The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee distributed a fundraising solicitation Thursday morning seeking help to stop Republicans and the tea party, whose intent, the committee said, is to shut down the government.

The DSCC is looking to raise $100,000 in the next 36 hours “to call out the GOP extremists and preserve our Senate majority,” DSCC Executive Director Guy Cecil wrote in the email.

“They won’t budge until health care reform is repealed, Planned Parenthood is defunded, Pell Grants are slashed, and NPR and PBS are off the air,” Cecil wrote. “We can’t allow these extremists to repeal the last 100 years of progress, and you know that’s what they’re truly after. If they get their hands on the Senate, they’ll do just that.”

The DSCC is defending 23 Senate seats this cycle, including far more competitive seats than the GOP, and at this point there are just a few GOP-held seats that look like potential pickup opportunities. With the sheer numbers against them, the DSCC is hoping to rally the grass roots and raise some much-needed funds.

“It’s time to go on offense,” Cecil wrote. “We’ve got to stand up to their ideologically driven nonsense, starting NOW. Fight back with a gift of $5 or more to the DSCC’s Shut Them Down Project.”

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