Recently a headline at Fox News screamed, “Democratic Fundraising Worst in Decade.” Variations of that headline were posted on other sites.
The facts behind those headlines are that during the first six months of 2017 the Republican National Committee (RNC) raised $75.4 million compared to $37.2 million for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Then in July, financial filings revealed that DNC fundraising went from bad to worse, pulling in only $3.8 million while the RNC raised $10.2 million.
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Furthermore, the DNC has slightly less than $7.5 million in the bank and is $3 million in debt. Those numbers are dismal compared to those of the RNC, which has $45 million banked and no debt.
More problematic for the DNC is the decline of small donors. Defined as those who contribute less than $200, small donors comprise the party base and measures the strength of the DNC’s grass-roots army that supplies platoons of door knockers and phone callers. During the first half of 2017, small donors contributed $21 million to the DNC compared to $33 million for RNC.
Some reasons for this small-donor imbalance can be found in my email inbox.
Let me explain.
Starting with Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, I have been a spy on the DNC’s donor solicitation email blasts. The often misleading, overblown, and exaggerated subject headlines are a never-ending source of amusement for a Republican activist like myself. However, I was deeply offended when earlier this summer, a DNC email asked me to join the “national resistance,” because in my mind the word “resistance” in its mid-20th-century context was a dog whistle for Trump channeling Hitler.
But nothing surprises me anymore since late February when Tom Perez, the former labor secretary for President Barack Obama, was elected chairman of the DNC and Rep. [score]Keith Ellison[/score] (D-Minn.) was named deputy chairman.
After that leftist duo took charge, I noticed an angrier tone in the DNC’s emails, with “fighting” the most frequently used action word, as in:
- Fighting for Democratic values, even though specific values are usually never mentioned. And,
- Fighting back against whatever the GOP is up to at the state and local level, we’re resisting.
“Working families,” a traditionally overused DNC phrase has expanded to “working families first.” What the heck that means and how that phrase translates into actionable policy remains a mystery.
As its lackluster fundraising indicates, the DNC’s angry “fighting” email blasts along with pleas to “join the resistance” have failed to motivate enough of their activist base to click “I’m in” and contribute 10 bucks.
Then this week I noticed the unveiling of a new frightening buzzword. After clicking the usual “I’m in” tab on the email page, a page appeared asking for contact info. At the bottom of the info page was another “I’m in” tab, which I clicked, and up popped an actual donation page. I did not donate, but since I had clicked “I’m in” twice, the DNC response system sent me a new email with the subject line, “Thanks – now take the next step.”
Under the D in the circle logo resembling a target were listed three steps I could take to “help Democrats push back against Republicans at every level of government.”
First was “spread the word” via social media, second was “make a donation,” and third:
“Become a Factivist. Help get out the facts about Republican candidates and their disastrous policies. Sign up to become a Factivist today, and we’ll make sure you get the latest information to share with your friends and neighbors.”
I was bewildered by the request to “Become a Factivist.” For one thing, the portmanteau of fact and activist when said rapidly sounds like fascist.
Talk about hate speech! Even though I assume that creating a new hate word to call donors was not the intention of the DNC, someone over there needs to be sensitive to history during this time when every Democrat has suddenly developed historic sensitivity.
In fact, “Factivist” sounds so offensive there should be Republican rallies protesting its use!
I’m thinking that the DNC should have written:
“Dear Factivist: After we receive your donation, you will receive an armband with the D target logo.”
Moreover, the offer to “become a Factivist” not only sounds authoritarian. It symbolizes where the Democratic Party is heading under the angry, leftist leadership of Tom Perez and Keith Ellison. Their message strategy of always resisting and fighting against Republicans without offering any specific solutions is a losing proposition that will successfully keep “Factivist” Democrats as the minority party with its fundraising in decline.
Cross posted at WND
