Some time ago I hypothesized that all Democratic Senators are using the same text-spam contractor, and wondered whether there was some way to block the entire network. This resulted in many, many replies from people incorrecting me and each other with their zero-information theories.
Well, I was right. They are all using the same contractor. But the reality is even more horrible than you probably imagined.
I hesitate to link to someone who doesn’t have the good sense to stop holding court in the Nazi Bar (Substack is the Nazi Bar) but here we are:
The Mothership Vortex: An Investigation Into the Firm at the Heart of the Democratic Spam Machine:
To understand Mothership’s central role, one must understand its origins. The firm was founded in 2014 by senior alumni of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC): its former digital director, Greg Berlin, and deputy digital director, Charles Starnes. During their tenure at the DCCC, they helped pioneer the fundraising model that now dominates Democratic inboxes – a high-volume strategy that relies on emotionally charged, often hyperbolic appeals to compel immediate donations. This model, sometimes called “churn and burn,” prioritizes short-term revenue over long-term donor relationships. […]
The core defense of these aggressive fundraising tactics rests on a single claim: they are brutally effective. The FEC data proves this is a fallacy. An examination of the money flowing through the Mothership network reveals a system designed not for political impact, but for enriching the consultants who operate it. […]
After subtracting these massive operational costs – the payments to Mothership, the fees for texting services, the cost of digital ads and list rentals – the final sum delivered to candidates and committees is vanishingly small. My analysis of the network’s FEC disbursements reveals that, at most, $11 million of the $678 million raised from individuals has made its way to candidates, campaigns, or the national party committees.
But here’s the number that should end all debate:
This represents a fundraising efficiency rate of just 1.6 percent.
Previously, previously, previously.
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