Wow. This $250,000 fundraising drive started Friday night at 11 Eastern to match the money that Cheney was going to raise today with his private $2000 a head luncheon. 7,902 Dean supporters have not only matched that goal, but have nearly doubled it in a day (the first goal was met last night around 10:30 Eastern). The average donation is $52.59, just 2.6% of the donation amount for the luncheon attendees. Incredible.
Also, listen to “All Things Considered” this afternoon for a story about the Dean campaign.
I just came back from the Venice boardwalk where I was manning the Dean tent. Lots of strange people in Venice… had a few people come up to learn more about Dean, while others come to talk about how much they disliked Bush. Got at least one person to sign up for Dean information, which is pretty good, considering how light traffic was… this afternoon should be pretty good. It’s a beautiful day.
The fundraising this weekend to beat Cheney is going very well: “As of 2pm ET, supporters have raised $130,572.50 online in the Dean Team vs. Bush-Cheney Challenge, with 2,319.” That’s just $56.31 per person! Compare that to the $2000 per person Cheney will raise in SC. We’re halfway to the Monday midnight goal, which is great. The number of contributers have tripled since last night, and the total has more than doubled in value. Now money isn’t everything, of course, but this shows the kind of widespread support this campaign has. With the money, the campaign will be able to open offices in more cities and get in touch with people who aren’t connecting via the websites.
I’m going to hold off on my contribution until Monday, when they’ll update the numbers every half hour.
I’ll be out on Venice Beach on the boardwalk tabling for Dean tomorrow morning. Come by the boardwalk if you want to say “Hello” or check out our propaganda. We’ll be located at Rose and Ocean Front Walk.
Dick Cheney is holding a fundraising luncheon this coming Monday in SC. The Dean campaign has decided this would be a good opportunity to match Cheney’s numbers. The luncheon will cost $2000 per person (the contribution limit). So that’s 125 people. As of midnight ET, the Dean campaign has raised $50,379.53 from 743 contributors. That’s an average of only $67.81 per person! If you want to contribute, any amount is welcome. I’ll probably give them another $25 this weekend.
Kerry’s my second choice at this point. However, he’s probably a good second choice. Tonight a number of Kerry supporters will be meeting at Britannia Pub in Santa Monica, just off the Third Street Promenade. Let me know if you want to join me for a Guinness (I’m wearing my Guinness shirt!) and meet some Kerry supporters. If it’s anything like the Dean MeetUp, there won’t be anything exciting going on, but you’ll be able to talk to people about why they support Kerry, what’s wrong with Bush, etc., etc.
Heh. I think Bill Maher compared Kerry to Treebeard, the “living, walking tree-shepherd” from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
