Hey Jon!
Listen — I don’t know you. I don’t live in Georgia. And I didn’t donate to your campaign (sorry man). BUT I do frequent Daily Kos, which gave you like a million bucks, and I do live in a red state near a blue/purple community, and I think I understand campaigns. And I definitely do want you to win.
So here’s a bit of free advice:
Give away your money.
No, wait — let me explain.
You can already see that Republicans are going to go low. And out-of-state money is pouring in — like ours — which will turn off some voters, no two ways about it. And that will mean more negative advertising, and pretty soon voters will begin to feel like they’re being manipulated by outside forces, and next there’ll be a standard “pox on both their houses” declaration from people who hate money in politics generally. This will harm turnout, which will hurt you.
So diffuse that.
What if you did something like this:
STATEMENT FROM JON OSSOFF REGARDING OUT-OF-STATE DONATIONS
To my fellow Georgia 6th district voters —
I share your concern at the amount of out-of-district, out-of-state money pouring into both sides of this campaign. At a time when we should be listening to your voices, all too often we find ourselves beholden to special interests, confused by people who don’t live in Georgia or understand our needs.
There is too much money in politics today, and to be frank, there’s too much money in this campaign. On both sides. Including mine.
That’s why I’m pledging today to give it back.
That’s right — a politician saying “no thanks!” to more money! Can you believe it?
This is not a joke. Today I am pledging to donate a substantial portion of my campaign’s funding to local charities benefiting local citizens. Not at the conclusion of the election — now. Not a tiny bit — a lot. I have more than I need.
Look — we’re thrilled with the national attention this race has gotten, and we recognize that passionate folks of all political stripes have used this race as a way to express their feelings about the the nation. I have strong feelings, too, which is why I support [insert all your positions here; I don’t know them as, again, I don’t know you and don’t live in Georgia].
But you’re my neighbors, I see you at the [local brewery], I bump into you at [local grocery], and I’ve met with you at [business #1], [business #2] and [business #3]. It simply won’t cost me a million dollars to tell you why I’m excited to serve as your next congressman. Sure, I could still spend it — but why? I’m going to campaign as I intend to govern — by taking care of your money, and using only what I need. Do most politicians do this? No they don’t! But they should. I hope my opponents in this race will follow my example.
So after I pay for campaign necessities — paying staff, taking out a few print and TV ads, paying filing fees, [insert other needed stuff here], and other requirements — we’re giving the rest away, plain and simple. No keeping money in our pocket for a rainy day. No lavish parties or fluff. No checks for other candidates. No secretive Super PACS. No saving for a future race. We’ll keep enough to make sure we have what we need to win. But no more than that. People in our district can do much more with that money right now.
I love our country. And I recognize that free speech means anyone can send our campaign a check, large or small. We’ve taken in over a million dollars, most in small donations from thousands of people. But that doesn’t mean we have to keep it. We’ll abide by all applicable campaign finance laws. But we’re giving it away.
So the next time you hear an ad attacking me for swimming in shady out-of-state donations, remember — it’s a lie. We’re thrilled with the support our campaign has gotten. We expect to win this election. But we have more money than we need, so we’re doing the responsible thing and forwarding it on to those who need it.
Can my opponents say the same thing? I hope you’ll ask them.
See you on election day.
-Jon
Good luck, Jon. Kick some ass.