white men, and they’re a tiny, unrepresentative sliver of the population. In 2018, less than one half of one percent of all Americans gave $200 or more to a candidate for federal office. And, according to one estimate, most candidates spend up to 70% of their time fundraising from that tiny sliver.
One conversation at a time, politicians start to think more and more like big donors, and they tip the scales of government to meet the needs of the richest few who can write the biggest checks.
We’re doing things differently in this primary campaign. Yesterday, Elizabeth announced that she isn’t doing call time for big donors. Instead, she’ll be on the phone, calling and thanking grassroots donors, hearing what you care about and what you think our campaign should do.
Elizabeth will be spending her time calling grassroots donors who step up to say thank you and hear what’s on your mind. Chip in to make your first donation to power our grassroots campaign, and keep your phone nearby this week.
If you’ve saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will be automatically processed:
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Instead of having billionaires bend her ear about their priorities, Elizabeth will be calling students who give $5, nurses who give $10, teachers who give $15. That’s who she’s interested in hearing from and keeping at the heart of this campaign.
There’s a reason why politicians spend so much time cozying up to the rich and powerful: It’s an easy way to raise money.
Traditionally, candidates can collect big checks from a small group of very wealthy people, raise enough money for a slew of last-minute TV ads, and eke out a win.
It might get them elected, but it doesn’t build a movement. It doesn’t let everyday people fully own a piece of our democracy. And it doesn’t leave room for politicians to do things that their big donors might not like.
And here’s what could be the biggest shocker of this election: That grassroots movement just might be able to raise more money than doing things the old way, $15 and $20 at a time.
Why? Because there’s a whole lot more of us than there are of them.
If we don’t want our democracy to be for sale – if we want to get big money out of politics – we’ve all got to be in this fight. Make a donation right now of any amount, and you just might get a thank you call from Elizabeth:
https://my.elizabethwarren.com/campaignfinance
Thanks,
Team Warren
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