Roger Ailes on Political Media
A 1988 C&E interview with the one-time master of political media.
Campaign Insider
Sen. Feinstein suffers donation setback in fraud case
by Sean J. Miller / May 16 2012
Sen. Dianne Feinstein got some mixed news this week from the Federal Election Commission. The California Democrat had asked the FEC whether she could collect "replacement contributions" from her donors after losing millions in campaign funds to embezzlement.
The commission ruled May 15 that if the contributor's donation had been "either deposited into one of the Committee's accounts, cashed, or otherwise used by the Committee, that contribution counts against the contributor's per-election
How Romney can regain control of the media narrative
by Sean J. Miller / May 16 2012
A sitting president has an enormous advantage over his challenger, which is part of the reason why only two elected incumbents have lost the White House in the last 50 years.
Whoever sits in the Oval Office can shape the national debate and President Obama has done just that in recent weeks. Take the last two as an example. Obama put same-sex marriage at the forefront of the national conversation when May 9
Retail vs. wholesale online politics
by Colin Delany / May 16 2012
If C&E's CampaignTech conference is any indication, online politicos are going to fight on two different kinds of ground in 2012, and they’d better be ready for both. We might think of them as the air war and the ground war, but those words also apply to television advertising and grassroots organizing. A better metaphor might be retail vs. wholesale—one-on-one vs. mass communications.
Online advertising shows the distinction clearly. The majority of today’s
Is political fundraising easy?
by Erik Nilsson / May 15 2012
The simple answer is yes, if you base all your campaign fundraising activity around promoting specific events.
Is it really that simple? Well, yes and no. The boffins at Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich conducted an interesting study of fundraising data before and after the 2004 tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia.
What they uncovered is that we humans all follow universal behaviors regardless of our country of origin when it comes to making donations. Moreover, they found
Perfect timing or perfect plan?
by Sean J. Miller / May 14 2012
For the first time in recent memory, Democrats appear more comfortable than Republicans talking about social issues. President Obama and his party have focused the national conversation on things like access to birth control and same-sex marriage. By doing so, they’ve shifted focus away from the jittery economy and put Mitt Romney in an awkward position.
Every time Romney moves to talk about social issues he’s not addressing the economy, the topic where
Momentum builds for FEC to allow text-to-donate
by Erik Nilsson / May 10 2012
Firms are putting pressure on the Federal Election Commission to give its blessing to text-message campaign contributions. For those in the Beltway last cycle, you may remember that "text-to-donate" was the hot snake oil of 2010. Several companies and consultants tried to ride the buzz of the successful Haiti text-donation efforts.
Text-message contributions aren’t allowed under federal law. But there are reports that firms are upping the pressure on the FEC to
Was Obama's latest ad buy made with same-sex marriage in mind?
by Sean J. Miller / May 10 2012
The Obama campaign waded into the TV ad market this week with a multi-state, four-week $24.2 million buy. The president had been getting pinpricked for weeks by GOP-aligned Super PACs and it made sense to respond. But in light of the news Wednesday that President Obama now supports same-sex marriage, the strategy behind the buy might've been proactive. In fact, it's possible the buy, which is for 30 and 60-second positive ads,
By the ad numbers: Mourdock’s Indiana Senate primary win
by Chris Palko / May 09 2012
Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock’s primary victory over six-term incumbent Sen. Dick Lugar last night was years in the making. Mourdock’s long-term courtship of the party faithful helped him consolidate the movement conservative vote behind him. With no threat of another challenger dividing the anti-Lugar vote, Mourdock was able to demonstrate enough credibility to draw in outside help.
Meanwhile, Lugar was able to utilize the superior resources available to a veteran of almost four
Campaign comedy can be no laughing matter for candidates
by Robert Spicer / May 08 2012
Comedy is an integral part of the political process and has been for some time. Research shows it can have an impact on public perception of issues and candidates. Just think of Tina Fey as Sarah Palin on NBC's “Saturday Night Live.” Her performance helped define the GOP's vice presidential nominee during the 2008 cycle.
Now, there are even examples of a blurred line between comedy and politics. Stephen Colbert attempted to
A missed opportunity on Twitter?
by Kellen Giuda / May 07 2012
Ann Romney, you’ve probably heard, recently joined Twitter. You may have caught the news if you follow politics very closely. Since this story broke, however, you’ve probably not seen one of her tweets in your Twitter stream.
Now, this isn’t to single out the former first lady of Massachusetts for being slow to embrace the medium. She’s not the only one guilty of lackadaisical tweeting. In fact, there’s not much chance that
How Mitt Romney is making the most of campaign limbo
by Robert Spicer / May 04 2012
As we enter the fluid stage of the campaign before the party conventions, Mitt Romney has sought to blunt some of the arguments that will be central to President Obama’s reelection effort. Diluting the power of Obama’s messaging is a perfect way to kill the next few months. Here’s what the Romney camp has focused on:
1. Kill the killing of bin Laden story. One of the most politically potent moments of the Obama
Could John Edwards have been charged with something else?
by Allen Dickerson / May 03 2012
Prosecutorial discretion, some have suggested, is an on-off switch. In other words, prosecutors choose whether or not to charge someone. But that’s not always how it works.
Prosecutors often are choosing what to charge someone with. Was a particular killing murder, or manslaughter? Was the defendant reckless or merely negligent? Is there enough evidence to prove a conspiracy, or merely an uncoordinated act? These technical questions are at the heart of prosecutorial
