Fred Thompson Pump N’ Dump

4:36 pm EST June 6th, 2007 | Uncategorized | 8 Comments

After leaving the Giuliani campaign (maybe it became clear his pro-choice standing was a non-starter) Patrick Ruffini writes about what he terms as fund raising success for Hollywood actor Fred Thompson, but the commenters on the site refute that notion pretty quickly.

Topic:

Related Posts

«
»

8 Responses to “Fred Thompson Pump N’ Dump”

  1. Hedley says:
    June 6, 2007 at 5:01 pm

    And Ruffini’s rebuttal:

    “What Romney did was innovative too, but it was fundamentally different.

    Romney got 400 high-rollers in a room to dial for dollars, $2,300 at a time. And not to contribute, but to pledge. Did Romney get new people involved in the process, or was this just the people who would have contributed anyway (e.g. Bainiacs)?

    Thompson puts up a website with no email list, no calling operation, and collects about $220,000 virtually unsolicited. That looks to me like actual grassroots, and the number signed up backs it up.

    The real apples to apples comparison is this: on the day MittRomney.com launched, how many people spontaneously came to the website, opened their wallet and contributed? Without knowing anyone in the operation, and without being called?

    Look at it another way. Thompson signed up nearly as many people in 24 hours as Romney’s Sign Up America, except it was 100% online, he did it with no call centers, and without activating his high dollar donors.

    I think what the Romney campaign overall is doing is very innovative, from the Sign Up effort to the call centers to the dialathons. But it’s almost all PUSHED through existing peer-to-peer networks — not people just hearing about it on TV and being moved to go there on their own. That’s the difference.”

  2. Oliver says:
    June 6, 2007 at 5:09 pm

    I don’t find either method fundamentally different. Thompson pushed his site on tv, people didn’t just magically find it. And the number ain’t impressive either by comparison with top tier Dems or Reps.

  3. z adura says:
    June 6, 2007 at 6:54 pm

    The method isn’t different but the network certainly is. If you have friends at Bain, rest assured you will get a call.

  4. CosmoReaxer says:
    June 6, 2007 at 11:37 pm

    Oliver:

    The method actually is different. Romney had his folks call up known donors to BUNDLE. Thompson just put the links out there and the money rolled in. Ergo: That’s all small donors who can give again. Just watch — he’s the Republican Obama.

    Plus, the commenters there are all Romney fans — Hewitt is about as far in the bag for Romney as could be.

  5. C.S.Strowbridge says:
    June 7, 2007 at 5:03 am

    “Just watch — he’s the Republican Obama.”

    Except, as it was pointed out, Obama can do those numbers every day for months on end.

    This isn’t impressive unless it magically grows over the next weeks / months.

  6. Matt says:
    June 7, 2007 at 8:44 am

    Fred Thompson, son, don’t take a dump without a plan.

    Is this irritating yet?

  7. Nimrod Gently says:
    June 7, 2007 at 4:10 pm

    Yes, yes it is.

    At the very least you could have said “don’t take a pump n’dump” this time.

  8. Wellstone says:
    June 7, 2007 at 8:58 pm

    What’s obvious to me is that “Oven” Mitt, the darling of the GOP’s elite establishment, has officially crashed and burned.

    Thompson is now the beneficiary of the GOP’s huge and legendary cash and political machine, and he will run a classic GOP race starting now.

    Problem is, the Election is still 18 months away, and Thompson is going to have to really bank on his actor’s training and not muff any lines.

    As another candidate, Allen, learned to his dismay, it ain’t 2000 anymore. YouTube and guerrilla blogging done changed all that, and shockingly blew Allen out of both the Senate and the GOP Candidacy in a matter of a couple of weeks.

    Now, Ruffini is going to have to try and model the GOP’s “message discipline” mantra for the Web, and for 18 months straight, and thru the vicious personal and profesional attacks of the GOP primaries, and thru months of the General without a “Macaca” moment from Thompson.

    That’s going to be a tall order. See, the problem for the GOP is that most of their platform is unpopular with the average American voter.

    In the past they used Clinton, they used their control of the media, they used 911, they used National Security, they used vote suppression, they used strategic wins in swing state governorships to get people like Blackwell and Harris to decide close Elections.

    But now, they simply no longer have the trust of the American people that they can do the right thing.

    And four more very serious things: They will be behind in the polls, they will be behind in money, they will have Iraq around their neck like a burning tire, and they will have the stinking rotting “Political Cadaver” (tm-Hugo Chavez) of George W Bush to drag around with them everywhere they go.

    I love it!

    I normally would not want to be Patrick Ruffini on a double-dare bet. Now, forget it!

    Ruffini, you’re SOOOO going to get blamed for ALL the GOP’s problems!! I will be very surprised if you come out of the ’08 cycle with any credibility or career left.