This is me asking

A spring invitation from Hightower

Friends—

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve opened up some of what our paid subscribers usually get all to themselves—the C-SPAN storytelling with Molly Ivins at Scholz Garten, clips from our Happy Hour Q&A sessions, newsy quips and bits—the kind of stuff that doesn’t fit into a two-minute radio commentary.

Here’s the thing. I’ve been doing this work for over 50 years. No corporate sponsors. No PAC money. No billionaire sugar daddy funding this operation. The people who chip in are the reason this commentary exists. Period.

I’m not going to give you a hard sell. You know what we do. You’ve been reading it.

Some of you have been reading me since the print days—since before this was a Substack, before it was an email, back when the Lowdown showed up in your actual mailbox. Some of you signed up a year or two ago and have been getting every commentary for free since then. That’s fine. That’s what it’s there for.

But if you’ve been thinking about it—and I know some of you have—this is me asking you directly to chip in.

This spring, we’re offering two ways to join our full Lowdown experience:

• $40/year keeps our lights on. That’s under a dollar a week to receive my independent, populist, corporate-free commentaries. Plus you get Friday posts, the live Happy Hours, and whatever other trouble Laura, Deanna, and I cook up.

• $100/year keeps us expanding our reach—especially into “red” areas long ignored by progressive media. Some of our most committed readers have stepped up to this level, and it makes a real difference. If you’re in a position to do it, it goes directly to keeping this operation independent.

The Powers That Be have got their megaphones. This one is ours. But ours runs on people, not plutocrats.

If you’re in a position to join us at either level, we’d be glad to have you. If you’re not, keep reading—that’s what the free tier is for, and it’s not going anywhere.

Either way, keep pushing.

— Hightower

P.S. If you’re already a paid subscriber—thank you. Seriously. And if you’ve been a paid subscriber but haven’t been opening these emails lately, come on back. We’ve been up to some good stuff. You can also gift a subscription to someone who’d appreciate it. Sometimes the best organizing starts with sharing something good.