I’ve complained previously about Ed Markey’s breathless, over-the-top emails about how if we don’t send money immediately, Brian what’s-his-name is surely going to be the next Senator from Massachusetts (spoiler: he’s not). I can’t make exactly the same complaint about John Tierney, who is indeed in a competitive race.
But this email from Team Tierney is completely ridiculous.
From: JohnTierney.com <campaign@johntierney.com>
Subject: Boehner WRECKED
Date: August 25, 2014 3:11:51 PM EDT
To: David
Reply-To: campaign@johntierney.comNO WAY!!!
This morning, Nancy Pelosi sent an inspiring email asking for your support. And David, your response has been absolutely…
ASTRONOMICAL!!!
Since Leader Pelosi’s email, donations have been POURING IN for John. 114 and counting chipped in — JUST SINCE 10 AM!!!
WOW!!!!
If we can hit 300 donations by midnight, we can WRECK Boehner’s plans for a Republican takeover in Massachusetts. Sounds GREAT to us!
DAVID
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Team Tierney
It’s got everything. The fake donation “counter.” The three – or even four – exclamation points. The multicolor text. The ludicrous flashing “Let’s Do This” gif. And the smarmy references to the Speaker of the House as, simply, “Boehner.” And the best part is that while I did, indeed, get an email (“inspiring”? well…) signed by Nancy Pelosi asking for money for Tierney this morning, this afternoon I got an identical email, also from Pelosi, except that instead of raising money for Tierney, it’s asking me to donate to Julia Brownley (a Member of Congress from California).
John, we get it. You’re in a tough race, and you need money to stay competitive. But for heaven’s sake … blue flashing gifs?? I don’t know, maybe they work. I’d be shocked.
They forward their own messages with “I just wanted to make sure you saw this email.” (Of course I did; you sent it to the same account.) There seems to be constantly a deadline, if not a legally imposed one then “We must have $XXXX by tonight to pay for an ad buy tomorrow.” “We’re up in the polls; contribute to keep the momentum going.” “We’re down in the polls; contribute so we can catch up.” “I’m sorry to have to email you on a Sunday, but this one is really important.” (I don’t have to check my email on a Sunday if I really didn’t want to, but your apology sounds phony, and no, it’s NOT any more important than the last ten times in fewer days that you reminded me that my contribution will go right through if my ActBlue information is saved.) The DNC ones that you have to scroll through to read one the equivalent of one sentence because of the huge type and graphics are especially annoying.
this Tierney one really is in a class by itself. I couldn’t even do it full justice because I couldn’t get the gigantic font for “NO WAY” and “ASTRONOMICAL” and “WOW” to reproduce on the blog.
You’d think he’d start with trying to get Ohio’s electoral votes to go to a Republican presidential candidate.
It’s not like his Speakership will rest on the outcome of this election, it’s one thing for an embattled incumbent Democratic senator to say, ‘Majority Leader McConnell’ to drum up support (though again, Ed Markey is nowhere near that). but this is definitely a stretch. As striker points out though, if it works, it works, and we will keep seeing emails like this. Donate to Tierney, save the money Ed is asking for someone who needs it.
I get the same over-the-top emails David gets (including this one) and I get them from around the country.
I had the opportunity to talk with Congressman Tierney not that long ago and added my voice to those of us who are tired of the email barrage and the lame subject lines. Congressman Tierney actually agreed and told me it’s the DCCC supporting his campaign that runs that little fundraising horror show. He’s heard the complaints and passed them on to the powers that be.
The problem? The emails seem to work notes Congressman Tierney. He has raised more money with the bells and whistles email approach then ever before online across the country. When he did tell the DCCC about the blowback they pointed that out to him.
I don’t think they are going away until they stop generating money.
Do you really care about his fundraising mail? I know this is the silly season (August), but real the issue is getting him re-elected and preserving another Dem vote in Congress, not the quality of his postcards. Come guys. Get real.
reflects on him, IMHO. So if I’m an undecided, or just-tuning-in voter, and I see something like this, it makes me wonder whether he’s really someone I should support. That’s why I care. (In addition to the fact that I resent the pollution of my inbox.)
Read an article years ago about a teenager who made a mint pulling pump-and-dump scams (buying penny stocks, spamming message boards and emails hyping the stock, then selling the stocks when they began to bump up). Kid said that he discovered early on the more exclamation marks he used, the less sophisticated vocabulary, the worse grammar, the better the results.
I wouldn’t be surprised to find that politics junkies have made contributions in light of voting records and poll numbers, and will continue to do so. We might be on these email lists, but the real target of these emails are people who ended up on this list, don’t pay much attention to politics, and might believe some of this.
The theory is that they don’t want to waste time with the moderately stupid and only want the really stupid to reply so they can swindle them.
Could be the case here as well.