Donations to the RNS have plunged by 40 percent. This week the committee fired all 65 of its phone solicitors. The Washington Times cites anger over the immigration issue, with outbursts from more than "99 percent" of would-be donors.
According to a Friday report in the Times:
"The phone-bank employees were terminated," RNC spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt wrote by e-mail in response to questions sent by The Times. "This was not an easy decision. The first and primary motivating factor was the state of the phone bank technology, which was outdated and difficult to maintain. The RNC was advised that we would soon need an entire new system to remain viable."
Fired employees acknowledged that the committee's phone equipment was outdated, but said a sharp drop-off in donations "probably" hastened the end of the RNC's in-house phone-bank operation.
"Last year, my solicitations totaled $164,000, and this year the way they were running for the first four months, they would total $100,000 by the end of 2007," said one fired phone bank solicitor who asked not to be identified.
3 comments:
Could the way we got in and have since handled the Iraq war be a factor or is it all immigration that the Repubs are jumping ship? Is opinion about the war still seperated by party?
It has little to do with the war, and far more to do with the tin-eared policies of the RNC and Bush administration.
Immigration is the latest gaff, but this started back at Harriet Miers, or actually - it started back in 2006 with the NRSC.
When they call, we tell them to act like conservatives and get their heads out of their, uh, we politely tell them we prefer to give to candidates instead of political parties.
It's tough - Democrats are financed by unions, and that's a significant chunk of change the RNC has to match, but giving money to them is worse than useless.
I wonder if the Democrats on Capitol Hill will hold hearings into these firings as well?
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