Hello and welcome to another edition of Doomscroll - your favorite newsletter covering all things digital on the right! Let’s get to some scrolling.
Today’s edition of Doomscroll is sponsored by RumbleUp - Thank you, RumbleUp!
Thanks to everyone who answered last week’s One Question about whether custom WinRed pages are worth the squeeze. A couple of you nitpickers call me out for even asking if the “juice is worth the squeeze” because duh - it ain’t hard to ask Claude to write some custom CSS. I know, I know. My apologies. When it comes to whether fancy pages actually help raise more money, half of respondents said “it depends,” which is basically where I fall. The rest of you were split between “not sure but they’re fun” and “Yessss.” A few comments:
The CSS is def helping. Even with custom buttons to add text. The colors help on specific content too. On the flip side, people use it to hide disclaimers or certain text, which is a future problem.
There’s not much squeeze involved. With LLM coding, you can get custom CSS for nearly anything in under 90 seconds. Why not experiment when the barrier to entry is so low.
Everyone has taught AI to write the custom CSS 🤷♂️ in such a case, the question isn’t really “is the juice worth the squeeze” because the squeeze is a half baked prompt if you’ve spent much time teaching an LLM how to hit the style sheets right. The question is, at what point does it actively harm conversion rates. You can get way over the top so it hurts your eyes tbh
Yes! There are tests that have been published that support this.
https://imge.com/testing-hub/21-can-a-custom-css-donation-page-boost-conversions https://imge.com/testing-hub/8-can-a-custom-css-donation-page-boost-conversions and more...
Re: that last comment - thank you to whoever at IMGE submitted! Xoxo
Anyway, I basically think that as long as it’s not making things scammy and it doesn’t hurt my eyes…why not mess around. Go for it.
Ok. I’m sure we all read the NYT story this week about the DNC’s money woes. Particularly the bit about them asking vendors to hold invoices. GAH. That’s bad. Was I the only one who read that and felt a sinister chill go down my spine? Look, committees aren’t gravy trains (and shouldn’t be treated like they are), but they used to be a pretty safe bet for those of us who make a living in the consultant/vendor world. But reality is what it is, and I’m sure we’ve all experienced our fair share of payment/invoicing woes…Right? So this week’s One Question is about getting paid. Think of it as not so much ONE Question, but a super short survey about chasing down invoices and gettin’ yo money. Or in the immortal words of my favorite hype woman Rihanna - getting people to “pay me what you owe. Don’t act like you forgot!” Please.
The above quote comes from the 2026 Consumer Trends report from tvScientific, which I first came across in Chauncey Southworth’s newsletter, Impressions to Ballots. There’s some good stuff in there and even as a digital consultant, I can admit that there’s definitely a time and place to still put an ad on TV (however we define “TV” these days) from a credibility standpoint. And perhaps this is something the corporate world gets right more than we do: Diversifying our media placement is good. But let’s go one step beyond: how are our ad plans reflecting the real consumer (voter) journey? If someone starts by googling a candidate or asking ChatGPT, how are we meeting them there? And then how is THAT different from how we’re meeting them on social or linear or CTV? Just a thought!
—The ad wars
Well, it’s the world’s shortest Senate race and the ads are in.
First up: Darline. This is certainly not a bad ad as it checks all the boxes. At least, any boxes that exist when you’re the sister of a late incumbent Senator who passed away suddenly, was appointed to fill his seat, and then decided to run for a full term in what is shaping up to be a bizzar-o special election. But hey, who’s keeping track!?!? Anywho: She’s speaking directly to camera the whole time which is 100% the right call. No one knows who she is so this will help. The MAGA activists don’t trust her (yet) so a slick, overly-produced ad with a bunch of b-roll would have been the exact wrong call. She also hits the main issues the conservative right really cares about right now: protecting women’s sports and voter ID. She also plugs being pro-life, which is good since one of the biggest knocks against her is that she donated to a pro-choice(ish) Republican state senator in the recent past. She also mentions Trump’s endorsement but doesn’t hang her entire candidacy on it. All in all, pretty good stuff here. I told you guys her team was top notch!
Darline isn’t alone. Ralph Norman has a new spot out, and it ain’t bad, either. He also spends the entire time speaking directly to the camera, but his message is different: I’m the REAL conservative in this race. Mmmmk. He also includes a subtle jab at Darline: “when you choose your next senator, you shouldn’t have to guess.” I mean, that’s fair. My only critique? If you’re going with a green screen background, pick something a little more interesting!
Russel Fry’s ad is out too…and to be honest, I don’t think I’ve seen or heard a more low-energy delivery of a script. Dude. You’re the youngest person in the race by a MILE and this is the best you’ve got? Eek. Look, I’m not going to be unhappy if he’s our next senator, but I think he needs a shot of espresso. Or two or three.
And then there’s Mark Sanford, who is out with not one, but TWO ads already - though they’re both very, very similar. He’s playing up his usual message - the one everyone knows him for: Budgets, debt, wasteful spending, etc. I mean, it works for him. He was freedom caucus before there was a freedom caucus. The OG fiscal conservative. Before anyone knew who Ralph Norman was, Mark Sanford was carrying pigs onto the house floor in Columbia to protest pork-barrel spending. You can’t ever accuse this guy of NOT having a message. I like though, that he’s tailoring it for this campaign. The debt and deficit are too abstract for people who are more concerned with the everyday cost of living - which is probably why Sanford spends his two ads trying to connect those two issues and why he’s launched a “Mama I can’t afford a new truck” tour around the state (doesn’t quite roll off the tongue). Will it resonate? Who the heck knows. But he’s definitely putting in the work that is for sure.
—Fauci Files
You gotta hand it to our Republican senators: They know how to clip and POST THAT S*** ON SOCIAL IN NEAR-REAL TIME! (ok, obviously I’m talking about their staffers but still). Slow clap for Sens. Paul, Moreno, Johnson, Hawley, and everyone else who made sure that Anthony Fauci’s refusal to answer basic questions (what color is your tie!?) was front and center on social media this week. I won’t spend time here rehashing Fauci’s crimes against humanity, but I do want to call out this epic display of social dominance. Credit where credit is due. According to analysis from lefty Magnitude Media - who crunched these numbers so I don’t have to - Hawley’s video of him asking Fauci about the color of his tie got up to 8.3 million views. Here’s more from their July 30 newsletter:
Right-leaning accounts posted 2,300 times about Fauci yesterday—for comparison, that’s more post volume than the Super Bowl (1,900 posts for right-leaning accounts, same for left-leaning accounts). The coordination is notable—Fauci was mentioned in an astonishing 20% of all right-leaning posts yesterday, with three entities mentioning him more than 75 times in a day (Benny Johnson, Daily Caller, and Fox News). This is a great case study for left-leaning pages to take note of and replicate on our priority issues.
Thanks, Magnitude!
Anyway, good work, all around. I saw a lot of conservative leaders taking advantage of the Fauci hearing on the fundraising front as well. Hope it worked for everyone! And look, if I sound too “gleeful” about this…take a breath. I know what hearings - especially high-profile ones - are for. It’s all about the show. The goal IS to generate viral moments, not necessarily to be productive in any kind of serious way (It is 2026 after all). But sometimes…SOMETIMES…a hearing can do both. Sometimes the showboating works because it’s offered up on a silver platter and not taking advantage would be political malpractice. Maybe we would have gotten better results only if Fauci had literally arm-wrestled with Rand Paul on the dais. But pleading the 5th eleventy million times was his choice and gosh darnit, he knew the cameras would be rolling! Capture. Clip. Post. The American people deserve to know how shady HRH Fauci really is.
The campaigns you serve already ask about texting. The only question is which agency bills for the answer.
RumbleUp partners with agencies of all sizes to turn texting into a service line you own. We run the platform, register 10DLC at zero markup and staff white-glove support 7 days a week behind the scenes, so your team delivers texting-expert service without ever becoming texting engineers.
Schedule an exploratory partner call to see how other firms package, price and profit from texting with us.
Looks like America PAC is back in business. #Bless
In Georgia, Rick Jackson is planning $87 million in digital and TV ad spend
SLF is out with an ad hitting Platner 2.0 - I mean, Troy Jackson.
A GOP-affiliated Sunrise PAC is meddling in the Democratic primary in Michigan’s 7th. Good luck.
The NRSC is running an ad in the Minnesota Senate race to attack (read: boost) Peggy Flanagan.
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden handily beat businessman Toby Doeden in the run-off this week.
Perhaps some of you will find this as interesting as I did. The New York Times did a deep dive into how Meta got its “secret” data center deal in Louisiana. A snippet:
Mr. Turner had helped land the largest development in Louisiana’s history: a $50 billion data center for the Silicon Valley giant Meta that planners say could cover about six square miles and use seven times as much energy as New Orleans.
Meta wanted the rebate to build its data center in Richland Parish, an impoverished farming community in Louisiana’s northeast corner. The tech company also needed a secret deal done quickly, and state officials were eager to oblige.
First, I’m gonna hand the mic over to someone who left this anonymous comment:
Long time listener, first time writer. This doesn’t have to do with the prompt but I think this is good material for your next edition. This stuff from the NRSC needs to stop: Ready to hit pause on ALL political texts? You're literally 1 step away. Do it now: act-26.io/r109od stop=end It’s not possible to do this. Donating will result in more texts. And even if it did work, they are sacrificing long term value for short term gain. It’s a scam
Hhhmmm. I’m probably gonna lean towards hitting the “like” button on this one. Don’t promise to stop all political texts. You can’t make that kind of promise, so just don’t do it.
Second, did anyone else see the story this week about the Mike Rogers campaign getting scammed out of $16,000? I mean, I guess it’s not that unprecedented but still! Yeesh.
Third, who remembers our favorite fundraiser Parks freaking Bennett? I told his tale in this here newsletter more than two years ago and talked about how he needed to come to Jesus. Well, I guess he did. Sarcasm aside…I’m never going to make fun of someone who’s giving their life to the Lord and all that, but I sincerely hope this dude treats the pulpit better than he treated our industry. Praying he pays everyone the money he owes.
H/t to a loyal reader for flagging!
Got a tip for The Grapevine? Job announcement? Job opening? Email ‘em to me at itsthedoomscroll@gmail.com
From the other side of the tracks:
Ok, guys. Let’s all pour one out for Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Masino , who is stepping down one year after the terrible rebrand fiasco. I mean, who could have seen this coming, amirite?!
From the other side of the aisle:
Some activists are trying to help donors get their money back from the now-defunct Graham Platner campaign. Good for them. I’d be on board with this for someone on our side of the aisle, too. For instance, if a conservative group wanted to help donors get refunds from, say, Rep. Max Miller, I’d be ok with that. Just saying.
Before you go…
Did you answer this week’s One Question? It takes five seconds!
Access the Doomscroll archive here.
Consider forwarding Doomscroll to your friends!
