Lobbying | Be a Seed for Change


	I’d like to say that I can’t believe this — but almost nothing the gun lobbyists do surprises me anymore. But here it is: A political operation working with gun lobbyists decided to declareDecember 14 — the anniversary of the tragic massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary — “Guns Save Lives Day.” You read that right. Naturally, they immediately bowed to pressure to not hold their crass political event on the anniversary of the shooting deaths of 28 people — most of them children — to score cheap political points and raise cash to support their organization. So they pushed it back — one whole day. But they’re still trying to profit — politically and financially — off of an unimaginable tragedy. Please take a second to add your name to our open letter to make them cancel this ghoulish sideshow. I’ve worked in politics a long time. But it is really rare to see something so crass and so brazen as to try to exploit the senseless deaths of children to build your network and raise money to support the very thing that stole them from their parents and friends. It is unconscionable. Even worse, their terrible antics give a bad name to so many well-intentioned gun owners — the majority of whom fully support sensible reforms like I-594, our initiative to require background checks on all gun purchases in Washington. But these aren’t genuine people — they’re political consultants and lobbyists who only care about making headlines and lining their coffers. The only way to stop them holding this event is for public opposition to grow so large, that they will be shamed into canceling this event. But we need huge numbers on this open letter to make it happen. Make them cancel this ghoulish “Guns Save Lives Day” — add your name to our open letter today. Thanks. Zach Silk Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility

June 30th at 11:59 p.m. is the first big deadline of this campaign. At that moment, we’ll close the books on this financial quarter and begin preparing our fundraising report to the Federal Election Commission, the press, and the public.

Our opponents are chasing Washington lobbyists and special-interest PACs for big checks ahead of the deadline. To them, and to most of the pundits, campaigns are all about how many millions of dollars each candidate can raise.

We disagree. Of course we have a budget and financial goals. But we believe that the true strength of our campaign is the number of everyday people owning a piece of it.

So we refuse money from Washington lobbyists and special-interest PACs. And rather than setting a goal of millions of dollars, we’re setting a goal of 550,000 grassroots donations by the June 30th deadline.

The number of contributions we earn in this quarter will be the definitive record of how strong our support was at the very start. If you’re one of this campaign’s earliest supporters — thank you. Will you chip in another $5 or whatever you can afford to help us hit our goal?

A lot of people out there are wondering whether this campaign can inspire the kind of grassroots support that has been the foundation of our success. A lot of people out there are already saying we can’t.

So we’ve got something to prove.

What happens between now and Thursday will shape the story of how the 2012 race began.

Help write that story with a donation of $5 or more here:

Thanks,

Messina

Jim Messina
Campaign Manager

P.S. — This Thursday also marks the end of the Dinner with Barack contest. When you give, you’re automatically entered for a chance to win. Throw your hat in the ring: