The following is presented as part of The Columbian’s Opinion content, which offers a point of view in order to provoke thought and debate of civic issues. Opinions represent the viewpoint of the author. Unsigned editorials represent the consensus opinion of The Columbian’s editorial board, which operates independently of the news department.
With Jay Inslee and several others dropping out of the presidential race, I had hoped — although not exactly expected — the inbox would have fewer campaign emails last week. It was not to be.
The end of each month always brings a slew of frantic pleas from candidates who seem to be scrambling to meet a deadline for a monetary goal they themselves set so high they are in danger of falling short.
The president emailed, promising that anything I sent him would be matched 3-to-1 for his re-election campaign. He doesn’t sound so desperate, however, because he says the Democrats are foundering and his campaign has raised a record $105 million.
“As one of my biggest supporters, I expect you to step up and help keep this momentum going,” he says. I’m not much for predictions about the 2020 election some 14 months out, but if a person like me, who has never given a dime to a political candidate, is one of his biggest supporters, the president may be in as much trouble as MSNBC contends, and certainly more than Fox News lets on.
Joe Biden writes that he’s $130,000 short of his end-of-August goal, which if not met means they may have to limit supplies like yard signs for the campaign staff and scrimp on online operations. Considering I’m not a fan of yard signs, and online operations sounds like more social media requests for money, it’s pretty easy to send his request for $5 to the delete folder. And if, as the email says, the goal is so critical “we can’t afford to fall short by even $1,” one has to wonder how long Biden can stay at the top of the Democratic contender polls.
The president’s son, Don Jr., writes for money for his dad, who is “being attacked from every angle by the Fake News media and their mainstream ‘journalists.’ ” This is probably not the best appeal to send to someone who considers himself a journalist without the quote marks, but at least he starts his appeal by calling me “friend.”
The finance director for Rep. Brad Schneider, an Illinois Democrat, writes a second time to say they’re just $986 away from their end-of-August goal, and asks for $10 to give him “the resources he needs to fight back against any attack” that may come because he’s called for an impeachment inquiry into the president. He’s called for an impeachment inquiry and he hasn’t been attacked yet? If Trump is ignoring him, clearly I can, too.
Rep. Don Crenshaw writes in a slightly scolding tone, noting that the president has emailed. The vice president has emailed. Now he’s emailing in hopes that I’ll send some money that will be matched 5-to-1 by a generous unnamed donor. So if the president and the vice president aren’t convincing enough, does he think a freshman congressman from Texas would definitely seal the deal? And if someone is ready to match my donation 5-to-1, why don’t they just give some money and leave me out of it?
The Democratic National Committee, which also claims to be behind on its goal — does anybody ever set a reasonable goal? — wants at least $15, but really messes up its appeal by inviting me to “take a look at what the DNC has on file for you this year.” The prospect of a file on some potentially hackable DNC server is unquieting until they reveal it’s my first name, my email address (which they obviously have because they are emailing me) and my donor status, listed as “No.” So take a hint.
Karl Rove writes an email that carries a logo for US Press Corp, and addresses me as “Patriot,” so I sort of expect a rousing essay in the vein of Thomas Paine. But no. There’s another deadline on a fund to keep the Senate in Republican control. But it only has a quadruple match, and begging for money under a “Press Corp” logo seems a bit like Fake News. I’ll forward it to Donald Trump Jr., whose email address I just happen to have, to see what he thinks. After all, we’re friends.
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