Less than an hour after the leak of a draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito announcing the end of federal abortion rights in the U.S., Democrats and other liberal groups were using the devastating news to raise money.
The DNC and DCCC each used push texts to ask for donations to keep up the fight. Nearly every Democratic member of Congress sent out fundraising emails to supporters asking for money, most framed as news alerts to get readers to click.
“We will fight back with everything we have to make sure that Republicans have to answer for their party’s relentless attacks, but we can’t do that without you,” read one typical email from the DNC asking for a $7 “rush” donation.
Millions raised, but for what?
The fundraising paid off to the tune of over $7 million in the hours after the Roe draft opinion was reported. “DSCC's grassroots online fundraising content sent in the wake of this report broke cycle-long fundraising records within mere hours of being sent,” an aide to the group told CNBC’s Brian Schwartz.
And other groups, legitimate and not, have gotten in on the action. The PAC “Democratic Congress” sent out fundraiser emails on Roe to rush cash to elect pro-choice Democrats—but as fundraiser Michael Whitney discovered, the group has donated a pittance of what it’s raised and appears to be a scam.
“Today they are raising money for themselves, about abortion, almost none of which, based on past contribution history, is destined to actually go to elect Democrats to Congress,” Whitney tweeted.
All talk
Whether legitimate or not, what most of these groups and politicians have in common is their use of the impending Roe decision to fundraise without delivering much in the way of results. For decades, Democrats have promised to codify Roe into law, but have consistently failed, even when they’ve controlled Washington—as they do today.
“Protecting abortion rights is not a midterm pitch—Democrats have the power now,” Nina Turner tweeted Monday night, less than 24 hours before her loss in the Democratic primary for Ohio’s 11th District. “We have the majority in Congress and we have the White House. Instead of drafting fundraising emails tonight, our elected leaders should be in DC voting to codify Roe and getting rid of the filibuster.”
That’s the right message, and Turner deserves credit for delivering it the night before her election when she could easily have made a case for raising cash. She wasn’t completely alone, either—Democratic Sens. Alex Padila (Calif.) and Ed Markey (Mass.) sent out fundraising emails directing supporters to give their money to abortion funds and clincs around the country.
Where money matters most
But by and large, those asking for money the most outside of clinics and reproductive healthcare funds are doing so out of pure cynicism. Voting in pro-choice politicians at the national level is part of the battle, but as we’ve seen for over 40 years, it’s not the main way to effect positive change for abortion rights.
If you’re interested in fighting for change through electoralism, consider donating to state races in Arizona, Michigan, Maine and Pennsylvania; as Blue Tent noted, in the former two, abortion will instantly become illegal once Roe is struck down and the legality of the procedure in the latter two depends on Democratic control of the legislature and governor’s mansions. State attorney general races are equally important as these offices can make or break the decision to prosecute. Read more on that here.