Political candidates are coming after us — and they want more than our votes | Opinion
Eli Crane has my number. I mean that both literally — he sent a text to my personal cell phone — and figuratively.
His message started like this: “It seems you don’t want any more of these texts.”
Naturally, I fell for his reverse psychology ploy and opened his text.
(Full disclosure: I also bit on this bait from Team MAGA: “I will always love you ...”)
Back to Crane: He started with an introduction: He told me he’s no “phony politician,” then went on to describe himself as a “Pro-Trump Navy Seal candidate in Arizona and conservative warrior.”
But he didn’t tell his whole story. He is already a member of Congress; in 2022, he defeated a moderate, three-term Democrat and is now seeking reelection. But there was no mention of that in his text.
Could it be that his incumbency conflicts with the carefully curated image he’s trying to project — that of an average Joe fighting the corrupt political machine run by phony politicians? (“Democrats hate me & Republicans hate me,” he wrote.)
Then came the ask: Congressman Crane requested that I “chip in a few bucks” to help him fight “Biden & the Socialist Left.”
Streaming has upended advertising
As annoying as it is to be hounded for political donations — especially from out-of-state politicians I’ve barely heard of — I sympathize with candidates.
It’s not easy to reach voters these days. Thanks to technology, it’s possible to tune out much of the advertising that inundates us — whether it’s an ad for a mattress, a psoriasis drug or a congressional hopeful.
We can trash emails and texts without ever opening them. We can choose who to follow — or not follow — on social media. We can send phone calls straight to voicemail and never bother to listen.
And while some viewers still watch TV commercials, thanks to streaming we are no longer forced to sit in front of the TV, watching interminable, back-to-back ads while waiting for “The Bachelor” to reappear.
Those campaign mailers? We look at them for at least 40 or 50 seconds
Not that we can live inside a complete bubble.
We’re still bombarded with yard signs, billboards, bumper stickers and banners.
And how about all those candidate mailers and handwritten postcards that overflow our mailboxes during prime campaign season? Sure, we can chuck them in the recycle bin along with the other junk we don’t care about, but there is a tiny window of time when we at least glance at campaign materials.
“They’ll look at it on the way from the mailbox to the house, so you’re getting your message across,” said John Peschong, a San Luis Obispo County supervisor and a partner with Meridian Pacific Strategies, which specializes in political and public affairs campaigns.
According to Peschong, it requires a minimum of eight contacts “to get voters to know your name and want to vote for you.”
“It’s not one thing that’s going to win the election,” he added. “It’s a combination.”
That includes online ads, knocking on doors, appearing on TV talk shows, attending candidates’ forums, and building a well-vetted website.
Let me tell you who I am. But first, let’s talk money
Once upon a time, websites were all sweetness and light.
They typically featured smiling photos of candidates and their families, and maybe a dog or even a horse — though rarely a cat. There were bullet-point biographies and some boilerplate statements on the issues. Somewhere there was a gentle nudge for donations.
But that subtlety has gone out the window. Now, candidates have their hands out from the get-go.
Take the three leading Democrats in California’s U.S. Senate race.
Click on Adam Schiff for Senate and you’ll be immediately hit with “Join our grassroots campaign and donate now.”
Katie Porter asks visitors to her site to “Become a Founding Donor Today,” as does Barbara Lee.
No judgment here — almost all candidates are hyper-aggressively fundraising, and no potential donor is too small to ignore. But couldn’t they take a moment to introduce themselves before they hit us up for money?
You know, maybe stress that they’re no “phony politician.” Offer us a family photo or two. Bonus points if they include cats.
Then, and only then, casually ask that we “chip in” a few — or more than a few bucks.
Do all that and who knows? They might even get our votes.
