Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Leadnow is using Trump to fundraise

These are two fundraising emails from Leadnow:
Dear Bernard,

Donald Trump was elected President of the Unites States of America last night.
It’s hard to find the words to express how many of us are feeling today: sadness, anger, rage, frustration, fear.Fear about what Trump’s election means for the world. Fear for our friends down south - especially the minority communities whose dignity, rights, and safety are threatened the most. Fear about the worst parts of Trump’s politics getting a mandate from the most powerful country in the world.
If you’re feeling that way too, you’re not alone.
The Brexit vote and Trump’s election both call on us to take a long, hard look at the institutions that are failing so many people. When we look, we can see a hunger for change in the face of uncaring elites. We can also see loud voices stoking racism for crass political gain. These same currents are getting stronger in Canada. This morning one of the most high profile Conservative leadership contenders sent an email congratulating Trump and committing to “bring his message to Canada.”1 We’ll talk about that more in the coming days.
For now, the point is that politics is changing around the world, but Trump’s politics aren’t the change that most of us hope for. He will keep doing what he always does: lie constantly, attack entire communities, and break important promises.
There is another kind of politics that is growing around the world: a politics that sees the crises we face, and places its faith in the collective action of many people, not the strong arm tactics of one man.
Trump’s election means new fears and new uncertainties that can only be countered by reaching out, digging deep, and finding new hope.
Today we feel hope when we think about you - all of the times members of the Leadnow community have shown up together, dreamed together, and fought together to turn our shared values into a lived reality for families and communities from coast to coast to coast.
We don’t need to have all the answers today. Today is a day to process how we’re feeling, and find people to connect with. In the next few days we’ll reach out with next steps to counter the worst parts of Trumps politics before they get stronger in Canada.
As one of our American friends has said: "We are going to fight. We are going to get through this, come what may. Today we despair, tomorrow we organize.”
With hope and respect,
Brittany, on behalf of the Leadnow.ca team
Sources:
  1. Kellie Leitch latches on to trump’s victory, http://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/kellie-leitch-latches-on-to-trump-victory/
This is the second one
 Dear Bernard,Here’s our take on Trump: he’s a dangerous fraud who is going to betray the people who voted for him, while stoking racism and hurting minorities. Do you agree? Disagree? And what do you think we should do about a powerful politician who wants to bring his tactics to Canada?Civil rights groups in the US are reporting a surge in racist acts since Trump’s election - graffiti, vandalism, street harassment and intimidation inspired by Trump’s race-baiting tactics.[1]We’ve seen this story before: cynical politicians position themselves as outsiders to tap into people’s legitimate economic insecurity and then point the finger at elites and minorities. You can already see that Trump’s being insincere about taking on elites. He’s appointed the head of the establishment Republicans to be his chief of staff in Washington.[2] But while Trump won’t really take on elites, he will do real harm to minority groups.Unfortunately, these ugly trends don’t stop at the border. Earlier today a man was filmed saying “Go Trump!” while hurling racist insults at another man on a Toronto streetcar, and a woman who runs a Jewish prayer centre in Ottawa woke up to find a swastika spray-painted on the front door of her home. [3-4]It’s going to get worse: Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch is promising to use the same race-baiting tactics that defined Trump’s campaign. Now, Leitch is pulling ahead in the Conservative leadership race.[5]What do you think? We want to know what you think about Trump’s election, and if you think Leadnow should stand up to Kellie Leitch’s race-baiting tactics. Will you take our 2-minute survey?Take the survey nowIn the last week we’ve received hundreds of emails from Leadnow members sharing their feelings about the election. Many of you are feeling sadness, anger, rage, frustration, and fear, and we want you to know you’re not alone. The Brexit vote in the UK, and now Trump’s election, both call on us to take a long, hard look at the institutions that are clearly failing so many people. Around the world, people have had enough of the status quo. When we look, we can see a real hunger for change in the face of uncaring elites. But we can also see loud voices stoking racism for crass political gain.We need to come together, and decide what’s next. Time and again, we’ve seen that US politics influences the political debate here in Canada -- and we’re seeing it again now, with Kellie Leitch’s Trump-style race-baiting in the Conservative leadership contest.Let us know what you think about the US election, and how Leadnow should respond to Trump-style politics in Canada.http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/3181588/Your-feelings-about-the-U-S-election-and-what-s-next?email=snassillahie@gmail.comWe’re in this together,Jolan, Britt, Jamie, Matthew and Amara on behalf of the entire Leadnow.ca team[1] Racist incidents are up since Donal Trumps election (Time). http://time.com/4569129/racist-anti-semitic-incidents-donald-trump/[2] Donal Trump picks Reince Priebus as Chief of Staff and Stephen Bannon and Strategiest (New York Times). http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/14/us/politics/reince-priebus-chief-of-staff-donald-trump.html[3] Ottawa woman wakes up to find anti-Semetic graffiti spray-painted on her home (CBC). http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/rabbi-ottawa-racist-graffiti-1.3851350[4] Video shows man hurling racist insults, threats on Toronto streetcar (CBC). http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-streetcar-incident-1.3851108 [5] “Throwing out the elites”: Why Donald Trump’s victory could upend the Conservative leadership race (National Post). http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/trumps-message-of-throwing-out-the-elites-needs-to-be-delivered-in-canada-says-kellie-leitch

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