I’m sorry, Brad, I do not know who you are, what state you are from, who you represent. Sometime during the 2014 election, I gave some money to you. Probably through Act Blue, probably as a result of a plea from People for the American Way, or Off the Sidelines, or some other group telling me how close your race was and how desperate your need was and how my donation could make the difference. I’m glad I did, I’m glad you won. But frankly, I don’t give a crap about politics in your state. I don’t want to hear about what you’ve been up to, I don’t care what your finance chairman told you last night, and I especially don’t want to hear how this fundraising deadline is so much more important than the last one. The truth is, I’m tired of hearing that, from you and about 20 other people and groups I have donated to in the past several years.
I’m happy to give occasionally, but if giving to someone in an emergency is going to trigger two emails a week for the rest of my life, I’m going to have to rethink my position on this. Further, I am sick and tired of being guilted, scared, and wolfed into giving. Examples (I’m sure you have all received these):
Guilted: “Barack emailed you. Joe emailed you. Michelle emailed you. I emailed you. Why haven’t you responded?”
Scared: “The Koch brothers have just announced that they will drop $900 million on the next race, we have to keep up with them!” Don’t you suppose that Republicans are getting the same emails, substituting “teachers’ union” for “Koch brothers”? In the last election, billionaire Republicans dropped millions on the election, but Democrats more than kept up—I heard that in the end, we outspent them, and we still got our asses kicked.
Wolfed: “This is the most important deadline we have faced. If we don’t raise $50,000 by midnight tonight, we are toast!” How many times do you think you can tell us that the end of the world is at hand before we stop believing you? Anyway, these emails usually arrive in the same batch as others saying that we are up in the polls and sure to win.
Enough with the hyperbole and scare tactics. If you guys would be straightforward and honest, and contact me no more than once a month, you would have a much better chance of getting my money. I hope some strategists are reading this.