Election Night HQ

The Tower breaks down the e-fund-raising letter, sent out under the signature of campaign manager Terry Nelson on Monday, June 25, at 4:59 PM.  Here’s the full text of the mass e-mail, which The Tower received: 

Dear [the first name of The Tower’s publisher], 

For over two decades, John McCain has had the courage to serve as a relentless crusader for reform in Washington. He has fought for ethics in government, transparency in the appropriations process, and reform in government contracting.

In fact, The New York Times reported last week that John McCain’s long crusade against business as usual in Washington, he does not rely on big money contributions from Washington lobbyists and power brokers; he relies on contributions from hard-working supporters like you. That is why we need your help today.

We need you to join our nationwide network of grassroots supporters by making a contribution before Saturday, June 30th.

John McCain is running for president because our nation is facing a number of challenges that require courageous leadership. He is running for president not to do what is easy. He is running to do the hard but necessary things to protect our country from harm and to fix the challenges that we face as a nation now, not later.

With your generous contribution today, we can thank John McCain for taking our side in the crusade against wasteful Washington. Your immediate support is needed to help us meet our goal of raising $3 million before midnight on Saturday. Please follow this link to give $50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000 or even $2,300 before the end of quarter deadline!

Some industry lobbyists call John McCain a “one man wrecking crew” because of his efforts to defend taxpayers. In the Oval Office, John McCain will follow through on his promise to veto every bill packed with wasteful spending that comes across his desk and make the people who wrote it famous. John McCain has the courage to stand on our side; it is time for all of us to stand with him.

Thank you for your continued support,

Terry Nelson
Campaign Manager

P.S. John McCain has spent his career bucking the Washington establishment as a crusader against waste. He is now running for president to serve as a courageous leader to fix the challenges we face as a nation now. Your immediate support before the June 30th deadline will help John McCain keep up the good fight from the Oval Office.

From a tactical point of view, The Tower has compared today’s e-mail with the one sent out by Nelson, exactly two weeks ago, on Monday, June 11.  Here are some noticeable differences between June 11 and June 25:

They also had the opportunity to receive a bumper sticker if they themselves donated, and if they reached certain indeterminate goals, they had the opportunity to receive other McCain gear.  “An exclusive grand prize” was pledged to the volunteer who raised the most money.

All of the above were interesting tactical innovations in campaign fundraising, although the results were never made public (at least not to The Tower’s knowledge).  The cryptic “exclusive grand prize” was never revealed, although it is an intriguing point, as to what the prize was.

3. The June 11 letter made no references to why the volunteer/donor should support the candidate.  It assumed - and it was perfectly logical to do so - that the volunteer/donor was already sufficiently motivated to support Senator McCain, by his/her mere existence on the e-mail listserv. 

However, the June 25 letter made rhetorical calls to arms, using these phrases:

“a relentless crusader for reform in Washington”

“long crusade against business as usual”

“the crusade against wasteful Washington”

“Some industry lobbyists call John McCain a “one man wrecking crew” because of his efforts to defend taxpayers. In the Oval Office, John McCain will follow through on his promise to veto every bill packed with wasteful spending that comes across his desk and make the people who wrote it famous.”

Note: In a masterful move, the line “a one-man wrecking crew” was culled from a NY Times article on June 18, that provided a sympathetic analysis of the fundraising sector of the McCain campaign, as the candidate who led the fight against special-interest money is now forced to raise a great deal of it. 

The ”make the people who wrote it famous” is one of Senator McCain’s favorite phrases and The Tower likes that one in particular.  

“a crusader against waste.”

“Your immediate support is needed to help us meet our goal of raising $3 million before midnight on Saturday. Please follow this link to give $50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000 or even $2,300 before the end of quarter deadline!”

This is a bit puzzling, because this is in reference to the aircraft carrier barometer that The Tower has described in previous e-mail analyses.  The barometer is currently at $2.85 million, and it is certain that it will be publicly announced at the end of the quarter that the arbitrary $3 million goal has been reached.

Also worth noting: the June 11 e-mail never mentioned specific dollar amounts to donate.  In contrast, the June 25 letter asks: “Please follow this link to give $50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000 or even $2,300 before the end of quarter deadline!”  ($2,300, of course, the maximum that an individual donor can give for the primary.)

The Tower speculates that there will likely be subsequent e-mails throughout the week, since the second quarter fundraising period ends on Saturday, June 30.

Do you have a question about campaigns, politics, etc.?  Or do you have information to pass along?  Or both?  The Tower welcomes all replies and/or commentary, positive or otherwise.  You can contact The Tower at tower@campaignia.org.

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