An interesting email from

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An interesting email from one of my favorite New Dem-leaning correspondents in Washington DC.

We’ll call him Mr R …

Hi Josh. Great string of posts this a.m.! Glad to see you’re back in the
swing.

I thought you might be interested in my recent experience as a Democratic
contributor. In the last year I’ve given $100 each to (1) Joe Lieberman,
since he’s a New Dem from way back and his DLCish instincts generally match
my own, and (2) more recently, Howard Dean, because he’s interesting and
smart and, while I don’t much like his current lefty trendline, at bottom I
think he’s a moderate.

Well. I got a couple of half-hearted follow-ups from the Lieberman camp
last year (I think I sent a brochure to you), but absolutely nothing in the
last six months or more, even though now is when they’re starting to need
the money, and a candidate’s prior contributors are the folks he should be
putting the strongest touch on. But, from Joe, at least to me, silence.
Reminds me strongly of the hapless Gore operation – I gave thousands of
dollars to Gore, even going back to his Senate years, and it took his
campaign forever even to get my name right and figure out I was a supporter.
I wonder if Lieberman has inherited some of the not-too-swift Gore
back-office operations.

But from the Doctor! I’ve gotten half a dozen (correctly addressed!)
follow-up letters in the couple of months since I sent him a check, and I’m
obviously on his main direct-mail list, all on the strength of one
contribution. VERY impressive operation on the technical side, and it
certainly makes me more likely to contribute again. Wonder where Dean’s
people came from? Are these the tech-savvy people who are also staffing his
Internet operation?

Anyway, a telling contrast, and I though you should have this report from
the political contributors’ trenches.

Regards, (Mr R.)

Very revealing about each campaign.

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