May/June 2012 Issue

Leveling Up

When they’re not signing up distributors, MLMs are recruiting politicians.

NU SKIN

Known for: Galvanic spas

Political giving, 1989-2012: $675,000, mostly to Republicans. CEO supported Romney’s campaigns; ex-president and his son-in-law gave $2 million to the Romney super-PAC via shell companies.

MELALEUCA

Known for: Cleaning products, litigious CEO

Political giving, 1989-2012: $380,000, mostly to GOPers; plus $1 million to Romney super-PAC

ALTICOR (AMWAY)

Known for: Nutrilite diet supplements

Political giving, 1989-2012: $9.3 million, mostly to Republicans. Amway cofounder Rich DeVos funds the Koch brothers’ political efforts.

HERBALIFE

Known for: Nutritional shakes

Lobbying, 1998-2011: $3.65 million

METABOLIFE

Known for: Banned ephedra-based weight-loss drugs

Lobbying, 1998-2005: $3.6 million

MARY KAY

Known for: Pink Cadillac-driving sellers

Political giving, 1989-2012: $740,000

AVON PRODUCTS

Known for: Pink-ribbon everything

Political giving, 1989-2012: $345,000, plus $970,000 on lobbying since 2002

4LIFE RESEARCH

Known for: Transfer Factor immunity supplements

Political giving, 1989-2012: $54,000; founder gave $500,000 to Romney super-PAC.

FOREVER LIVING

Known for: Aloe vera-based drinks

Political giving, 1989-2012: CEO and his wife have given more than $150,000 to Republicans, including Romney.

XANGO

Known for: Mangosteen juice

Political giving, 2004-2012: $186,000, mostly to Republicans

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

The short of it: Last year, we had to cut $1 million from our budget so we could have any chance of breaking even by the time our fiscal year ended in June. And despite a huge rally from so many of you leading up to the deadline, we still came up a bit short on the whole. We can’t let that happen again. We have no wiggle room to begin with, and now we have a hole to dig out of.

Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

The upshot: Being able to rally $253,000 in donations over these next few weeks is vitally important simply because it is the number that keeps us right on track, helping make sure we don't end up with a bigger gap than can be filled again, helping us avoid any significant (and knowable) cash-flow crunches for now. We used to be more nonchalant about coming up short this time of year, thinking we can make it by the time June rolls around. Not anymore.

Because the in-depth journalism on underreported beats and unique perspectives on the daily news you turn to Mother Jones for is only possible because readers fund us. Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism we exist to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we need readers to show up for us big time—again.

Getting just 10 percent of the people who care enough about our work to be reading this blurb to part with a few bucks would be utterly transformative for us, and that's very much what we need to keep charging hard in this financially uncertain, high-stakes year.

If you can right now, please support the journalism you get from Mother Jones with a donation at whatever amount works for you. And please do it now, before you move on to whatever you're about to do next and think maybe you'll get to it later, because every gift matters and we really need to see a strong response if we're going to raise the $253,000 we need in less than three weeks.

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