August 6, 2008 - 4:29pm
Attacks, ad-buy arithmetic dog Shaheen
By Dante ScalaRobby Mook, Jeanne Shaheen's new campaign manager, sent out an "urgent video message" yesterday to her supporters, asking for an extra half-million dollars to respond to attacks by "outside right-wing groups."
During the two-minute video, Mook notes that U.S. Sen. John Sununu leads Shaheen in cash on hand by more than $3 million. Sununu currently sits on roughly $5 million, according to second-quarter Federal Election Commission reports. We all know Senate races are expensive, but how important is this $3 million gap? Is a $5 million war chest overkill?
To start to answer that question, let's keep in mind how expensive it is to advertise on television in New Hampshire. Campaigns advertise locally, of course, on WMUR. But to reach all the eyeballs in southern New Hampshire, Boston television is also a must. And to be thorough, throw in ad buys at stations in Portland, Maine, and Plattsburgh, N.Y.
In the weeks prior to the New Hampshire primary, for example, top-flight campaigns such as those of John McCain, Mitt Romney, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton regularly spent at least $250,000 a week on advertising in Boston and on WMUR. Those numbers skyrocketed in the last days before the primary.
Based on those numbers, let's guesstimate that Shaheen and Sununu will spend at roughly this rate during the fall -- $300,000 a week on average, to be conservative. There are nine weeks between Labor Day and Election Day (if they wait until after the state primary, eliminate one week of spending). That works out to a bill of $2.7 million for each candidate before one spends a dollar on direct mail. Or radio. Or cable television. Or staff.
Ad-buy arithmetic explains the urgency of Mook's appeal. Given the burn rate of the Shaheen campaign so far, compared to that of Sununu's, every dollar counts.
Dante Scala teaches American politics at the University of New Hampshire and blogs at Graniteprof.
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Quote of the Day
August 28, 2008
"Having the primary on top of the holiday season, just barely a few days after the Iowa caucus, I think does a great disservice to the voters," he said. "The idea that we had holiday greeting television ads was just unbelievable."
New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley discussing the DNC's primary commission
-The Concord Monitor
Recent Press Releases
Syndicate
spend spend spend
This is not surprising since all NH Democrats seem to want to do is waste bucketloads of cash frivolously and then beg for more when it comes down to the wire. Just look at the drunken Democrat sailors in Concord if you need an example!
They hemorrhage our State's funds, run up a massive budget deficit, and then discuss ways to implement a Sales and Income tax at their State Convention!
Same old, same old from the usual wasteful Democrats here in NH...
Follow The Money
And just WHERE did the Sununu campaign get all this cash? That's a real story, not who's got most.
and Shaheen?
And what about Shaheen's money? The first thing that comes to mind is the bucketloads of cash she has received by Union and Labor leadership PAC's in exchange for her support of anti-worker and anti-business legislation entitled "Employee Free Choice Act"... which would rob this State's employees of the right to a private ballot when their workplaces take a vote on union organization and open up the workplace to violence and intimidation.
That is just one example. The "big oil tax cuts" that Shaheen's camp has been hammering Sununu on... were voted for by their boy Barack Obama as well!
Who cares?
Its private money, and its putting money into the economy. The only downside is that we need to sit through all of the silly ads (unless you have a DVR or Tivo :o) ).
Corporations Against Workers
It's been disgusting to see how corporations have been trying to keep employees "in their place," and their wages down, by the ad campaigns raising fears that unions want to take the right of a "secret ballot" away. It's also phony.
Of course, corporations will fund such an ad campaign because they want to keep those wages down -- and keeping the workers disorganized without a union is the best way to do that. The CEOs get salaries hundreds of times the average wage of the line workers. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
It's about time we have a President and Congress who will speak up for the rest of us. It's about time that unions be allowed a fair chance to organize in the Walmarts and food/restaurant chains and other corporate companies so that workers will have decent pay, better working conditions, health care, and job security.
Jim Splaine, from your post
Jim Splaine, from your post it seems that you have never worked for an industry that had union shops. I was a union guy my whole life (by trade, not by choice) and year after year I was forced to pay dues for paltry raises which were based on the status quo and not merrit, and had benefits that made walmart look good. Guess what, when workers demand too much and produce too little businesses go elsewhere. Why do you think the automakers in Detroit are in such a dire situation, while at the same time the foreign competitors are building factories in the south, are non-union but still pay strong wages and benefits.
How do you feel about the secret ballot Mr. Splaine? Do you support an individuals right or do you want to take away that right by forcing people to disclose whether they want to unionize or not, which could lead to thuggery by pro-union employees.
Shaheen is Making Sununu's Point for Him
Did Mr. Mook just admit to wasting tons of contributor's money, getting nowhere in the polls, and then have the audacity to come out and beg for more?
"Hey NH, I know we just wasted all of your contributions on bad ads and staff salary, but send some more and I promise to use it better this time."
This is your campaign strategy?!?!
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