News Analysis: Breaking down McCain’s e-fundraising letter of June 30 - “McCain is the only candidate who can defeat Hillary Clinton” - with the 2nd qtr FEC deadline at midnight
The Tower breaks down the e-fund-raising letter, sent out under the signature of campaign manager Terry Nelson on Saturday, June 30, at 7:45 AM. (Note: there were 16 hours and 15 minutes remaining till the 2nd quarter FEC deadline at midnight on June 30.) The Tower believes that this e-mail was particularly effective and persuasive. Here’s the full text of the mass e-mail, which The Tower received:
Dear (the first name of The Tower’s publisher),
There are many reasons to support John McCain, but as we approach this quarter’s fundraising deadline tonight at midnight, let me remind you of just one of them…
If you haven’t already done so, I hope you will make a last-minute donation to help our final push before the deadline. Please also pass this message along to your friends and family to remind them of the stakes in this election.
The clock is ticking…
Sincerely,
Terry Nelson
Campaign Manager
The Tower’s analysis:
This e-mail is considerably different from its many predecessors, with the one exception that it was issued under the signature of Nelson. It’s much shorter, for one thing. And one of the virtues of such a concise issue, is the fact that the message is about as concise as possible:
“John McCain is the only candidate who can defeat Hillary Clinton.”
Interestingly, the official message is not:
“John McCain is the only Republican [emphasis added by The Tower] candidate who can defeat Hillary Clinton.”
Instead, it says only that he is the only “candidate” who can do so. The absence of his party affiliation in this concise message is quite conspicuous, and there must be a reason for it.
Playing the Hillary card makes sense. Hillary is anathema to the core Republicans, who make up the vast majority of GOP donors. They might be more willing to overlook Senator McCain’s principled opposition to them on certain issues (most recently and notably, the imbroglio over the immigration bill), if they are convinced that McCain is the only virtuous knight, who can prevent the White House from falling to Hillary. They might not like Senator McCain for any number of reasons, but if McCain and Hillary are their only two choices, they’ll not only vote for McCain, but they’ll also donate.
Also, Hillary tends to provoke a visceral reaction among core Republicans. The Tower would speculate that invoking her name will likely provide a quicker response with a donation, than any other tactic. And with time being of the essence - since the campaign’s window for raising second-quarter cash is now being measured in hours - playing the Hillary card is probably the best way to generate rapid, emotionally-based donations for the campaign.
At the same time, it is wise for the campaign not to play the Hillary card too often - as with all tactics, if it gets overused, its effectiveness diminishes.
In summary, The Tower believes this e-mail to be effective, and anticipates that it will yield considerable online donations for the McCain campaign.
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 tow
er@campaignia.org.
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