Fundraising • April 7th, 2008

The money chase

by Chris Lato

Part of the fallout from last week’s Supreme Court election has focused on whether taxpayers should pick up the tab for these campaigns.

Jump into the Wayback Machine with me for a moment. Imagine public financing of Supreme Court races was already in place. It is exactly one week ago, the day before the election. The last rounds of TV ads are running, over and over again. You are sitting on the couch, shaking your head, trying to find a channel, any channel, to get away from these ads.

Then, it dawns on you. YOUR tax dollars are paying for the ads! That’s your money at work! Look at the politicians and how they’re spending your money - money that, if it was in your pocket, could buy your family groceries, fill your gas tank, or buy some school clothes for your kid.

That’s at the heart of this issue for me. I don’t know why I should have to fund the campaigns of those I disagree with. It would solve nothing. Also, taxes are high enough already.

The next question: as part of the plan for public financing, will the messages being disseminated with taxpayer dollars be ‘regulated’? Otherwise, how will the negative messages go away?

As our friend on the left Ed Garvey might say, “Whoa, Nelly!” I mean, it sounds kinda like socialism. Is that really the solution?

Few politicians enjoy the process of fundraising. It’s a grind, with endless phone calls, meetings and handshakes. You are out there, hat in hand, constantly selling yourself and hoping people will respond by writing a check. It can be humiliating. I get it.

But it also forces politicians and their campaigns to gain focus, to work, to make contact, to go through the process of proving your worthiness. The idea that candidates should just kick back and let the taxpayers foot the bill would actually be a loss to the democratic process.

Fundraising can be unpleasant, but it is necessary. It is part of what makes good candidates better, and helps weed out the bad candidates, the ones who aren’t serious, the ones who hope to coast, the ones who don’t have their act together. It is healthy.

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2008 Primaries, Branding Politix, Fundraising, Grass Roots Organization, Messaging • March 10th, 2008

I’ve seen the future & it will be… (part 2)

by Greg Batiansila

Barack Obama’s fundraising is making considerable waves - and not just because of the incredible amount of money he’s brought in (Obama reports raising 55 million dollars in February alone) - but how he’s raising the money - on the internet.

“Obama’s staggering sum is made all the more frightening for Republicans because much of it came over the Internet in small sums — support that not only underscores Obama’s organic appeal but that also signals an ability to raise more money from a donor pool that now totals more than 1 million individuals.” (read more here)

Running for office? Regardless of whether its local, regional or national - how’s your website? Today’s campaigns are using the web for more than some show ‘n’ tell. The web platform is quickly becoming the focus for practically every aspect of a campaign.

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2008 Primaries, Fundraising, Leadership, Messaging, public relations • February 24th, 2008

3 reasons why Hillary is losing

by Chris Lato

I’m told people on the internet love lists. I know there are more than three reasons for Hillary’s slide, and you may disagree with the three I cite. But the three I’m taking on in this post offer a PR/messaging/media relations perspective.Why is Hillary Clinton losing? Let me count the ways…

1. Money - and the perceptions tied to it

As a national candidate loses momentum, money dries up and shifts to the candidate gaining ground. We are seeing that happen with Barack Obama. Clinton is no slouch in the fundraising department, but she has had to loan her own campaign millions - a sign of fundraising weakness. Questions about her campaign’s spending habits are also being raised. This is campaign mismanagement, which leads to a legitimate messaging problem: if she can’t manage a campaign budget, how can she be counted on to manage a federal budget?

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