Thank you! Democrats can count on my vote. They can also count on the fact that I report their fundraising texts as junk and delete. I do donate, but I usually go directly to the candidate's website to do so.Sometimes I've given through Vote Save America. With so much online fraud and scamming, I won't give through a link that shows up in either email or text. Also, I quit giving to the DNC when they repeatedly seemed to endorse local candidates because their names were known as opposed to lesser known candidates who had more charisma and better platforms. So, at this point, the Democratic Party needs to listen more and ask less.
One million percent. If I did not personally donate to this candidate or PAC and they text me, that’s an immediate Delete and Report Junk. I am fed up. The DNC and ActBlue need to hear this and do something about it.
Please, Dan, copy these comments and send them to the right folks to let them know how many of us are reporting junk and deleting immediately. They need to know just how wasteful and harmful these texts and emails are now!
I mean this in the nicest way possible: how about YOU tell "the right folks" about what you're doing? A flood of responses from individual donors is a lot more likely to get attention than one (improbable) email from Dan. I just emailed part of my comment in this thread to the most recent offender, and it took less than two minutes.
Teresa, you and I are clones in this respect. You describe me to a “T” right now.
Dan, again, thank you for your work. I agree that the incessant fundraising appeals are hurting Dems.
If I could advise a candidate or a legit PAC, I would say that if a candidate or an event makes news, withhold from soliciting donations. Trust that I will find you myself if I want to donate to you, and that in general, if you solicit money off of events, I will not donate. Solicit donations via email on a quarterly basis; text rarely.
Never have I been happier to see you write something. The incessant harassment I receive from both named and unnamed “democrats” just makes me resent them all and wonder how much money they could possibly gain from this.
When I had an email from Cory Booker within a VERY FEW hours (<5?) after he quit talking and went and peed, I was...extremely not impressed. Because yes, of course it was a stunt, that's kind of all we have, but do you have to be SO cynical SO immediately thereafter? How tone deaf can you be?
So I've been lighting him up on social about taking AIPAC money. If donations are your main concern, LET'S TALK. Nobody gets a pass, babes. Dems have been too kind in our response to all this cynical garbage (walking all over our peace of mind, in the shoes we gave them as a present). Putting someone first only works when you're in their top five, and it doesn't seem like Dem voters/donors ARE these days.
Thank you for writing this. I’ve been a Democrat all of my 60 years (born and bred!) and the relentless hysterical asks for funding is one of the reasons I’ve considered registering as unaffiliated. The second is the utter spineless of our congressional leaders. But I live in Connecticut and we have a closed primary and we need to keep the blue wall at the local level, so I’m reluctantly hanging in there. If I feel this way, imagine younger voters who don’t have the perspective or inertia I do. We have to stop this.
I completely agree. This flood of requests from random candidates all over the country is beyond annoying, and counterproductive. Every time I open my phone, I have to swipe left for a while, and I have not given any money to the Democrats lately because of this. If we learned anything from the Mandami campaign, it’s the money doesn’t buy you victory… Cuomo outspent him by millions and lost. You need courage, honesty, and willingness to take some risks.
If only the DNC was listening, but my family, who donate but this year have refused to donate to any DNC, DCC, etc. or any Democratic Party alphabet group, and have also refused to donate to the candidates we would have in the past until this stops and we have written to our reps and senators to tell them that. I urge others to write the candidates you are considering donating to and tell them you will not help them until this stops at both the Party and the Candidate level. They need donations, that is one way we can make this issue felt at the right place. I beg you, Dan, and Crooked Media to publish options like the one that offers a way to donate to a group of candidates that you know are in critical races with some likelihood they can prevail. MORE OF THAT FOR US, PLEASE!
I’m so glad someone is saying this. I don’t get that many texts, but I probably get about 100 emails a day. I miss emails from people I actually know because I am overwhelmed by the number of requests for money. I don’t read most of them. How could I? It would take hours. I think I got at least 20 emails from Roy Cooper alone the day he declared. It is an insane way to treat your supporters.
Along with the financial bs you outline, the breathlessness of the messaging is exhausting and, because of that, counterproductive. Maybe *some* voters think Obama latest missive just "destroyed" Trump, but after the umpteenth time it's hard for anyone to believe it and we can assume folks just tune out. Mission undermined.
OMG YES! I’m active in campaigns and resistance. I give $, time and message amplification. I am disgusted by the texts and emails that come several times/day. I never read any of them; all are flagged as junk.
I will NEVER give in response partly bec I don’t know where $ is going and partly in protest. Also, I have stopped text and phone banking bec I don’t want to be part of the garbage.
I appreciate your writing about this but I feel like we've been saying this for a couple of years now and nothing seems to change. It is so depressing being a Democrat. The party just does not listen to it's voters. The most annoying type of fundraising email is the fake survey.....we'll pretend to care about what you think but really you're just an ATM machine. I have no expectation that anything will change.
Ugh the fake surveys are another gimmick that drives me insane. I don't know for sure, but I highly suspect that your answers aren't even recorded if you don't give money at the end either.
You're absolutely right on the surveys. Wonder if they've ever taken a survey on how many people immediately delete the surveys because people are just damned tired of getting to the end and, of course, they beg for a donation!?
I'd really like to see someone do that! The few times I've done it, there is always a money ask at the end before you can submit so I just leave the page.
I'd also like to see an actual survey that people can take without hitting the donation wall to see how many people are sick of all of the pleading, ridiculous moneybeg texts in general?
Yes, as you say, the professional fundraisers seem to have decided that you're more likely to give money when they make you angry. Wrong. I'm more likely to give when we win! Try accomplishing things, and I'll happily send another donation.
My problem is not once do the democratic fundraising emails ever say “this is what we will do” with any specificity other than “stop trump.” They have no ideas and just forking over money to a party with weak leadership isn’t exactly motivating. The entire “give us money because we are not Trump” has not and does not work.
Thanks for this post! I’ve been a very active Dem volunteer for 12 years now. This has included fundraising for about two dozen candidates during that time. Before COVID I made small donations to lots of causes and candidates across the county through Act Blue, using a retirement job to fund my political donation habit.
I’m no longer working, so no longer can donate what I want to candidates here in Georgia, much less candidates across the county. I receive 10-12 texts a day from candidates outside Georgia requesting donations to their city, state and Congressional campaigns. I’m replying with STOP to all but a few.
Having worked for lots of candidates, I understand their need to find small donations wherever they can. So I’m satisfied with culling the list using STOP replies. Most of my friends are not so understanding.
Thanks, Dan, for raising this issue. I’ve been inundated with fundraising texts and emails from the party. I get that money is important, but I’m also sick of getting endless anxiety-inducing messages warning of impending doom unless I immediately chip in $5. I’ve gone from ignoring them to becoming slightly resentful. They would do well to remember that often less is more.
Yes, yes, yes! Dan & all who read this, I will be grateful for everything you can do to get this message into the hands and minds of DNC, DSCC, DCCC & all the State & local equivalents. The #1 problem is the Hurting Our Brand issue. Folks who are not tuned into politics or hate politics use this awful fundraising behavior as proof of their "both sides are the same" beliefs, and it is very hard to change their minds. This flood of messages reinforce those voters' decisions to tune out and not vote. ALL Dem leaders should be working to fix this. A key way would be with plenty of messages and events that don't include a fundraising tag line.
This, this, a thousand times this. This is why young people think "it's all BS, they're all the same." Because the DNC and candidates lie to them, and harass them, and bully them. Is it harassment for a good cause? Sure. And with lifelong do-gooder Dems, you can get away with that (I've been a registered Dem for decades and am just now really losing my patience). With the zero-attention-span Zoomer with a chip on their shoulder about EVERYTHING? That's how you p*ss them off forever -- with inauthenticity and acting just like every other part of the "establishment" they see as having failed them.
DESERVE donations. THEN ask for them. Don't harass us ON CREDIT.
After being bombarded with texts from the Democratic candidates for my congressional race (CO8), I went to their campaign website and left a comment saying that I wouldn’t be giving any money until I knew more about the candidate. Yesterday, one campaign emailed to get my contact info. The candidate called me shortly thereafter and chatted for 45 minutes. I’m now a supporter.
Takes time and give-a-sh*t. If more candidates demonstrated that, they wouldn't NEED the hysterical emails and texts. But they won't figure that out, because they couldn't navigate their way out of a small paper bag.
(Who's the candidate, if I may ask? I'm in Portland, Oregon, which means that most of my state and local races aren't particularly close [the ONE silver lining in this nationally/internationally dystopian hellscape]...so I can throw a little money to folks in other places. Anybody who will respond like they did deserves a donation.)
I am so happy to see you address this topic!!! I give when I can and to the candidates that most directly impact my location. Sorry guy in the wilds of Montana or Nebraska - I live in FL and we have enough problems and little DNC $$ support. Stop texting me. I used to feel guilty to mark these texts as junk, but no more. The party needs to stop this practice.
Thank you! Democrats can count on my vote. They can also count on the fact that I report their fundraising texts as junk and delete. I do donate, but I usually go directly to the candidate's website to do so.Sometimes I've given through Vote Save America. With so much online fraud and scamming, I won't give through a link that shows up in either email or text. Also, I quit giving to the DNC when they repeatedly seemed to endorse local candidates because their names were known as opposed to lesser known candidates who had more charisma and better platforms. So, at this point, the Democratic Party needs to listen more and ask less.
One million percent. If I did not personally donate to this candidate or PAC and they text me, that’s an immediate Delete and Report Junk. I am fed up. The DNC and ActBlue need to hear this and do something about it.
Please, Dan, copy these comments and send them to the right folks to let them know how many of us are reporting junk and deleting immediately. They need to know just how wasteful and harmful these texts and emails are now!
I mean this in the nicest way possible: how about YOU tell "the right folks" about what you're doing? A flood of responses from individual donors is a lot more likely to get attention than one (improbable) email from Dan. I just emailed part of my comment in this thread to the most recent offender, and it took less than two minutes.
"the Democratic Party needs to listen more and ask less"
And that right there is the most important thing we'll read all day.
Teresa, you and I are clones in this respect. You describe me to a “T” right now.
Dan, again, thank you for your work. I agree that the incessant fundraising appeals are hurting Dems.
If I could advise a candidate or a legit PAC, I would say that if a candidate or an event makes news, withhold from soliciting donations. Trust that I will find you myself if I want to donate to you, and that in general, if you solicit money off of events, I will not donate. Solicit donations via email on a quarterly basis; text rarely.
What is everystate.org because I must be “delete and mark as spam-ing” that daily at this point
I agree 100%. We are all intelligent enough to know who we want to support financially. The deluge of texts and emails is a huge turn off.
Same!
What you said! Thanks-
Never have I been happier to see you write something. The incessant harassment I receive from both named and unnamed “democrats” just makes me resent them all and wonder how much money they could possibly gain from this.
When I had an email from Cory Booker within a VERY FEW hours (<5?) after he quit talking and went and peed, I was...extremely not impressed. Because yes, of course it was a stunt, that's kind of all we have, but do you have to be SO cynical SO immediately thereafter? How tone deaf can you be?
So I've been lighting him up on social about taking AIPAC money. If donations are your main concern, LET'S TALK. Nobody gets a pass, babes. Dems have been too kind in our response to all this cynical garbage (walking all over our peace of mind, in the shoes we gave them as a present). Putting someone first only works when you're in their top five, and it doesn't seem like Dem voters/donors ARE these days.
It certainly invalidated how “courageous” he was.
Thank you for writing this. I’ve been a Democrat all of my 60 years (born and bred!) and the relentless hysterical asks for funding is one of the reasons I’ve considered registering as unaffiliated. The second is the utter spineless of our congressional leaders. But I live in Connecticut and we have a closed primary and we need to keep the blue wall at the local level, so I’m reluctantly hanging in there. If I feel this way, imagine younger voters who don’t have the perspective or inertia I do. We have to stop this.
I completely agree. This flood of requests from random candidates all over the country is beyond annoying, and counterproductive. Every time I open my phone, I have to swipe left for a while, and I have not given any money to the Democrats lately because of this. If we learned anything from the Mandami campaign, it’s the money doesn’t buy you victory… Cuomo outspent him by millions and lost. You need courage, honesty, and willingness to take some risks.
Your pen to the DNC’s ears, Dan
If only the DNC was listening, but my family, who donate but this year have refused to donate to any DNC, DCC, etc. or any Democratic Party alphabet group, and have also refused to donate to the candidates we would have in the past until this stops and we have written to our reps and senators to tell them that. I urge others to write the candidates you are considering donating to and tell them you will not help them until this stops at both the Party and the Candidate level. They need donations, that is one way we can make this issue felt at the right place. I beg you, Dan, and Crooked Media to publish options like the one that offers a way to donate to a group of candidates that you know are in critical races with some likelihood they can prevail. MORE OF THAT FOR US, PLEASE!
YES. Direct feedback. By phone. Tell their staff directly.
I’m so glad someone is saying this. I don’t get that many texts, but I probably get about 100 emails a day. I miss emails from people I actually know because I am overwhelmed by the number of requests for money. I don’t read most of them. How could I? It would take hours. I think I got at least 20 emails from Roy Cooper alone the day he declared. It is an insane way to treat your supporters.
I get so many from random candidates running in states I've never even visited, much less lived in. It's completely out of control.
Yes, yes, a 1000 times yes.
Along with the financial bs you outline, the breathlessness of the messaging is exhausting and, because of that, counterproductive. Maybe *some* voters think Obama latest missive just "destroyed" Trump, but after the umpteenth time it's hard for anyone to believe it and we can assume folks just tune out. Mission undermined.
OMG YES! I’m active in campaigns and resistance. I give $, time and message amplification. I am disgusted by the texts and emails that come several times/day. I never read any of them; all are flagged as junk.
I will NEVER give in response partly bec I don’t know where $ is going and partly in protest. Also, I have stopped text and phone banking bec I don’t want to be part of the garbage.
I appreciate your writing about this but I feel like we've been saying this for a couple of years now and nothing seems to change. It is so depressing being a Democrat. The party just does not listen to it's voters. The most annoying type of fundraising email is the fake survey.....we'll pretend to care about what you think but really you're just an ATM machine. I have no expectation that anything will change.
Ugh the fake surveys are another gimmick that drives me insane. I don't know for sure, but I highly suspect that your answers aren't even recorded if you don't give money at the end either.
You're absolutely right on the surveys. Wonder if they've ever taken a survey on how many people immediately delete the surveys because people are just damned tired of getting to the end and, of course, they beg for a donation!?
I'd really like to see someone do that! The few times I've done it, there is always a money ask at the end before you can submit so I just leave the page.
I'd also like to see an actual survey that people can take without hitting the donation wall to see how many people are sick of all of the pleading, ridiculous moneybeg texts in general?
Yes, as you say, the professional fundraisers seem to have decided that you're more likely to give money when they make you angry. Wrong. I'm more likely to give when we win! Try accomplishing things, and I'll happily send another donation.
My problem is not once do the democratic fundraising emails ever say “this is what we will do” with any specificity other than “stop trump.” They have no ideas and just forking over money to a party with weak leadership isn’t exactly motivating. The entire “give us money because we are not Trump” has not and does not work.
Insert gross "hand up, not handout" thing from 80s Republicans who claimed that they WOULD care, if only the poors weren't so ICKY and DESPERATE.
Thanks for this post! I’ve been a very active Dem volunteer for 12 years now. This has included fundraising for about two dozen candidates during that time. Before COVID I made small donations to lots of causes and candidates across the county through Act Blue, using a retirement job to fund my political donation habit.
I’m no longer working, so no longer can donate what I want to candidates here in Georgia, much less candidates across the county. I receive 10-12 texts a day from candidates outside Georgia requesting donations to their city, state and Congressional campaigns. I’m replying with STOP to all but a few.
Having worked for lots of candidates, I understand their need to find small donations wherever they can. So I’m satisfied with culling the list using STOP replies. Most of my friends are not so understanding.
Thanks, Dan, for raising this issue. I’ve been inundated with fundraising texts and emails from the party. I get that money is important, but I’m also sick of getting endless anxiety-inducing messages warning of impending doom unless I immediately chip in $5. I’ve gone from ignoring them to becoming slightly resentful. They would do well to remember that often less is more.
Yes, yes, yes! Dan & all who read this, I will be grateful for everything you can do to get this message into the hands and minds of DNC, DSCC, DCCC & all the State & local equivalents. The #1 problem is the Hurting Our Brand issue. Folks who are not tuned into politics or hate politics use this awful fundraising behavior as proof of their "both sides are the same" beliefs, and it is very hard to change their minds. This flood of messages reinforce those voters' decisions to tune out and not vote. ALL Dem leaders should be working to fix this. A key way would be with plenty of messages and events that don't include a fundraising tag line.
This, this, a thousand times this. This is why young people think "it's all BS, they're all the same." Because the DNC and candidates lie to them, and harass them, and bully them. Is it harassment for a good cause? Sure. And with lifelong do-gooder Dems, you can get away with that (I've been a registered Dem for decades and am just now really losing my patience). With the zero-attention-span Zoomer with a chip on their shoulder about EVERYTHING? That's how you p*ss them off forever -- with inauthenticity and acting just like every other part of the "establishment" they see as having failed them.
DESERVE donations. THEN ask for them. Don't harass us ON CREDIT.
After being bombarded with texts from the Democratic candidates for my congressional race (CO8), I went to their campaign website and left a comment saying that I wouldn’t be giving any money until I knew more about the candidate. Yesterday, one campaign emailed to get my contact info. The candidate called me shortly thereafter and chatted for 45 minutes. I’m now a supporter.
Takes time and give-a-sh*t. If more candidates demonstrated that, they wouldn't NEED the hysterical emails and texts. But they won't figure that out, because they couldn't navigate their way out of a small paper bag.
(Who's the candidate, if I may ask? I'm in Portland, Oregon, which means that most of my state and local races aren't particularly close [the ONE silver lining in this nationally/internationally dystopian hellscape]...so I can throw a little money to folks in other places. Anybody who will respond like they did deserves a donation.)
Dave Young (currently state treasurer)
I am so happy to see you address this topic!!! I give when I can and to the candidates that most directly impact my location. Sorry guy in the wilds of Montana or Nebraska - I live in FL and we have enough problems and little DNC $$ support. Stop texting me. I used to feel guilty to mark these texts as junk, but no more. The party needs to stop this practice.