US Politics, April 2024: "Are You Better Off Today Than You Were <Checks Notes> Four Years Ago?"

Easily 25 begging emails daily.

Instead of emails I get begging letters in my mailbox from the DNC and candidates in out-of-state races. After decades of thinking strategically about this stuff, we concentrate our donations on in-state candidates and measures, plus we give a bit to the Democratic party for our local county, which is chronically cash-starved, just to encourage the unpaid officers not to quit. We also regularly give small amounts to a wide variety of progressive/environmental organizations that do lobbying on the theory that swelling the ranks of their membership gives them better visibility and more clout.

But the biggest amounts we give go toward electing politicians who will be sympathetic to and cooperative with those organizations when they come around to lobby them, because it's they who will be sponsoring the necessary legislation and voting on public policy, which is the most critical step in the whole process.

I went through a phase where I was throwing very modest amounts of money around at smaller races. I started to get kind of cynical about the whole thing though, feeling like I was just tilting at windmills and giving money to consultants. I haven't given a dime for at least several years and my inbox is absolutely overflowing with emails that start out like "Man Alive, my son Bobby needs your help." And "Bobby" turns out to be running for Idaho state house or w/e

I gave some dough and wrote some postcards for swing seat candidates in Virginia last fall. Felt good when my adopted guy won.

The one out-of-state recipient I've indulged in repeatedly is throwing a sawbuck to Fair Fight in Georgia so they can battle on and GOTV. Every crack in the solid South must be prised. (<< a bit of a treat for the word mavens)

re: fundraising...are actblue and the DNC doing a good job raising out of state funds for these contests? I've removed myself from every single dem mailing list so now I don't know how much they are pestering people.

― I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm),

Quite easily about five texts a day and countless emails. I've never seen anything like it.

I think I (somehow) managed to slay most of the email mailing list demons over the last couple years, but the texts seem to be multiplying

ok, well, it sounds like fundraising is working, despite it being annoying!

and it's hyperlocal too

Just got one!

Oh, for sure. If a deluge of political texts is the price I have to pay for Trump and his party taking a beating this year… then bring it on

hey ILX, it's....it's Joe.

Look, I know I said I wouldn't ask again....

I know, I know...you have every right to be mad at me.

I'M mad at me.

but....I have to ask.

can I get $5?

I know what you're thinking but it's important. I can't win without it.

I know I've said this before. but I won last time, didn't I?

look you don't even need it. it's $5. what were you going to do with that anyway?

....I mean can't you reuse diapers?

look...I promise if you give me $5 this time, this will be the last.

hey look....when your kid is grown up, and he's living in a totalitarian dictatorship, and he asks you how this happened...

are you going to be able to explain to him that you chose keeping your $5 over DEMOCRACY?

so think about it...it's either $5 now....or your life later.

“It’s Joe. Lemme hold a fiver”

I don't get any texts. I used to get a ton from campaigns in Wisconsin, for some reason, all addressed to someone named Eugene. But that was at my old phone number. My new Montana number remains invisible to scammers and beggars. I get an email or two a day from Jon Tester's campaign, and was getting others from other campaigns (Sherrod Brown, Tammy Baldwin) but I immediately hit unsubscribe on those.

This is the first year in a while I got texts for local races, usually I get hit up for out of state stuff.

The Tim Kaine emails are reaching my .co.uk account at the rate of three a day. The wheedling subject headers attached to alllllll of them create a frisson of delight when I hit delete.

wow I am feeling very lucky rn

My cell phone number is apparently listed somewhere under someone else's name - every election cycle I get so many texts from PACs that think I'm this other guy. It almost seems like an invasion of this dude's privacy because he has a very unique first name and the texts let me know what county he lives in. I keep telling them to lose my number but it never works.

Hey, ilx. It's James Carville.
I'm fucking terrified.

Neanderthal pretty much nails what these emails and texts actually read like, they sound insane to me but I guess it works

I guess it works

Marketers in the 20th century learned a ton from doing direct mail. Now that they have detailed demographic info on everyone, cheap access to everyone via texts & emails, and computers to do all the number crunching they can test out dozens of pitches, measure exactly which work best with whom, and constantly tweak them to create 'bespoke' texts and emails for niche demographics. So, it works pretty well.

Add: the begging letters I get aren't nearly as refined as the texts I just described. they're basically pitched at generic 'doddering liberals' and lean hard on the "give me money or the bogeyman will get you" pitch.

Subject line: I’m asking

Response: I’m deleting

Subject line: It’s our most important deadline!

Response: that sounds like a You problem (deletes)

Someone I know used to get the occasional automated spam call in Chinese. I thought, that's weird, randomly calling numbers in hopes that they speak Chinese. So I did a little googling and what do you know, that's exactly what's up, a Chinese language scam just scattershot reaching out to thousands of random numbers in the off chance they find someone that a) speaks Chinese and b) falls for whatever scam it is. Is it efficient? Hell no. Does it cost them much? Probably not. Do they do it because every once in a while it works? No doubt.

I live in Virginia and I don't get anything from Tim Kaine. He'll do fine without my money anyway. Swing districts, that's where it's at, me lads!

I have only received texts and mail for local races. The texts all come from our reprehensible state rep who is a corrupt, crime and punishment loving dude with the easily recognizable name, Amen Brown. I doubt he will be beat given the demographics of where I live, but I would truly love for Cass Green (his primary opponent) to win.

I live in a US House swing district and we'll be directing the bulk of our contributions toward taking back from an R who ran as a non-MAGA moderate, but ofc voted straight party line 98% of the time once seated.

The e-mails have stopped but I get 1-2 spammy texts every week from Democrats begging for money. It's a step up from when I'd get mailers that looked like bills or collection notices but only a small one.

okay, off and running... I would have chosen an American pistol manufacturer

Far-right US Senate candidate tells crowd to ‘strap on a Glock’ before elections

Lake told the crowd: “We need to send people to Washington DC that the swamp does not want there. And I can think of a couple people they don’t want there. First on that list is Donald J Trump; second is Kari Lake.

“He’s willing to sacrifice everything I am. That’s why they’re coming after us with ‘lawfare’,” Lake said, referencing the ex-president’s many legal troubles as he stands trial in New York.

“They’re going to come after us with everything. That’s why the next six months is going to be intense. And we need to strap on our … ”

Lake briefly paused before deciding on the item her supporters should strap on. After suggesting a “seatbelt”, a “helmet” and “the armor of God”, she said: “And maybe strap on a Glock on the side of us just in case.”

"Kari Lake" + "Strap On" getting alot GOP incognito mode action rn

choose your own strap-on

If you strap me on I'll never stop

I'll bet she has only a dim idea of what a Glock actually is, but knows it'll get headlines... I don't really see her as an outdoorswoman

um, Glocks aren’t typically used in outdoor shooting sports or hunting, fwiw.

I know, I just mean she's a TV newscaster, not a firearms enthusiast

oh i see

Cops use Glocks tho.

Don't Strap On Me

Glock around the clock

I think I know her favorite Steely Dan song

What a shock Johnson's also a neocon in addition to every other bad thing he is.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/27/mike-johnson-breathes-some-hope-into-ukraine-funding/

I'm sorry but you are impinging upon my bubble

Luna: Furthermore, remember, Ukraine chose to not join NATO.

Berman: It was NATO and the US and others who didn't want Ukraine to enter

Luna: I’m going to have to respectfully push back on that because I disagree pic.twitter.com/AhldwdrnRI

— Acyn (@Acyn) April 18, 2024

Johnson is terrible but I'm getting the sense Dems don't view him as a dishonest backstabber like McCarthy, so they at least seem willing to work with him

He can't stab them in the back -- he needs their backs.

Johnson, has been, well, not better, but something different I guess.

Things got heated on the House floor. DVO called Gaetz “tubby” in fiery scrum

GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden entered the 20 minute heated floor conversation as it was ongoing and dared his right-wing colleagues to move on the motion to oust Johnson

W/ @AnnieGrayerCNN

— Haley Talbot (@haleytalbotcnn) April 18, 2024

"tubby" in fiery scum = Best Dub Album

irl lol

Rockers Meets King Tubby In A Fiery House Scrum

lol here from me too