Campaign panhandling now a never-ending cycle

More than two weeks later, political analysts are still debating the reasons for Glenn Youngkin’s upset victory in the Virginia governor’s race: Frustration with Democratic disarray in Washington? Concerns about inflation? Terry McAuliffe’s parentschoolcurriculum grenade? All plausible theories, but let me suggest one other explanation that hasn’t gotten nearly as much attention. It’s all my fault.

Yes, I’m the one who didn’t step up and contribute to McAuliffe’s campaign, despite weeks and months of urgent, desperate, nonstop pleas for money. They overwhelmed my inbox, a dozen or more a day, from McAuliffe and a battery of surrogates – Elizabeth Warren, Stacey Abrams, Barack Obama, Carole King – pleading, cajoling, scaring, shaming.

“Trumpists on the verge of a victory,” “Outraised, outspent and outorganized,” “We’re just SHOCKED,” read the typical subject lines. Mary L. Trump was “stunned” that a candidate endorsed by her uncle might win, and that “Democrats seem not to notice how important this race is.” McAuliffe “nearly spit out” his coffee when he saw the amount of dark money going into his opponent’s campaign. “Richard, I won’t lie to you,” wrote James Carville. “If Democrats lose Virginia, it’s game over.”

Even when the game really was all but over, they didn’t stop: “Will you pitch in right now to help us reach every one of the voters we need to keep Virginia blue?” That one came at 5:03 p.m. on Election Day. Never too late.

And that’s just the Democrats, their databases fondly recalling my past donations. I’ve at least been spared the more thuggish Republican tactics, such as pitches for Donald Trump that yell “traitor” at any supporter who hasn’t anted up: “You abandoned Trump . . . . This is your final chance to prove your loyalty or be branded a deserter.”

Where the begging emails once just rained down mainly during the campaign season, now they’re a never-ending monsoon.

The tactics and rhetorical tricks have become grindingly familiar. There’s always a pressing deadline, along with some arbitrary monetary goal (“Our end-of-month deadline is just hours away, and we’re still $1,414 short”). Often a pointless poll, for some bogus user engagement. (“We’re still missing your response . . . . What grade would you give President Biden?”)

These fundraising pitches have to dance a tricky, almost comical twostep: toggling between the upbeat (to convince donors the race is winnable, worth supporting) and the despairing (to make sure no one gets complacent). “HORRIBLE news, friend,” went a missive from Rep. Val Demings, a Florida Senate hopeful, not long ago. “Marco Rubio just reported his campaign has a $3.6 million cash advantage – millions he can use to run attack ads.”

A few days later, things were looking up for Demings: “I have some very big news to share: Even after Marco Rubio launched deceitful attack ads against me, a new poll still shows us neck and neck.” But soon, back in the dumps: “I’m falling short of my can’tmiss $450,000 midnight fundraising goal just as a recent poll has me 2 points BEHIND Marco Rubio.”

Sometimes the candidates sound like guilt-tripping relatives, showing up at the door late at night. “I don’t like dropping into your inbox with bad news like this, Richard, but I’ve got nowhere else to turn,” wrote Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, who apparently has no friends. “My end-of-month deadline is quickly approaching, and as of now I still need to raise another $9,102 before midnight tonight.”

I’m no campaign strategist, but as a campaign target, I have to wonder whether any of this is working. I assume the nonstop appeals bring in enough cash to make them worthwhile. But could the carpet-bombing approach detract from the ultimate goal: getting votes?

The badgering emails are too relentless, too repetitive, too easy to scroll past and tune out entirely. They treat the voter as an inexhaustible ATM, dropping dollars into a money pit that can never be satisfied. Could all that pleading be contributing to the alienation and frustration with Washington politics? Is it possible that thousands of Virginia Democrats were simply too exhausted by the badgering to show up at the polls? I wouldn’t rule it out.

And like that nagging relative, the hounding never stops. “With Virginia soon to be in Republican hands,” wrote the Democratic Governors Association shortly after Youngkin’s victory, “we must act IMMEDIATELY to protect battleground states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada.” Beto O’Rourke just announced his candidacy for governor of Texas, followed almost instantly by a “critical 24hour deadline” to raise $100,000 and a plea: “Rush your $1 gift immediately!”

Or don’t rush. It’s going to be a long year.