Election Night HQ

This afternoon - Wednesday, May 30 - those on the official campaign’s e-mail list received an official request for campaign contributions, presumably from an individual (or individuals) from Senator McCain’s Finance Team, formally released under the Senator’s signature.

While these e-requests are not new, of course, this one seemed to use many of the best campaign techniques for encouraging donors to contribute.

Accordingly, here is Campaignia’s detailed analysis of the e-mail’s text, the approach of McCain’s letter, and how it illustrates 21st-century campaign tactics.  Much of the second half of his letter is not directly related to fundraising, and so Campaignia has not broken down that section, with the important exception of the e-mail’s postscript, which reverts to fundraising.

Of course, the non-fundraising text is vital to its contents, as no voter would respond to a minimalist request for contributions, without some descriptions of what the candidate would do if elected.  But since it’s not directly related to fundraising, Campaignia won’t deal with it here.

The entire text, via e-mail, is in the previous post.  Here is Campaignia’s detailed analysis of the letter:

Section 1 - Everywhere the Candidate Has Been Campaigning

“My Friend,

Last month, when I officially announced my candidacy for President of the United States, our campaign kicked off a series of events all over the country.  It’s been a busy month campaigning through Iowa, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, California, Texas, Florida, New York, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Washington, D.C.”

This is a good way to begin the solicitation.   It is important to convey to donors, that the candidate is bouncing through the air, from one corner of the country to another, in order to garner support from voters (and contributors, although that specific point is only implied).

Section 2 - Senate business - and Senators Clinton and Obama on Iraq

“But even though I have been campaigning all over the country, I am mindful of my duties and responsibilities as a United States Senator.  Just last week, I voted to continue the funding necessary to support our proud and devoted service men and women on the frontlines.  I was profoundly disappointed that my Senate colleagues, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, instead chose political expediency over leadership as two of the eleven Democrat Senators to vote against the funding appropriation.”

The issue of missed votes is always problematic for sitting legislators, who are seeking other offices, since the duties of campaigning often conflict with the legislative calendar.  This is in contrast to when they are seeking re-election to their own seats, since the legislatures always adjourn in plenty of time to permit autumn (as well as weekend) campaigning.  This statement softens the unpleasant truth that Senator McCain has in fact missed many votes, due to the rigors of his presidential bid.

The great irony is that the main reason McCain has missed so many votes recently, was because of the - relatively - low sum of less than $13 million his campaign raised in the first quarter.  To catch up with Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, McCain’s campaign scheduled a far greater number of fundraisers, many in far-flung cities, and these distant fundraising events are meaning more missed votes in the Senate.

In fact, this dilemma was the catalyst for the recent episode with Senator John Cornyn (R., Texas), in which Senator McCain profanely responded to Cornyn’s criticism, the crux of which apparently was that McCain had missed too many Senate votes on the immigration bill, for him to be exerting disproportionate influence in the Senate on the issue.

Finally, McCain also wanted to ensure that his political base knew that he was, in fact, present for the vote on continuing funding of the war. 

As for the two Democratic candidates: The juxtaposition of McCain’s own vote, with the “no” votes of Senators Clinton and Obama, was done for two reasons.

First, Senator McCain wanted to remind conservative Republican primary voters that he is (obviously) in favor of the war.  And not just in favor of it - but someone who is calling for more U.S. troops to be sent to Iraq, rather than withdrawing those who are already there.  This affirmation of his pro-war stance is essential, due to the distrust that some conservative Republican primary voters have of him, on other issues.

Moreover, nothing can make a Republican look more like a Republican than strongly disagreeing with Hillary Clinton, on ANY issue.  Thus, this reaffirms McCain’s status as a loyal Republican soldier.  Disagreeing with Obama also reinforces this point (although at a personal level, Obama is far better liked than Hillary Clinton, among Republicans as well as the general electorate).  McCain’s well-publicized sparring with Obama on what has become known as the “flack vs. flak” issue, on the Friday heading into Memorial Day weekend, is another indication of this strategy.

But here is the second reason why the two Democratic Senators were mentioned.  McCain’s trump card in this race is the fact that he has widespread appeal in the general election, among independents and Democrats in all regions.  It is a reminder to base Republicans, that there is the overwhelming likelihood that one of that pair of Senate Democrats will be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2008.   (Former Senator John Edwards could capture the nomination, but he does not inspire similar fear among Republicans, that Clinton and Obama do.)

Essentially, McCain is saying: “You might not like me on some issues (a lot of issues, for some of you).  But the bottom line is that I am the best hope for keeping the White House in Republican hands and more importantly, keeping Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama from moving into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  Accordingly, we might disagree on some things - but you’re going to agree with me, a LOT more often, than you’ll agree with them.”

This argument has particular resonance, at a time when polls show that a generic Democratic presidential candidate is crushing a generic GOP candidate by high double-digit margins.  

Section 3 - The Need to Post Greater $$$ By the June 30 FEC Deadline

“As our campaign heads into the summer months and nears some very important campaign deadlines, I ask that you help my campaign today with a generous contribution to support our efforts.  Our campaign calendar during the next few months has some key dates and we need to be fully prepared with the proper resources by these dates.  The first key date is the second quarter fundraising deadline on June 30th.  Shortly after, we have the Iowa straw poll in August.  That is why I am asking you to give $500, $250, $100, $75, $50, or whatever you can today to ensure that we have the necessary resources to continue our aggressive campaign schedule through the summer months.”

It’s completely accurate, that the June 30th deadline is important.  The candidate took an enormous thrashing in the media, for his supposedly paltry fundraising earlier this year (numbers, it should be noted, that would have assured rock-star popularity and free-media attention, had he been able to post them in 1999).  Unfortunately, the “money primary” is of substantial importance in shaping the free media’s view of the campaign.