Hi—I wanted to make sure
you saw this email we sent the other day. This is an incredible opportunity,
and every dollar counts!

Dear MoveOn member, 

In 2008, young people voted
in record numbers and went for President Obama over John McCain by
more than 2-to-1.¹ This year, every election expert
agrees that if that happens again, Obama will win easily—and the Democrats
will probably win back the Congress.

And now Republicans have
handed us a golden opportunity to fire up young people to vote in 2012.

You see, because of
Republican obstruction in Congress, interest rates on college loans are set
to double this July—pouring even more debt on a generation
already drowning in student loans. President Obama is pushing Congress to stop
it, but as usual Republicans have dug in their heels.²

To make sure young
people know what’s happening, we’re launching one of the largest online ad
campaigns in MoveOn history—putting ads on the Facebook page of every college student in America to warn them about this Armageddon of student debt.

We’ve already tested
several versions of these ads, and we know they’re effective at getting
students to take action. But we’ll have to scrap the plan unless we can
raise $200,000 from MoveOn members. Can you chip in $5?

Yes, I can contribute $5 to help make sure young people vote in
2012.

MoveOn has already heard
from hundreds of thousands of young people freaking out about this—and we’re
already working to make sure they call Congress, register to vote, and keep
taking action on campus.

But really, we need
to reach the millions of young people who aren’t hearing about this, and hands down the best way to reach
them is on Facebook. 

Facebook ads are awesome
because unlike TV, radio, or newspaper ads, people can click on them and sign
up to take action. And of course, Facebook is where young voters spend so
much of their time.

Nothing strikes fear
into the hearts of Republican strategists like the idea of another wave of
young voter turnout like in 2008, and this Republican war on students gives us a chance to
make it happen, if we can act fast.

Click here to contribute $5 to help make sure young people vote
in 2012.

Student debt has become
an absolutely explosive issue among young people. Since
1999, student loan debt has increased by more than 500%. You may not
realize it if you don’t have kids or if you went to college 10 or 20 years ago,
but it now costs on average more than $21,000 a year to go to a public school
with in-state tuition. The best private schools are almost triple that much.³

In fact, we’ve seen two
of the largest petitions in MoveOn history in recent months calling on Congress
to provide relief for those drowning in student debt. This is a sleeping
giant of an issue, and in the coming weeks it can really blow up.

The Republicans’ doubling
of interest rates is just the latest attack on students. For years they’ve been
slashing funding for higher education, leading directly to skyrocketing tuition
at public colleges and universities. Just last year, they cut $8 billion out of
the Pell Grant program for low-income students and reduced the income threshold
for eligibility for a full Pell Grant.⁴

This is the ultimate
teachable moment for young voters, showing them who’s on their side and why it’s so important
to vote. With your help, we can make this one of the key turning points of the
2012 election.

Can you contribute $5 to help make sure young people vote in
2012?

Thanks for all you do.

–Steven, Joan, Wes,
Marika, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Young Voters in
the 2008 Election," Pew Research Center for People & the Press,
November 12, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=274743&id=40284-21095459-3IDPcRx&t=5

2. "Obama To Make
Student Loans a Campaign Issue," Slate, April 20, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=274744&id=40284-21095459-3IDPcRx&t=6

3. "Chart of the
Day: Student Loans Have Grown 511% Since 1999," The Atlantic,
August 18, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=274368&id=40284-21095459-3IDPcRx&t=7

"College costs
climb, yet again," CNN Money, October 29, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=274745&id=40284-21095459-3IDPcRx&t=8

4. "Student loan
rate hike: What you need to know," CNN Money, April 24, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=274746&id=40284-21095459-3IDPcRx&t=9

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