I am thinking that I want Tim Bishop to lose his race for Congress in Long Island. I know my boss, who supported him and donated money, now wants him to lose and has voted against him.
That contribution he made is the reason why.
I manage my boss' e-mail and helped him execute a small donation to Tim Bishop. Instead of the Tim Bishop campaign being thankful for the contribution, they let loose a barrage of daily e-mails asking for more money. 7-10 emails PER DAY. The e-mails were signed by Bishop or sometimes Nancy Pelosi or other prominent Democrat, and most of them had message lines like "TERRIBLE NEWS!" "SOMETHING AWUL HAS HAPPENED" or "TRAGIC Conclusion" or e-mails from his daughter saying "I am PLEADING with you!"
It was enough to drive a sane man mad.
At first, he made another contribution, hoping that would stop the flood, but no, the e-mails doubled. He tried the five-step "unsubscribe" process, but that did not stop the onslaught.
The tone of these e-mails were awful -- desperate, whining, begging. NOTHING POSITIVE in them at all. And not one supported our President or pushed his accomplishments. Just dire warnings of doom and gloom
And most of them were linked to Act Blue.
He got so frustrated that he decided to vote for the Republican. And since he turned to the Democrats to support Obama in the first place, he is now likely going to go back to being a Republican.
Aren't small contributors supposed to be the heart of the party? Why is Act Blue treating its donors so horribly? THIS ELECTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO INCREASE OUR BASE. But instead, this particular campaign, and perhaps any using Act Blue as a funding mechanism, has instead driven supporters away.
I hope we do better on Tuesday than the polls are indicating, but if we don't, it may be because WE CHASED OUR SUPPORTERS AWAY.
