Has anyone seen the real "McCoy"?
or I'll leave it to my network of spies
I'm told that there was a fundraising letter that went out recently from Representative Alice McCoy. Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of the letter. At least not YET.
So it remains unconfirmed that the letter actually said "Should I run for the State Senate? If you think so, please send me a donation."
I'm hoping this notation in the blog will get a copy coming my way. (e-mail me here if you have one and you want to share.) It's not important enough to burn a favor for, especially a fundraising letter that sounds as bad as that one sounds. If the rumors on the letter are for real, then this sounds like the start of the most underwhelming campaign effort of the season.
If I really wanted it, and had an important post to base on it, I could probably have it located in an hour or two. But I don't want it that badly. I would only be to read it for fun, and talk about what's wrong with what she did. But I did that recently (08/03/05) on a state GOP fundraising letter that I hacked on. (And kudos to them, they did it right with the next one).
You don't hang around the process for 17 years without making a few acquaintances, and doing a few favors. I feel as if I have a pretty good information system. And I know tons of people who've been involved over the years.
A recent incident came up where one of my friends was accused of providing me some information which I blabbed about on the blog. But the funny thing was that it couldn't have been farther from the truth. My actual source wasn't even on the radar. It just illustrated to me how poorly this accuser was informed.
Much as people form circles of friends, I've found that political activists tend to form circles of contacts on various topics and issues. As you go, you begin to form individual networks where you identify people having specific skills that you can tap.
Among GOP political circles, I have a reputation for being one of the bigger computer gurus. While there are people who put me to shame on web programming, I've done lists for years, and frankly when it comes to working with messy voter lists, I'm "da bomb." I do lots of other stuff, such as campaign management, advertising design, and most recently blogging, but not many people can compete with me on voter lists.
While many of us have general skills in campaign work and management, each person tends to have specific skills in different areas. I know people with specific skills in working with volunteers, one has personal contacts with donors that I'd die to have, and another can call any menber of the media in the state. One I know is an excellent generalist, and his wife is the best graphic designer I've ever seen. I even have a preferred contact or two to get the latest gossip from.
There's one gal in Sioux Falls who handles "making events happen" better than anyone I'd ever seen. You just say "here's what I need" and you only have to get out of the way. If I could snatch her away from her day job for another campaign, I'd do it in an instant. She was that good.
The point is, one person usually can't make a campaign work by themselves. It's knowing where you can draw the best talent for the required task at hand that makes the difference between a mediocre campaign and one that truly kicks some tail.
So it remains unconfirmed that the letter actually said "Should I run for the State Senate? If you think so, please send me a donation."
I'm hoping this notation in the blog will get a copy coming my way. (e-mail me here if you have one and you want to share.) It's not important enough to burn a favor for, especially a fundraising letter that sounds as bad as that one sounds. If the rumors on the letter are for real, then this sounds like the start of the most underwhelming campaign effort of the season.
If I really wanted it, and had an important post to base on it, I could probably have it located in an hour or two. But I don't want it that badly. I would only be to read it for fun, and talk about what's wrong with what she did. But I did that recently (08/03/05) on a state GOP fundraising letter that I hacked on. (And kudos to them, they did it right with the next one).
You don't hang around the process for 17 years without making a few acquaintances, and doing a few favors. I feel as if I have a pretty good information system. And I know tons of people who've been involved over the years.
A recent incident came up where one of my friends was accused of providing me some information which I blabbed about on the blog. But the funny thing was that it couldn't have been farther from the truth. My actual source wasn't even on the radar. It just illustrated to me how poorly this accuser was informed.
Much as people form circles of friends, I've found that political activists tend to form circles of contacts on various topics and issues. As you go, you begin to form individual networks where you identify people having specific skills that you can tap.
Among GOP political circles, I have a reputation for being one of the bigger computer gurus. While there are people who put me to shame on web programming, I've done lists for years, and frankly when it comes to working with messy voter lists, I'm "da bomb." I do lots of other stuff, such as campaign management, advertising design, and most recently blogging, but not many people can compete with me on voter lists.
While many of us have general skills in campaign work and management, each person tends to have specific skills in different areas. I know people with specific skills in working with volunteers, one has personal contacts with donors that I'd die to have, and another can call any menber of the media in the state. One I know is an excellent generalist, and his wife is the best graphic designer I've ever seen. I even have a preferred contact or two to get the latest gossip from.
There's one gal in Sioux Falls who handles "making events happen" better than anyone I'd ever seen. You just say "here's what I need" and you only have to get out of the way. If I could snatch her away from her day job for another campaign, I'd do it in an instant. She was that good.
The point is, one person usually can't make a campaign work by themselves. It's knowing where you can draw the best talent for the required task at hand that makes the difference between a mediocre campaign and one that truly kicks some tail.
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