They come by phone, by text, and by email.
Every now and then there is an actual gathering of people.
All campaigns use approximately the same techniques, so it is clear that those techniques work.
Urgency: Act right now, because there is either a deadline of some reporting or there is a short-lived match of huge proportion. Get it in before midnight today!!! or Your donation will be matched 5 to 1 if you act now!!!
Consequence: The world hangs in the balance. Democracy is at stake. Republicans say that Democratic pedophiles will groom your children at Disneyland if I don't donate. Democrats say that the U.S. Senate will fall to Republicans and Mitch McConnell will refuse to fill any vacancies in the judiciary. (That one might be true. I am not worried about Democratic grooming at Disneyland.) In the case of Ted Cruz, the consequence would be that Hunter Biden would not be fully investigated for suspicious business dealings with foreign powers.
Affiliation: By donating, I would be part of some inner circle or club. I would get a membership card. I would be part of "Team Trump," "Team Biden," or "Team Patriot."
Reinstatement: My disappointing absence is noticed: "President Trump wonders what happened to you. Have you become a traitor to the cause of freedom?" By donating, my recent failure to donate is resolved. Welcome back, Peter!
Chance to meet: Donors will be entered into a drawing to meet personally with someone. Trump's campaign uses this one frequently. I could have lunch with Trump at Mar a Lago.
Merchandise: Hats, flags, tee shirts, scarfs. Wear the logo proudly.
I have donated token amounts to both the Trump and Cruz campaigns so I get material from them by email almost daily. Because I have given more substantial amounts to a few Democratic campaigns of state and federal offices, I get a half dozen text messages every day from House and Senate candidates from around the country, seeing if I want to help someone in the 7th District in Tennessee or somewhere. I respond with STOP. That seems to work to stop additional texts.
I have donated to Tim Ryan, a U.S. Representative who is running for U.S. Senate in Ohio. He is a "red state Democrat," which means that he talks relentlessly about protecting American jobs and very little about race, gender, CRT, Hunter Biden or other issues that Fox News thinks are important. He has a law degree but he does not sound like a lawyer. He doesn't sound like "Oberlin." Quite the opposite. He sounds like a union carpenter or plumber. He is a test case for Democrats--a proof of concept. If he can win a statewide race in Ohio, possibly he could be credible as a presidential candidate. He gave that a shot in 2020. His policies are not far from Pete Buttigieg's, but he represents an entirely different brand and style. I mention him in detail here because he writes me every single day. I encouraged him by donating and attending a Zoom town hall.
Sometimes, still, campaigns work to meet with donors face to face. These have largely been suspended during the COVID years, but they are starting to come back. I got several copies of this invitation in my email box yesterday for a Biden event in Portland, and a copy was published in a newspaper. The place and time was to be determined and disclosed at the last minute, for reasons of security.
5 comments:
I too have signed up to the several campaigns of people running for office. State and local elections for both Oregon and Florida. Conservative, liberal, and non-affiliated candidates alike.
Those emails from years ago only asked for "only $3 more to help me defeat candidate X"; seems inflation has kicked that up to $5, $7, and sometimes even $10!
I also see those promises of matching 5x or 10x, but have never actually received any follow-up to prove that matching ever really happened.
What I look for in those emails is some simple message about what they've already accomplished, and what they hope to do if elected.
Trashing the opposition does help me much at all.
I wonder how much political ads really affect the election outcome?
Unfortunately, trashing the opponent and lying is not only acceptable to too many people, it's also effective.
I don't get any political emails/mail/phone calls.
I don't miss them.
Voting is a lot easier now that the republican party has become so obviously and extremely bent on destroying this country.
Peter, you should write about the County commissioners getting a pay raise after their failed leadership during the pandemic.
When the going gets tough, the cowards get a raise.
Columbia Yacht Club, perilous given Biden’s sinking ratings…
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