There is not a thing that comes to mind
Doomscroll 10.13.2024
Hello! Welcome to another edition of Doomscroll, your favorite newsletter covering all things digital on the right, and sometimes weird things that happen on the left. For instance: this bizarro piece of content from Big Gretch. Someone needs to log off the interwebs for awhile and go touch some grass.
This week’s Doomscroll is sponsored by RumbleUp!
One Question
Thanks to everyone who answered last week’s One Question about what makes good vendor swag. You guys are really easy to please. Maybe too easy. The overwhelming majority said booze and food. Y'all need to up your demands!
This week’s One Question is about relational organizing, because I’m a little bit obsessed. #sorrynotsorry. Are you guys doing it? If so, how? Is it overrated? Underrated? Are you tired of me talking about it? Be honest; it won’t hurt my feelings!
Who’s Doing What
There is so much going on right now in the world of digital it’s mind-boggling (I know what you’re thinking: No shit, Amanda). But it is_genuinely_hard to keep up with all the stuff you guys are pumping out in this final stretch. As such, I’m going to be doing a lot of rapid-fire quick hits this week, instead of deeper analysis of who’s doing what. Get ready.
—More Fundraising Angst
Ok JK we’re actually starting with some analysis. The Associated Press published a piece this week examining our small-dollar fundraising woes. Yes, we’re talking about this again. Le sigh. It quotes Apex’s John Hall at length (Hi, John!), and it’s kind of depressing - ESPECIALLY when read alongside this local report from a Denver news outlet that contacted high-frequency online donors on the left and right to talk about their giving (hint: it’s not pretty). By now, you all know where I stand. We need to expand our donor base AND treat them better if we’re going to remain competitive for the long haul. Lots of us agree on that. Some of you disagree. I get it.
And look, it’s not that Democrats don’t use scammy and scary tactics. It’s not that they’ve cracked some secret code that convinces people to donate via text or email at greater rates. I have gotten my fair share of HORRIBLE fundraising appeals from the left. But I think the key is their base. They’re younger. They’re more energetic. Yeah, they’re affected by a crappy economy, but maybe in different ways than the 75-year-old retiree who’s on a fixed income and on a thousand different medications. Know what I’m saying? More than 40% of Biden and Harris’ fundraising has come from small-dollar donors since April 2023, according to the AP piece. If that’s not evidence we need to step up and shape up, I don’t know what is.
—NOT A THING. LOL
Trump’s ad just replaying Kamala’s amazing clip from The View in which she says she wouldn’t do anything different from Biden…is perfect.
John James also got into the action with a spot tying his opponent, Carl Marlinga, to Harris and Biden. Nice.
—What’d I Miss?
Ok so early on in the week I got a text from the RNC about a “Protect the Vote” webinar on October 9 with JD Vance. Obviously, I signed up so I could attend and report back. Yes! We’re doing cool things! Webinars! Talking to real people! Unfortunately, I got ZERO follow-up so I have no clue if it actually happened. Zero. Nada. Well done, friends.
—Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner
If ANYONE won the week, it was Wisconsin Senate candidate Eric Hovde, whose race went from Lean D to Toss-up. HELLO! Also, this ad is hilarious. Well done. You know you’re doing it right when you can have some fun in the last 30 days.
—Pivot??
We’re not done with persuasion - not by a long shot, I get that. But guess what, ya’ll? Our butts are getting kicked by lefty/progressive groups when it comes to GOTV ads right now. I’m sure you’re doing email and text (I hope) and other things I can’t necessarily track. But woof. The ONLY Republican advertisers I could find on Facebook actively spending some decent dough to mobilize voters were America PAC, Duty to America PAC, Turning Point Action, and some of the Trump advertisers like Trump 47 Committee Inc.
—Can I Get $47?
So this week Elon Musk promised $47, through America PAC, for every swing state voter you get to sign a petition. Clever…Does anyone know how these payouts are going to work? I love the creativity. Kind of reminds me of that one presidential primary candidate that gave out gas cards… But seriously: If anyone has any insights into this, HMU at itsthedoomscroll@gmail.com
—I’ll Say It
I really like this ad from Preserve America PAC hitting Kamala Harris on taxpayer-funded job training and sex changes for illegal immigrants.
—I mean…
Gotta hand it to the NRCC with this subject line. Who writes this stuff?? 😄😄😄
Who’s Spending Where
P2P
Today’s text shout-out goes to Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania! Yes, I would like to see them identify themselves in the text copy…but other than that, I like this concept a lot. Good way to combine GOTV messaging with a fundraising ask. I also like how it gives people concrete reasons to donate and tells them exactly what they’re funding. Nice.
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Industry Watch
Alright, you guys. Last week I talked about Numinar’s relational organizing tool and the way the Kari Lake campaign is paying people to reach out to friends telling them to vote. Well, there’s another relational organizing tool in the arena that’s doing some exciting things in our space.
Enter Klaus and Lisa Schneegans, founders of Buzz360, whose relational organizing app, SwipeRed, has been on the scene since 2020. During the 2024 presidential primary season, it was instrumental in Never Back Down PAC’s Iowa operation and according to their data, DeSantis performed 25% better in the precincts where volunteers used SwipeRed to get out the vote (no surprise there!). Here’s more of what Klaus had to say about how he saw the light as early as 2018:
For the 2018 election, we had created software that identified and contacted a candidate's most likely supporters based on their Facebook activities. But as we all know, Facebook cut everybody off from one day to the next and from one day to the next our system was useless. However, the underlying concept and our experience from the private sector drove us to investigate referral-based approaches. In our research we came across an interview with the founder of “Tuesday Company”. We found they were on the same track as we were with their “Team” product – the Democrats Relational product - and they had major successes in the 2018 Election. The Dems flipped 44 seats in the House and 34 of them used a relational program! Final confirmation was when Dean Phillips in the Minnesota 3rd Congressional District activated over 1,000 volunteers vs. the less than 100 that the Republican incumbent had!
To me, this personifies the agony of defeat on Election Day. When you see the other side winning while using tools our side simply doesn’t have or doesn’t embrace…it’s maddening. Lisa also made a good point during our discussion: in an era where voters are getting inundated with messaging online, good old fashioned human interaction could make a huge impact:
As traditional outreach channels face increasing challenges—like stricter regulations on texting, declining email open rates, and plummeting response rates for door knocking and phone calls—relational organizing is becoming more vital than ever. In a world where AI is on the rise, genuine human connections and real-life relationships are more valuable than ever in driving engagement and ultimately voter turnout.
Indeed. Thanks, Lisa and Klaus!
2024 Watch
This is where I make note of a few other things that caught my eye this week.
Pro-Larry Hogan PAC, Maryland’s Future, has an ad hitting Angela Alsobrooks for not paying taxes. Watch it here.
Citizens for Sanity has a brutal ad out hitting Kamala on the border - specifically for losing 320,000 children… Watch it here.
Powerful Tim Sheehy ad about protecting healthcare. Watch it here.
Heritage Foundation has a nice ad about Bidenomics, but I really like the website attached to it, dangerouslyliberal.com. It’s probably not new, but I just saw it this week. So….love it. Very, very nice.
The Grapevine
Push Digital’s Wes Donehue is in Campaigns and Elections with some other hard truths about fundraising this cycle.
Speaking of Wes, listen to him also defend Kamala going on the Call Her Daddy podcast! (Two shout-outs in one edition OMG!)
JD Vance went fishing with the Ruthless guys. This is great content!
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:
Credit where credit is due: United for Democracy is directing ads to a website around Project 2025 that is really, really, really nice: project2025.wtf.
From the other side of the tracks:
Another day, another company that tried to push the envelope and got eviscerated online for it. I mean, I found these ads to be pretty creepy, but that was the point, right? What’s the lesson here? Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Do with that what you will! :)
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading! Did you like it? Consider forwarding to your friends!