Years ago, I clicked a box on some Democrat web site and they’re still sending me e-mails like this one:
Friend:
If you follow political news like I do, you may remember this year for its GOP horse race: who was up, who was down, who had an “oops” moment. But that’s not how I’ll remember it.
I’ll remember it as a pretty incredible year for Democrats. Here’s why:
Just in the last week, we’ve seen solid evidence that health care reform is working: 2.5 million Americans are now insured thanks to a provision in the Affordable Care Act that allows young adults to stay on their parent’s health insurance, more than double the number previously estimated.
And with the last troops leaving this past Sunday, the war in Iraq has come to a responsible end. Because of the veterans provisions of the American Jobs Act and the Hiring Heroes Act, which provide tax incentives to businesses who hire veterans in need of work, our troops coming home and all our veterans know that they can get the help they need in finding work and supporting their families.
These are the kinds of fights Democrats are waging — and winning. They’re crucial victories, but they don’t happen without you.
Next year, the stakes will be even higher. That’s why I’m asking you to step up right now and say you’re ready for the fights ahead:
Chip in $3 more for 2012.
Next year’s election will be huge, that’s for sure — but the work we did in 2011 shows just what a grassroots campaign can do. Across the country this year, Democrats worked together and fought critical statewide battles on the ground.
In Mississippi, folks worked tirelessly to protect a woman’s right to choose and soundly defeated the Personhood amendment, which would’ve made abortion illegal, including in cases of rape or incest, and even banned some forms of birth control.
Up in Maine, statewide Democratic groups worked together to overturn the state legislature’s recent ban on allowing people to register and vote on the same day — a nearly 40-year tradition that’s helped the state have some of the highest voter turnout rates in the country.
And in the bellwether state of Ohio, the state Democratic party and progressive allies collected more than 300,000 signatures to stop a law that would greatly reduce how and when Ohioans can early vote — and put it up for a statewide vote next year. Thanks in part to thousands who were able to cast their ballots early, Ohio voters in November successfully repealed a collective bargaining law that would’ve stripped away the rights of teachers and firefighters to negotiate for important benefits and working conditions.
We have a ways to go to get the economy working for everyone, and there’s much more work to be done.
But we have a lot to feel good about. We’ve worked together at the national level to make change that’s going to affect millions of lives every day, like repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and we’ve banded together in our states and communities to stand for our party’s principles.
It’s what Democrats do.
But don’t doubt that for every victory we’ve had this year, the GOP is ready and waiting to reverse it. Repealing health care reform, reinstating “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” restricting voting rights, and putting Personhood amendments on the ballot in other states are all things the other side has promised to do if given the chance.
That’s why we need to be ready to fight for the change we’ve made — and make certain we’ll get to keep pushing for more.
It can’t happen without you. Show you’re ready for 2012 by giving $3 or more today:
http://my.democrats.org/Ready-for-2012
Thanks,
Debbie
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Chair, Democratic National Committee
Notice that they’re asking for a meager $3 as a minimum. Why? Well, if you’ve got a mailing list of a million names, and your average return rate is 10% on a fundraising e-mail like that, you get a $300,000 payoff, even if every donor gives only $3. Of course, the return rate is a lot lower than 10%, but most of the people who contribute are going to give $10 or more.
By setting a low threshold in the e-mail, the Democrats are telling recipients, “Hey, every dollar counts. You don’t have to be a big money fat cat to make a difference.” And every person who gives even $3 has signalled a willingness to give. The Democrats will put that person’s e-mail address into a special database and target them with further solicitations, e.g., “Hey, [name], thanks for giving [dollar amount]. It’s people like you who really count. If you could just give us another $10 today . . .”
It’s the “shotgun and rifle” approach: You “shotgun” a solicitation to a big list, and then target the respondents with “rifle” solicitations aimed at them personally. There is an actual science to doing this kind of thing well, and building a big list of small donors is vital to success in politics, because you can hit up these donors again and again, whereas big donors who “max out” early in a campaign are unable to give more.
And while conservatives may scoff at the partisan propaganda message in Debbie’s e-mail, there are many thousands of Democratic Party donors who buy into every word of it.
Update (Smitty): Linked at American Glob.
