Jazzy2.jpg
Jazzy, one of Brad Avakian's online fundraisers
(Andrea Petkus)
I never know how I land on the fundraising e-mail lists of Oregon's political elite, but the perks and insights are incredible.
Just last spring, I heard from Jazzy, Brad Avakian's dog.
"It's National Pet Day, so Brad left me a treat before he went to work today to celebrate!" Jazzy wrote. "I'd really like to throw him a bone. Would you chip in $7 today for Brad?"
That's not what I do. But give Avakian, who's running for Secretary of State, credit. He brings a mellow dog to the increasingly rabid bombards in these mass emailings.
Case in point: I've been on Knute Buehler's extensive list since writing a column about the Bend Republican last fall.
In September, I heard from Quinn Burket, Buehler's campaign coordinator. Burket said he and Jennifer Stephens, another ardent fundraiser, were concerned I hadn't responded to Knute's latest cash call.
"Jennifer just asked me to check and see if you had stepped up yet, and I still didn't see your name on the list," Burket wrote.
"I need to let you know: She's only a couple of hours away from sending the donor update to Knute and as of right now, your name won't be on it."
Holy junior high! A private shaming! A loyalty test for everyone on Buehler's contact list.
It would be one thing if Buehler - who is paying national firms to handle his online marketing - really needed the money.
And you might think he does after an Aug. 29 email in which the orthopedic surgeon declared an emergency in his Oregon House race.
Rep. Knute Buehler, R-Bend
"I just got word that in the last five days alone, $14,300 has poured in from Oregon's Democratic leadership and their entrenched special interests for my opponent," Buehler wrote.
"This influx of new cash concerns me, and I'm afraid of what will happened (sic) if we don't counter it."
Buehler is running for re-election against Gena Goodman-Campbell, a wilderness coordinator with the Oregon Natural Desert Association.
As of Oct. 4, Buehler had received $592,8044 in cash contributions, Goodman-Campbell ever so slightly less:
$63,863.
I believe the emergency has abated.
If you consider it unfair to highlight a Republican on the subject of aggressive email fundraising programs, you're probably right. No one has cranked up the volume, and lowered the bar, as dramatically as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
A caucus can get away with stuff a candidate can't, and in recent weeks, the DCCC has flooded inboxes with emails headlined "All Hope is Lost," "Trump Elected," and "We're Losing."
When Vice President Joe Biden isn't begging for help, Barbra Streisand is. If the besieged Democrat doesn't make an immediate contribution, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrives to say she's "disappointed":
"President Obama asked twice. Michelle Obama asked twice. Joe Biden asked twice ... I need you to make a choice today."
This theatrical marketing approach has inspired a nifty Tumblr montage, but it's tough to find comfort in parody when Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., is involved.
At the end of September, Brad Schneider, a Democrat running for Congress in Illinois, emailed supporters with a solicitation featuring the storied civil-rights leader.
Twenty-four hours later, the Schneider campaign was back, obnoxiously asking why the donor was "ignoring John Lewis" and his "stunning call to action."
What's stunning here is that these high-pressure online sales tactics are effective.
"People wouldn't do this if it didn't work," says Lori Hardwick, the leading Republican fundraiser in Oregon. "They do it because it makes money.
"You can't do online fundraising in a cold political climate," Hardwick adds. "When you have a hot political climate, people are driven to help. On both sides of the aisle, there is a motivating factor for their donors to give."
Those motivators debate again Sunday night. I need not speak their names.
As the Washington Post reported last week, the DCCC raised $33 million more than the National Republican Congressional Committee - Rep. Greg Walden's baby - in this election cycle, "thanks in part to $50 million in small-dollar donations from the party faithful - most of them collected online."
Buehler's admonition to his supporters that he has a list and he's checking it twice has left him with $307,000 cash on hand, more than 18 times what Goodman-Campbell has available.
Avakian and his Bernese Mountain dog? They only have a $125,000 fundraising edge over Republican Dennis Richardson, but the campaign recently raised $10,000 through Our Revolution, the next stage of the Bernie Sanders' campaign.
Old dog. New tricks.
-- Steve Duin
stephen.b.duin@gmail.com