Hello. Welcome to another edition of Doomscroll, your favorite newsletter covering all things digital on the right. No time to waste; Let’s get to some scrolling!
One Question
Thanks to everyone who answered last week’s One Question about YouTube podcasts! 66% of you said you do plan on using YouTube for podcast and video content this cycle, and 33% said nope. Ok. When asked HOW you plan on utilizing YouTube for great content, here are a few responses I got:
LIBRE launched a Spanish language podcast in addition to AFPs American Potential Podcast. Likely more coming (NICE!)
I think the comments section and being able to interact with supports there is key (AGREED!)
Um ... by uploading video podcasts to Youtube ... is this thing broken? (NO SHIT, MR. SNARKY-PANTS)
A couple other comments I thought worth sharing:
Podcasts are a fantastic headwater for a content waterfall. Not only do you get traditional podcast distribution, you've got video to cut into shorts or reformat into graphics. It can serve as the jumping off point for op-eds or blogs. From the executive positioning/thought leadership side you can really get a lot out of difficult to corral execs by turning those conversations into other content for their social accounts too. From a comms side it can be good reps practicing for traditional media. (TOTALLY AGREE! GREAT INSIGHTS)
If you're already creating content why not also put it on camera and on YouTube (YUP)
Always appreciate the insight and nimbleness of Doomscroll. (THANK YOU, MYSTERY FRIEND!)
This week’s One Question has nothing to do with digital and everything to do with the circus going on in the Democratic Party right now. Like…lmao. Things are ROUGH right now for our friends on the other side of the aisle. I’d almost feel bad for them except…I don’t. But what they need is a Savior. The only question: Who shall it be? Gavin? Gretchen? Someone else? Who do you think will emerge as the shining hope for Democrats over the next couple of years?
One Quote
One Thought
He may be a Dem, but darnit - Mr. Blue is right! The above quote comes from Shane Goldmacher’s explosive NYT piece about the previously unreported near-collapse of the left’s data machine last fall. If you haven’t read it, you really should. When it comes to modern campaigns, everything must work hand-in-hand. As digital operatives, we can’t do our jobs if the data piece is not functioning. And the data won’t function to the best of its ability if the tech isn’t there. Tech. Data. Digital. Puzzle. Pieces.
Just a thought!
Who’s Doing What
—Garden State Games
Earlier this week, Politico’s New Jersey Playbook reported that the Jack Ciattarelli campaign wants to reach out to recurring donors for his primary opponent, Bill Spadea. Refresher: A couple weeks ago I included an item in this here newsletter about a different Politico report that found many of Spadea’s recurring donors had no clue who he was or that they were donating to him on the regular (gulp). The piece specifically blamed fundraising appeals that had pre-checked recurring donation boxes on the WinRed form.
Anyway, Ciattarelli wants to capitalize on the “grift” (their word, not mine!!!) by sending Spadea’s donors “pre-written, postage-paid letters for them to [send] to the Spadea campaign requesting refunds.”
It’s an interesting stunt, but there’s just one problem. Here’s Politico:
“..Kitchen Table Conservatives - the pro-Ciattarelli, anti-Spadea super PAC - hired National Public Affairs, the firm that Spadea’s PAC had used for the pre-checked fundraising missives. And one of those emails included a pre-checked box to make the donation recurring. Whoops! Carlos Cruz, a spokesperson for Kitchen Table Conservatives, told me that was an error and that none of the PAC’s other fundraising solicitations included a pre-checked box.”
As the kids like to say… “Oops!”
P.S. I honestly don’t know much about Bill Spadea, but I took a look at his campaign website this week and it’s…very nice. I’m giving it a solid A-. Taking off points because I feel like he SHOULD HAVE A MERCH STORE. And the X button at the top just links to twitter.com. But I love the logo, and very much appreciate that he has an Issues page. Very nice, indeed.
—You’re No ATM!
I’ve been seeing a lot more emails like this lately (#respect), but this one from Steve Scalise really stood out. It still includes an ask at the bottom of course, but I like how the copy goes out of its way to make sure the targeted donor doesn’t feel like he/she is being taken advantage of. Nice job.
Who’s Spending Where
P2P
This week’s text shout-out goes to Tom Cotton’s Senate campaign. I signed up for his short code last week, and not only have I NOT been getting spammed, this is, in fact, the first time I’ve been contacted by the campaign. And what’s more - it’s not a donation ask (gasp!). Color me impressed that the first touch from the campaign is not a plea for money. Nice.
Industry Watch
First: I obviously missed this when it was published last month (blah), but X recently put out some interesting insights about its platform and Gen Z (the youths!). This is the part that stood out to me:
Harness the unique reach of X to catapult your brand into the heart of Gen Z's cultural universe. Because of X’s unique position among the Gen Z audience, we’re attracting a vast, incremental audience that you won’t reach on other platforms.
For example: there's only a 19% overlap in X users and Threads -- which means that you'd be missing out on X's 81% unique reach among the most valuable Gen Zers. Compared to TikTok, X offers a 19% incremental reach -- this makes X the perfect platform for those who want to maintain their momentum while reaching new people.
Second: I’m no lawyer, but this seems like a good case we should all be following: Tony McDonald v. FEC. Read about it here. Basically, the lawsuit is trying to change how conduit donations under $200 are reported, which would ultimately prevent the FEC from scraping donor data from places like WinRed. Cool (or not, depending on who you are!).
2025-2026 Watch
Pressure’s on, Gov. Kemp!
Sen. Tommy Tuberville is reportedly considering a run for governor, rather than re-election to the Senate. Read here.
The Grapevine
Congrats to data guru Prentice Eager for joining Frontline!
Data Trust is hiring a Deputy Director of Client Services. Apply here.
HSP Direct is hiring an Account Manager and Copywriter. Job descriptions can be found here and here.
National Public Affairs is hiring a Director of Polling and Data Analysis. Apply here.
One of the dudes Nancy Mace accused BY NAME on the House floor of sexual assault has been sh*t-posting about her for days on X. See (and judge) for yourself.
Campaign Trend drilled into a new report about how livestreams really do help content creators connect on a deeper level with their audience. Read it here.
MAHA Action has hired Tracy “Beanz” Diaz. NOTUS has the deets here.
Last week, right here in The Grapevine, I asked WTF was going on at ActBlue. Well, the gods must have been listening because this past week The New York Times did a deep dive into the “internal chaos” brewing at the company. Read it!
Got a tip for The Grapevine? Job announcement? Job opening? Email ‘em to me at itsthedoomscroll@gmail.com
Last But Not Least
From the other side of the aisle:
Ok ya’ll. What a week it’s been for the Dems, amirite? First off, is there anything left to say about that WEIRD AF video circle jerk lawmakers posted leading up to Trump’s State of the Union? Probably not. I think we should all know by now that authenticity is the one thing - the ONE THING - the people want on social media, and the Dems flushed it down the toilet this week. Still, that whole episode led me down another thought exercise - and I’m not the only one.
If Democrats are so out of touch that they can’t understand why posting identical videos to social media at the same time is a bad idea…it’s worth asking why. Could it possibly be that the party’s success with online donors is actually part of the problem? Getting money from super-engaged activists is a good thing, right? It surely is…right up until those activists push lawmakers SO far to the left they start alienating regular Americans and losing at the ballot box. That, or they become SO focused on making their donor base happy, they lose all common sense and miss the forest through the trees.
On one hand, being responsive to the people who pay for your campaign yard signs is a good thing. Donors need to feel like they’re getting something in return for their investment. But there’s a fine line here that we don’t talk about often enough. Fostering a two-way relationship is good, but far-left (or right) activists - no matter how many times they hand over $5 - shouldn’t dictate a party’s political strategy. Or social media strategy for that matter. #Sorrynotsorry
From the other side of the tracks:
Ok, it seems like everyone in the corporate world is talking about brand refreshes right now. Here’s another take, from DSW CMO Sarah Crockett, who also subscribes to the belief that organic evolutions are better than drastic changes. Here’s a snippet:
One key takeaway from Crockett’s observations is that the best refreshes are usually organic evolutions of the brand rather than drastic changes that can turn off a core customer base…“There’s so much goodness at DSW from our past, we would be foolish to throw that in the trash,” Crockett said.
This part also stood out:
“I’m a big believer that not every single asset that a brand puts out has to work hard for every single KPI that you’re going after,” the executive explained. “It’s really a mix, and focusing on the richest ecosystem that we can develop to become magnet for our target consumer, that is the day job.”
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