RNC Fundraising Underbelly

The D.C. lobbyists have been taking all the blame for the distorted campaigns against the Obama administration... especially health care reforms that would start to bring the insurance industry to heel and benefit millions of U.S. citizens.

But it's not only the lobbyists.... they're just the employed messengers.

The lobbyists are, after all, openly, blatantly, in the pay of big insurance, big pharma, big oil. They don't work for the little guy, the working middle-class.

But, our elected representatives aren't supposed to be paid lobbyists, aren't supposed to act like a big legislative wood-mulcher, taking in principled reform and spitting out dirty chips.

But they are. And we now can see how the GOP is fueling that chipper.... the RNC's marching orders linked to Kevin Huffman's "Tweaking the GOP's fundraising strategy," in today's Washington Post.

The Republican National Committee in its zeal to keep its fund-raising troops in perfect goose-step, gave this presentation at its February RNC Finance Meeting. Here is a page from their 72-page blueprint for fundraising success for the upcoming elections. At it's heart, literally, are the motivating factors to be used to raise money from evidently clueless donors:

The image of a heart usually brings to mind thoughts of love, caring.... warm and fuzzies. But this is a rock-hard heart that divides GOP donors into two classes, the average knee-jerk Joes, and the heavy-hitter big shots, or wanna-be big shots, the major ego-driven donors.

What are the RNC's recommended fund-raising strategies? The number one tactic is "FEAR!!!" Number two? "Extreme negative feelings toward existing Administration." And there is the tried and true... SOCIALISM charge. This is so important a tactic, it got a page all to itself:

The red-alert type trumpets a Chicken-Little-sky-is-falling approach .... "Save the country from trending toward Socialism." Woooooo.... the "S" word. And it works too, haven't you noticed?

But perhaps the saddest statement of the GOP fund-raising mindset is the attack mentality of reducing your opponent to an agent of the Evil Empire.... wonder what Ronald Reagan would think of the misuse of that phrase. The GOP is into Evil BIG TIME! You know like the "Axis of Evil." Here are the RNC's evil suggestions:

Obama in white-face as the Joker is something we've seen before... oh yes, as a big placard at the "grass-roots," "spontaneous," Tea Parties. It's a PARTEEEE... but the GOP isn't a party to be proud of.

RNC: Man the Lifeboats!

With falling McCain poll numbers and 9 days until election day, the Republican National Committee is caught in the swells of a dilemma.... should they don their Navy whites and pour more wardrobe-money into McCain's leaking national campaign, or abandon the Straight Talk Depress and focus on Senate and House races that might yet be salvaged.

David Frum, former "axis of evil" Bush speechwriter, advises in his Sunday op-ed, "Sorry Senator, Let's Salvage What We Can." (WaPo)

McCain has captained what must be one of the worst-managed campaigns in recent memory.

He gave policy control to lobbyist campaign managers who crafted a ditto-Bush far-right corporatist message, picked a Moose-hunting creationist as his "anti-elite" partner (you really thought Hillary supporters would take to You Betcha' Palin?) and hired Rovian thugs to Swiftboat Obama as a pal of terrorists who is "not like us," not a part of "real America" where the campaign burrowed for votes.

And presto! McCain energized the most radical element of the GOP base and chased off the great moderate center of the electorate.

So.... well, duh.... McCain's losing.

"There are many ways to lose a presidential election. John McCain is losing in a way that threatens to take the entire Republican Party down with him" Frum moans.

Frum offers this save-what-you-can advice.... "In these last days before the vote, Republicans need to face some strategic realities. Our resources are limited, and our message is failing. We cannot fight on all fronts. We are cannibalizing races that we must win and probably can win in order to help a national campaign that is almost certainly lost. In these final 10 days, our goal should be: senators first."

In self-preservation, the GOP should pull-anchor on their McCain-campaign life-support. To accomplish this successfully the flagship commander should sublimate his ambition for a cause greater than himself. But it seems McCain's ambitions are greater than his grasp of such a cause.

Besides his erratic campaign efforts, a crippling blow was dealt to McCain's hopes at the meltdown of Wall Street and the Bush-Paulson-declared economic emergency... just hours after McCain had serenaded "the fundamentals of our economy are strong."

Still, the RNC and McCain stubbornly clung to his backward-leaning campaign even though he was listing badly. He resorted to easily-seen-through staged responses like "suspending my campaign" and "Joe the Plumber" who isn't a licensed plumber and doesn't pay his taxes.

And, it's not working.

The pivotal moment for the GOP is now.... will they man the lifeboats or go down with McCain's unseaworthy ship?