Stop Terrifying People For Profit

We must learn to distinguish between real news and outrage entrepreneurship.

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The three of us have an elderly friend who is disabled, poor, and leads an achingly lonely life. With few surviving family members or close friends, he endures intense pain caused by a degenerative illness.

And, this friend is absolutely terrified of Republicans. He is crippled by fear and anger because he believes they are determined to dismantle Social Security, his primary source of income.

Why is he so convinced? Because that’s what some Democrats have told him. During election season, he was bombarded with fundraising emails claiming Social Security would die unless he donated $5 RIGHT NOW to help stop Republicans from taking control of Congress.

Here’s a representative email, sent a few days ago by Social Security Works:

Subject line: “Re: ‘Interesting thread’”

Elon Musk has declared war on Social Security―just like we warned when Trump put Musk in charge of finding $2 trillion in cuts to the federal budget.

Now that the election is in the past, other Republicans are saying the quiet part out loud.

[....]

Social Security’s problem isn’t that benefits are too high―ask any senior! The problem is that billionaires want to steal the money and line their own pockets with it.

That’s why Musk is focused on preserving his own government contracts and tax handouts while entertaining the destruction of our Social Security system!

Social Security Works was built for this fight. Together, we can stop this billionaire war on Social Security! Chip in $7 today!

[….]

Last night, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) wrote a blueprint for destroying Social Security. And the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, who Donald Trump has put in charge of slashing our earned benefits, was persuaded:

Since Elon Musk’s commission was announced, we have warned that it would be used as a stalking horse to destroy Social Security and Medicare. Elon just confirmed that we were right. If we make sure every American knows the truth, we can fight back and win! Rush $7 today!

[….]

This is a declaration of war against seniors, people with disabilities, and the American public. The Republicans are coming for your Social Security, which they call a ‘nightmare.’ Elon Musk’s commission is a plot to destroy our Social Security by giving it to Wall Street executives — so that you get nothing and they get everything.

We’ve seen this play again and again. When Republicans destroyed defined benefit pension plans, they claimed that the market would be able to create amazing returns for everybody. Instead, workers got pennies while Wall Street managers got billions. That is always the plan.

Together, we can defeat Elon Musk, Mike Lee, and every other crooked politician who comes to steal the benefits we’ve earned. Chip in $7 today!

This was just one email sent after the election. During election season, millions of Americans received dozens of similarly breathless and angry emails every week from both major parties. Below are some samples of such emails in recent years: