And so it's begun
"It", in this case, is the 2008 Presidential election pre-pandering season. How could I tell? Today's mail contained solicitations for donations from:
- Rudy Giuliani
- John McCain
- Mitt Romney
- Tommy Thompson
- Bill Richardson
Pfft. Into the trash with the lot of them, after emitting a muttered "Holy shit!"
However, I was intrigued by several things about the mess of politically motivated mail feces pieces. First off, one of the items on that list is not like all the others. No, not the Mormon - the other odd item. Yeah, Richardson. I haven't a clue how his campaign is doing its targeting, but as much as I'm sure he's a stand-up guy and all, I don't know that I've ever taken any action which would have tagged me as anything other than, well, someone who would throw his mail into the garbage, unopened.
As for the rest, it's early days, and I guess there's a school of thought that the entirety of the Republican Party's mailing list (if not its "base", which excludes me) is ready for its quadrennial colorectal exam, to see if there are any changes in tendencies, proclivities, and candidate preferences. Oh, and IQ, too.
However, for anything other than a truly zero-cost mailing (which things don't exist), I'm amused that the GOP thinks the right marketing mode is "carpet bomb". At a minimum, given how early in the game it is, might it not make sense to attempt such mailings in waves, and adjusting the targets as responses from the gullible are tabulated?
I think it would, but they didn't ask me.
If they had, I'd have made the recommendation above, and I'd also have reminded them of John Wanamaker's famous saying:
"I know I waste half the money I spend on advertising," department store pioneer John Wanamaker said. "The problem is, I don't know which half."
I'd then point out that, according to Seth Godin, that's a myth:
Half my advertising works, I just don't know which half. Actually, it's closer to 1% of your advertising that works, at the most. Your billboard reaches 100,000 people and if you're lucky, it gets you a hundred customers...
Please ignore the casual numeric disdain of Mr. Godin - he's a marketer, not an arithmeticist. 100 people out of 100,000 is a lot closer to 1% than it is to 50%, but it's even more closer to 0% than it is to 1%.
And finally, I'd point them back to me, proof positive that the ratio that works is actually 0.00%
Note the two-decimal precision - that last bit is not only precise, it's accurate.
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I heard his rap about it once
I heard his rap about it once in an organized way, and it makes some sense. To detractors who say he's a one issue candidate, his reply is that illegal immigration actually impacts (you favorite non-verb, I know)most pressing issues of the day.
The cost and quality of public education. The cost and quality of health care. Crime and policing. The judiciary. Border security.
Any even mildly retarded rhetorician- or lawyer- could surely make any problem apply to every other problem. But in the case of I.I., I think Tancredo has a point.
I think he's pissing against the wind, and I think he's the only one who's gonna get wet, but at least he's speaking his mind.
Metaphorically, through piss.
Agreed on Tancredo, with both
Agreed on Tancredo, with both views.
As for my inclusion of Pataki, he's not declared that I'm aware of and may actually be smart enough to avoid embarrassing himself by doing so, but his name shows up on a lot of the straw poll ballots I've seen on the internets.
Illegal Immigration, or II as
Illegal Immigration, or II as I like to call it, is his only plus point as far as I can determine. A more serious candidate who embraces that issue might go far. Despite the convictions of party leaders, most of the electorate is fairly to really pissed off about it.
George Pataki is running?
George Pataki is running? Words fail me. His liberal democrat successor is trying to cut taxes and enact reforms.
I found out an hour before it
I found out an hour before it started that Tom Tancredo was holding a fundraiser in Boston. I didn't even know he'd announced. Talk about poor marketing.
He's about a billion dollars short of the bread he'd need to be competetive, and it doesn't help having rinky dink $50 a seat events like last night's.
But at least he puts illegal immigration on the map.
Tommy Thompson as a
Tommy Thompson as a prospective candidate is only slightly sillier than Joe Biden, Wes Clark, or Dennis Kucinich on the (D) side of the ballot.
And he's tied with Duncan Hunter, Ron Paul (who?), George "you're fucking kidding me" Pataki, and Sam Brownback as the objects of wishful thinking on the part of the candidates and their alleged supporters in the 2008 campaign.
So I'd go for the Mormon, the Mick, or the Wop before I'd go for the ghetto executive.
I just moved, and I was rude
I just moved, and I was rude enough not to leave a forwarding address for the GOP. So no campaign solicitations as yet. I think, though, that when it comes down to the wire, it might be worth it to me to give a substantial amount of money to the non-Hillary candidate. Even if it's a Mormon, a Mick, or even a former HHS Secretary.