Shift reported last week about how Jay Inslee’s schedule has been wearing him out, so much that he took a week off just before Labor Day. The vacation week came after two months of heavy duty with fundraising events and trips to Aspen, Cleveland, San Francisco, etc.
Now rested up from his strenuous campaigning schedule (and not-so-heavy official duties), our “green” governor has returned to his true calling – begging for money with fundraising hooks that strain the imagination.
The latest one came in late Friday afternoon, pleading with his grassroots donors to open up their pocket books for just a few bucks, because “with just a few hours left before midnight, we’re $1,851 short of hitting our ($60,000) target. We can’t afford to fall short.”
And just to show his email donors that their money truly mattered, Jay put that last $1,851 into context:
“It’s crucial that we meet our goal. We’ll be deciding over the next 24 hours what we need to do to make sure every grassroots supporter is there for us when voting starts in October — and through Election Day.”
That’s right, Jay and his campaign cronies were to decide on Saturday, Sept. 10 – 60 days before the election – whether they could execute their grassroots plans in full force, or whether they would have to cut back due to the lack of $1,851.
What makes this so laughable is the context provided by a blog by the Seattle P-I’s Joel Connelly a couple days before Inslee hit ‘send’ on his email. In that piece, it was noted that “The list of people, corporations, unions and Indian tribes who’ve donated at least $1,000 to the reelection campaign of Gov. Jay Inslee stretches to 141 pages, at an average of 15 names to a page, on the state Public Disclosure Commission website. The incumbent, seeking to perpetuate a 32 year Democratic reign in the Governor’s office, has reported raising $8.16 million while spending less than half of the war chest. Inslee has set a $12 million target in winning a second term.”
So much for Inslee’s lie about depending on the grassroots. As Connelly wrote, “The Inslee campaign follows parallel tracks in the pursuit of campaign dollars. It has consistently boasted of its financial advantage over (Republican challenger Bill) Bryant, sneering at the challenger’s figures, while pleading poverty in email blasts to small givers.
“Just days after a $1 million dinner with President Obama, Inslee fundraiser Tracy Newman was sounding a dirge straight out of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony, warning donors: ‘Friend, I’m worried. If we don’t pick it up we may not hit our fundraising goals and if this election has taught me anything, it’s that we need to be prepared for anything. With Bryant launching his TV ad, we have to turn this around — now!’”
And, whether Inslee hit his fundraising goal or not, the begging will continue. That you count on.
