Giebink for House.
Otherwise known as "What not to do in a fundraising letter."

(Click on picture to enlarge)
This fundraising letter is making the rounds across South Dakota. This one is from Sioux Falls, but I've also seen a few people in Pierre who have gotten it (an attorney or two). I've got to say that without a doubt this is one of the worst fundraising letters I've run across this year.

It's not just that it says "Dear friends." Bleaugh. It's not just that it doesn't ask for an amount and you can barely tell that it's a fundraising letter. It's an entire letter of poison prose. Here's the basic structure of the letter - you tell me if you'd send her some money on the basis of it's content:
Introduction
Complain
Complain
Complain
Vote for me
Oh, there's also an envelope enclosed for some vague purpose.
Boy, that one just makes me want to get out the checkbook.

I've said before that "you need to show the need and make the pitch." In this letter, there's no illustrating why we should send HER money. It's just a string of complaints masquerading as a letter. Aside from a vague and general statement about "working together," what in the heck is she planning to do about all her gripes?

Really, if this is the type of campaign she's planning on running, the Republican opposition might just consider going home and waiting for election day to campaign. Because she's going to be busy defeating herself. In other words, in a fundraising letter, a little doom and gloom is ok. I'm known to use it myself from time to time to show a need. But as a candidate, aside from showing the need, you have to show visionary thinking. You have to show what you will do.

Getting back to the letter content, I won't even go into the fact she isn't telling people what they're money could go for, or suggesting amounts that they might consider sending. Or even mentioning what the enclosed envelope could be used for.

As mentioned, the whole tone is just angry and bitter. I don't think that people want to elect kvetchers who spend all their time cursing the darkness. They want to elect someone who will light a torch and lead the way.

And that's who they'll send money to.

And while I'm on the topic of Mary Ann Giebink, I notice her website is listed on her fundraising letter at http://www.giebinkforhouse.com. So, I'll take a moment to tear dow.. Sorry. I'll take a moment to critique her website as well.

Her website comes off as less negative than her fundraising letter, and graphically, it's attractive. But it's the little things that matter.

Her with George McGovern and Tom Daschle? You know, that might be nice among Democrats. But in a legislative district with 9950 Republicans to 5571 Democrats (according to the secretary of State), the first thing I would do if I were Roger Hunt and Shantel Krebs? I'd grab that picture off of her website, and make sure every Republican Household in the District saw her standing side by side with McGovern. (Hint - George might get members of the SDDP all tingly inside, but he's generally not a plus among members of my party).

That and some of the spelling errors on a fairly static website ("bothers and sisters?") detract from what is otherwise an attractive space on the web. I would tweak a little of the commentary on the page to make it more leadership oriented (and away from complaining), and if she had to have it, I'd save the McGovern picture for a direct mail piece to dems.

So, terrible fundraising letter, and an OK website. But in a district where Dems are outnumbered almost 2 to 1, if she wants one of those seats this fall, she has to do better than just OK.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I got the letter somehow (I believe she sent it to every attorney in the state). I take particular joy in realizing that all our problems in SD started w/Janklow closing down Springfield. Hell, if he would have closed Northern and BH as well we would be better off today but not even he had the pair for that.
Anonymous said…
oh my God....is this crazy woman really running for something??? Lord help our state
Anonymous said…
I remember this genius from law school, i.e. the most annoying liberal in the class. Somehow, after flunking the bar exam three times, she finally passed it. The bar commission must have a mercy rule or something. Let's just say you'd be much better representing yourself rather than have her.
Anonymous said…
PP: you say of her letter that "the whole tone is just angry and bitter." Well, yeah, that's Mary Ann Giebink, perhaps the most unpleasant person in the South Dakota bar association. I guess you should appreciate her honesty about her anger and bitterness.
Anonymous said…
she looks unapproachable and angry
PP said…
I wasn't (and am not) trying to comment on her personality, but she's a dem running in a supermajority GOP district - complaining about Republicans isn't going to cut it as far as I'm concerned.
Anonymous said…
...is she hates Bill Janklow, suddenly I've got a new respect for Janklow. This Giebink is a bottom feeder of the worst sort...go see her law "firm" called the Galland Legal Clinic in the low rent ghetto of north sioux falls. better yet, stay away if you want an actual real life lawyer
Anonymous said…
PP: you're a nice guy not to comment on her personality, and you're right---she's running in a Republican district and attacking Republicans. That shows you the level of intelligence we're dealing with here.
Anonymous said…
here's the website to her law firm:

http://www.gallandlegal.com/

what do you think of its design? why does she have a photo that makes her look like a radio talk show host (see the headphones) instead of making herself look like a lawyer?
Anonymous said…
my neighbor is a judge...he says the fastest way to discredit your case is to show up at court with Mary Ann Giebink since she only gets cases that all the respectable lawyers have turned down. The chances of Giebink winning this race are zero--it's a vanity campaign and publicity stunt. It also shows how horribly desperate the state Democratic Party is when it comes to candidates.
Anonymous said…
this information is making its way around to the lists of South Dakota lawyers and the resulting jokes can't be printed here. You're wrong PP, it's not the mailing that hurts her...it's that people know her and her "work" as a lawyer. It would be best if she didn't advertise at all because the more people that know her the more votes she'll lose
Anonymous said…
So she loves Daschle and McGovern?!? How do i give to her opponents?
Anonymous said…
PP---is this your candidate for worst Democratic legislative candidate of the year??
Anonymous said…
There is something very sad about my party being so unkind.

I don't know this lady and would never vote for her-- because she is chummy with Daschel--but I like to think of US as not being like THEM.

They are rude, unkind, sarcastic, and mean. When we can't find anything good to say we say little, are reserved, and say things like "a Vote for her is not a vote that takes South Dakota in the right direction.

She will lose without us stooping to their level by saying gossipy and unkind things.
Anonymous said…
If she isn't the frontrunner for worst legislative candidate of the year i don't know who is. Too bad Newquist quit the race, because he might be ahead of her.
Anonymous said…
Shantel Krebs: fun, successful, hot, downtown businesswoman.

Mary Geibink: feminazi, angry, bottom-feeding ambulance chaser.

I know who I'm voting for!
Anonymous said…
Just what I'm looking for in a legislator, someone who's "fun" and "hot."
Anonymous said…
The best part of this is that Roger Hunt will beat Mary Geibink!

http://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2006/mbrdt516.htm

How sweet is that?
Anonymous said…
If you read her letter, she complains that "The governor has not appointed one woman as circuit court judge; there have been few women appointed to high-level positions in his administration." This is the problem with feminist liberals like Mary Giebink, who think they need quotas.
Anonymous said…
District 10 loves Shantel...there's no way she'll lose to this person Giebink.
Anonymous said…
If the South Dakota Bar Association was serious about improving the reputation of lawyers in the state the first thing they would do is examine Geibink and the "Galland Legal Clinic" that she runs and how she takes money from people who are out of options to work on ridiculous cases that are hopeless.
Anonymous said…
HUNT v. GEIBINK

now this should be fun...when is the first debate? as big an idiot as Geibink is, I might have to cast an anti-Hunt vote.
PP said…
Gentlemen and ladies, please keep the discussion political...
Anonymous said…
My distinguished legal colleagues on this blog, all of whom received the letter from Ms. Geibink, are forgetting someone--she and Jim Abourezk are in a close competition for most legal bufoonery in Sioux Falls.
Anonymous said…
here's political question: who are Democrats who wanted to beat Roger Hunt so bad that they thought it would be a good idea to run Giebink? is this part of the big reaction against 1215? It has to be. hmmmmm
Anonymous said…
I'm a lawyer in Aberdeen and got Ms. Giebink's letter to all attorneys in the state. And then I got some emails from others making light of her letter. Why she sent a letter to her fellow lawyers who don't take her seriously is very odd.
Anonymous said…
it sounds like some keep-'em-barefoot-and-pregnant Republicans want to keep a strong woman's voice out of the legislature! vote Giebink! vote for women!
Anonymous said…
we have plenty of strong, respectable Republican Womens voices, we don't need Giebink
Anonymous said…
it is the Republican reptiles who are angry and afraid of Mary Ann's strong voice. She is also a great layer in Sioux Falls I know because I hired her.
Anonymous said…
We do need more strong respectable Republican Women's voices in the Senate.

Right now there are just two women Julie Barling(D) and Thersa Two Bulls(D) that are incumbents in the Senate! --but we have several candidates that are excellent--so see what you can do to help get those voices elected! We need women's voices---- but not when they are shrill and angry.
Anonymous said…
This is all about Roger Hunt. We progressives want him gone, Mr. Anti-Choices for Women. Giebink will take him out, just wait and see how this plays out.
Anonymous said…
Repugnicans need to stop oppressing good women like Mary Giebink. She's a lawyer and mom and voice for women. All women need to support her.
Anonymous said…
Voting for Giebink just because she's a woman is just as stupid as voting for Krebs because she's hot.

Can she give me anything other than "I hate Janklow, and so did my dad" and "South Dakota wages suck"? There is NO "this is what needs to be done."
Anonymous said…
I disagree w/ you PP - the website content is basically the same as the letter. It looks like the letter is just a boiled down version of the same stuff. (She did spell brothers right in the letter.) I think the website is just as negative - even if it has an attractive design. She needs more than a tweak.
Anonymous said…
"Shantel Krebs: fun, successful, hot, downtown businesswoman."

That could be the best post ever on this blog. How about this...

Kari Weems: Dense, unattactive, close minded, OVERLY self-important and John Thune's sister-in-law.

OFF TOPIC, PP, is Kari a friend if so I'll understand this being pulled.
Anonymous said…
The District 10 race for state House is going to be a hot one, everyone should pay attention. Mary is frustrated all the money is going to Turbak and Jerstle but she's the best woman candidate the Democrats have this year and she'll leave a mark!
Anonymous said…
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060905/NEWS/609050313/1001

Krebs seeks re-election in District 10
September 5, 2006, 2:55 am

State Rep. Shantel Krebs is seeking re-election to a second term in the State House of Representatives for District 10.

Krebs is a member of the Commerce and Transportation Committees.

"Lincoln and Minnehaha counties are some of the fastest growing areas in the nation, and we need to ensure their communities continue to grow with strong schools, a good business climate and excellent community and political leadership. I have provided that leadership for District 10 in Pierre the last two years," Krebs said.

Krebs, who owns and operates The Red Shoe in downtown Sioux Falls, is active in the community as a volunteer for the First Lutheran Church Media Ministry and Foundation boards and the Southeastern Behavioral HealthCare Festival of Trees and is a past board member of other community nonprofit organizations.

Krebs and her husband, Mitch, live in rural Sioux Falls.


- From staff reports
Anonymous said…
the biggest contributors to Giebink's opponents should be any member of the SD Bar Association
PP said…
8:20, I don't know her, and yes, it's completely off topic and will likely be dumped on that basis.

The problem is that as you hurl your insults, you are doing so anonymously. That's not really fair sport now, is it?

What is with the feeding franzy tonight?
Anonymous said…
If the choice is between Krebs-the-Businesswoman and Giebink-the-Bottom-Feeder I know exactly who I'm going to support. PP, you can chalk this one up to the GOP. Here are Geibink's chances in District 10: ZERO.
Anonymous said…
The Democrats are not starving Giebink for funds tho that is a rumor. Nancy Turbak and Sandy Jerstad are the Democrats great hope for putting some female progressives in Pierre but Mary Giebink is right up there with them and will get lots of support from those who believe women are not slaves. Democrats are really charged up about Giebank-Turbak-Jerstad and just wait they will win big this fall.
Anonymous said…
The General of the Republican Taliban is Roger Hunt, author of the anti-choice abortion ban and Giebink is a lock to take him out in the fall. This District 10 race will get lots of attention this fall. Just today high-level womens' rights advocates met in downtown Sioux Falls to plan the attack on legislative races designed to dump anti-choicers. The Taliban will be deposed in SD just like the 82nd Airborn did it in Afganistan.
Anonymous said…
Mary Ann Giebink has a right to be angry and should be angry! Have you looked around lately?? The regressives running Pierre??
Anonymous said…
Tom Daschle will soon be having a fundraiser for Mary Giebink so she'll have plenty of money to take down Roger Hunt.
Anonymous said…
Ah yes, the future distinguished South Dakota Supreme Court under Governor Billion:

Chief Justice Todd Epp
Associate Justice Mary Giebink
Associate Justice Jim Abourezk
Associate Justice Rich Engels
Associate Justice Linda Lee Viken
Anonymous said…
Gag, Puke!
Anonymous said…
if the Democrats win this seat I'll actually take my last will and testament to the Last Chance Legal Clinic and have Giebink draft it
Anonymous said…
hasn't this Giebink run for something before?

seems to really be taking some arrows
Anonymous said…
Q: What are 10,000 Giebinks at the bottom of Capitol Lake in Pierre?
Anonymous said…
Wow, this is amazing. I don't know this candidate but she has certainly brought out the vampires. Oh wait, I just looked outside, it's a full moon, that explains everything.
Anonymous said…
whoa looks like i missed some more fireworks. PP: are you convinced now this is going to be an important race?
Anonymous said…
whoa looks like i missed some more fireworks. PP: are you convinced now this is going to be an important race?
Anonymous said…
How do you tell if a lawyer, er Giebink, is lying?
Anonymous said…
won't this make Janklow a constituent of future Senator Geibink?
Anonymous said…
The letter is so poorly written if it was just a bit wackier I would have thought it to be drafted by the Whalen Campaign. I'm waiting for the Giebink campaign to be accused of using the profits from selling aborted fetuses for campaign expenses. Plus, I think Steve Kirby was investing in the company that sells body parts and he's a "good" christian.
Anonymous said…
Hey PP - What's your record for number of comments? 55 (now 56) must be coming close... This set of comments must be at least in the top 3 for nastiness too.
PP said…
I would tend to agree on both accounts
Anonymous said…
This Mary Giebink-Roger Hunt legislative race in District 10 is the sleeper of the season. Giebink is mounting a major challenge to the author of the ban on all abortions in South Dakota. You can see all the interest in the race from all the comments to this post. Tom Daschle is raising money for Giebink and she'll have lots of money. Hunt, on the other hand, has been elected many times in South Dakota and is well-known for his opposition to abortion. I imagine he'll be well-financed too. In a way, this is a classic battle between a religious conservative and feminist liberal. It's like James Dobson v. Barbara Boxer on the prairie. Other things will happen in the race which will also cause much public interest.
Anonymous said…
Giebink is the one who has the law "firm" which shares a building with "Kum and Go." Get some gas, grab a roller hot dog, get mugged, pay $300 for bad legal advice, go across the road and get sentenced...now that's a "convenience store"!
Anonymous said…
If PP's right with his 2-1 Republican advantage, I think I'd much rather be Dobson than Boxer in District 10. Is this race really going to be that close?

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