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State parties & orgs who would LOVE to do year-round organizing are about to have to scale back their staffs b/c of typical “off year” fundraising dips. Be the solution: Pick an org or state party (or a few!) & make a recurring donation.
This is a thing that gets lost in convos about the Democratic Party: Most (not all, but most!) strategists & operatives would be thrilled to have the $$ to do long-term sustained local party building. Resource scarcity makes it v v v hard. The GOP doesn’t have the same problem.
I obviously encourage recurring donations to @runforsomething but honestly, pick whatever orgs you wish we’d invested more into if you had a time machine to go back two or four or ten years ago. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/rfs?refcode=1111altw&recurring=1
It’s estimated that political orgs spent $6.5 *billion* on advertising this cycle.
Put that in context: As of mid-October (last report), the WI Democratic Party — which was well-resourced thanks to their great team & leadership — spent $25 million in 2019-2020.
Put that in context: As of mid-October (last report), the WI Democratic Party — which was well-resourced thanks to their great team & leadership — spent $25 million in 2019-2020.
That’s not to say ads are a waste. They’re (mostly, when done well) not. But I don’t think most people realize how *deeply* underfunded these groups are. That’s what we mean when we say “invest in infrastructure” & “party build.”
Boring things win elections.
Boring things win elections.
B/c decades ago GOP $$ realized it was good for biz to win - they treat politics as a business investment. D’s give b/c it’s good for humanity, but that generally requires either inspiration or fear. Book recs: Dark Money by Jane Mayer & All Politics Is Local by Meaghan Winter. https://twitter.com/nijusar/status/1326670256140677120
And while I’m Mad Online - the tax code *deeply* disincentivizes political giving. 501c3s can do incredible work, but not directly in the electoral space. Explicitly partisan political work often can’t use fundraising tools (like Facebook fundraisers) & can’t access many $$ opps.
Anyway. What you decide to fund in the next 6 months will determine what’s possible for Democrats to win in 2022 and 2024 and beyond. This is when your donation matters most. It’s your call.
