Hey, Donors. Why Not Fund Some Bloggers?
Last night, at The Best. Book. Party. Evah!, I was talking to the lovely Mollie Hemingway about the Republican Party’s annoying penchant for backing 2010 candidates that will fit in really nicely at the monthly wine and cheese klatches but who repulse the grassroots. As both of us are Libertarians, we could shake our heads and lament the sorry state of the GOP (while noting that we’re pretty much doomed if it doesn’t get its act together).
Jules Crittenden has noticed the same thing in his home state, as the Massachusetts GOP is in such disarray that it’s nowhere near ready to mount a real attempt to take the seat formerly occupied by Ted Kennedy. This part of his post is a crying shame:
Well, I was talking to a friend of mine the other day. Former candidate, political activist, successful businessman with enough money to throw a couple grand at good causes every now and then.
Nobody calls him anymore. There might not even be anyone to make the calls. Not clear whether there are even any phones. And even if they had people on phones, there is no indication lately that they have a coherent message, despite the target-rich environment. Nothing.
Perhaps Jules’ friend could send that money to the good cause of citizen journalism and grassroots punditry. I know my tip jar could use a good rattling, and I’m far from the only one. Imagine what good that businessman could do if he picked a dozen bloggers and donated fifty bucks a month for a whole year. It’s a good bet that he donates at least 6 grand to GOP causes over the course of a year, which is how much that act of grassroots support would cost him.
I guarantee you that the bloggers would be a darned sight more grateful than the Massachusetts GOP and he’d be able to see the effect his money had every day.
Now imagine what might happen if ten such businessmen were to do the same thing. You think a conservative blogger might be able to find a little bit of breathing room, or buy some equipment to make his blog posts better if he had 500 dollars coming in from his blog each month?
I keep hearing how the left-wing blogosphere is beating the pants off the right. Well, the reason that’s true is because the left funds its big bloggers (and quite a few of its not so big bloggers). Perhaps some of that money that the GOP isn’t earning could go to bloggers who are working their tails off.
Other Posts of Interest:
- I Offer My Blogging Friend a Larf.
- Don’t Stiff the Bloggers, Media Boy
- Some Bloggers Write Books. Some Rattle the Tip Jar. Guess Which I Am?
Category: Blogs and Blogging
I know you think I'm crazy, but here's a real concept, does tort reform actually work? It certainly doesn't lower health insurance premiums, and we've done it 38 states, so we actually know. There's some evidence that it does lower malpractice premiums. And there's some evidence that it increases malpractice. And there's a lot of evidence that it increases profits on malpractice insurance. In theory, these profits should translate into cost savings in other aspects, but they only seem to translate into bigger boats for insurance executives. I'm all for tort reform if it's done right. But doing it right is really hard. Still, I do think it's worth a try. If nothing else, it might buy a Republican vote. But let's do some cost/ benefit analysis on it. Doctors are remarkably delusional about financial issues, so I wouldn't trust them. And I certainly would trust the lawyers. From what it seems, it has increased health care costs slightly. And it seems to have increased deaths from medical procedures. But I'd like to see a real study. In the end, it doesn't matter since most states have already passed this reform with no apparent effect besides a little uptick in deaths, so let's do it if that what it takes to get the vote we need. Republicans always like killing people, but is this enough deaths for Republicans to get on board? Ans is this enough profit of death to get the insurance companies on board?
The MA RNC calls me up and/or mails me looking for money every once in a while.
I told them that I would be more than happy to donate as soon as they stop acting like the People's Front Of Judea Committee from Monty Python's Life Of Brian.