Brand Name: "War President" [1]
Submitted by Diane Farsetta [2] on
How is Bush-Cheney '04 [3] like a marketing campaign? "In 2000, Mr. Bush shattered fund-raising records... by recruiting supporters to join a program called the Pioneers, fund-raisers who pledged to raise at least $100,000. This year, the campaign is broadening its reach by going for both higher-end and lower-end targets, just as marketers launch new products to capture different slices of the market." These include "Rangers" (who raise $200,000), "Super Rangers [4]" ($300,000), and "Mavericks" ($50,000), younger donors "heretofore dismissed as being insufficiently rich or politically active." Since the Federal Election Commission decided not to regulate groups separate from but aligned with political parties [5], the GOP is establishing "527 groups [6]" to counter liberal 527s like MoveOn.org [7] or The Media Fund [8], with the help of PR pro Craig Shirley [9], original "Pioneer" James Francis, Jr., and direct mail specialist Tom Synhorst [10].