“Get Your Resumes Ready”, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School senior, David Hogg warned Legislators at the 3/24/18 March for Our Lives rally in Washington, DC. The demonstration garnered an enormous number of people from all over the world, of all ages, to march for common sense gun control. David was speaking specifically to those who are tied to NRA policies through the massive amount of dollars the organization spends on their campaigns. Most of the speakers implored those attending, and listening, to vote. To their credit, the organizers had significant voter registration outreach at the marches. They have learned, just through the limited advocacy that they’ve done so far, that, if you don’t vote, you cannot make change. What may not be so apparent is, the sheer amount of money that candidates must raise to not only stay in a race, but to be competitive come election day. Sometimes you can’t get to the point of voting for the right candidate, because they don’t have the money to run an effective campaign.
So, let’s talk about the money, because as hard as it is to get the vote out, getting the money is even harder!
Love it or hate it, our political and legal system requires candidates to raise money to be competitive. Those yard signs you see don’t come cheap! I have never met a new candidate who isn’t shell-shocked at the utter amount of time they must spend “dialing for dollars”, especially when running against a well-funded incumbent.
For example, Speaker of the House of Representatives and NRA contribution recipient, Paul Ryan, R-(WI), has raised $11.3M this cycle, had $9.0M left over from the 2016 cycle, and currently has $10.5M on hand. His closest rival, before he announced he will not run for re-election this cycle, was Democrat Randy Bryce. Bryce raised $4.8M and has $2.2M on hand. That’s excellent for a first-time, unknown candidate, but you can easily see the disparity. Bryce is still going to need a lot of individual contributions to remain viable. Ryan can legally use his war chest any number of ways, one of which is to pass it on to the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee (RCCC). The RCCC can use the money to fund an alternate candidate, run ads against Bryce, or undertake large-scale Get Out The Vote (GOTV) efforts. Now, let’s look at another NRA recipient where money is going to play a significant role. Meet Barbara Comstock, R-(VA), who in a 10/4/17 New York Times Opinion piece, ranked #10 of the top 10 career recipients of NRA funding in the House of Representatives. ¹ The amount she has received from NRA is $137.2K and was derived from donations or spending that benefited her directly. She has raised $2.7M this cycle and has spent $1M. She has $1.8M on hand, which is the benefit of incumbency. There are carry-over dollars from the previous cycle. For the 2018 election, her closest rival is Democrat, Alison Friedman, who has raised $1.3M and only has $817K on hand. She is also for common-sense gun control. This is going to be a very contentious race, given the Democratic turn-out in Virginia’s municipal and statewide elections in 2017, and the district’s demographics. Friedman is going to need to raise a lot more money to effectively compete against Comstock.
This is where The Advocator can help. The Advocator is a new platform that allows everyday Americans, like you, to use social media and crowdfunding to form their own Political Action Committees (PACs) and fund the right candidates. It puts democracy back into the hands of the people to counter the money that candidates receive from organizations like the NRA, and others, whose agendas may be misaligned with the majority of people. Individuals and Coalitions can also use The Advocator to hire experienced Lobbyists to push their issue at the state and federal levels. Companies and organizations use Lobbyists and PACs consistently, not because they want to. They have them because it’s legal and they know it works. Why shouldn’t you? You’ve got to fight fire with fire. Very few people have the time or the relationships to perform sustained advocacy. The Advocator provides you the tools to make this happen.
While The Advocator may be new, it has actually been under development for some time. Its mission was actually born out of a frustration with the political process in the wake of the Sandy Hook E.S. tragedy, which took place 5 years ago. Although most Americans favored stronger gun legislation, Congress did nothing. We knew democracy was broken when federal legislators could not find their way out of the pockets of the NRA to do something as simple as expanded background checks, when 90% of adult Americans said that’s what they wanted. ² Not a whole lot changed in the intervening years between Sandy Hook E.S. and Marjory Stoneman Douglas H.S. (Parkland, FL), except there have been 438 people shot, 138 of whom were killed, in over 239 school shootings nationwide! ³ There have been an average of 1.4 school shootings per week in 2018, alone. There have been 9 since Parkland! 4
Everyone asks, will Parkland finally be the tragedy that brings about change? I think the answer is a resounding Yes! If any group can be successful in galvanizing the younger generations to vote and prodding adults to promote change, it will be these Parkland students. They are masterful in their efforts of inclusion. Just recently, Cameron Kasky, March For Our Lives Founder, tweeted to his over 356K Twitter Followers a request that they Follow Zion Kelly, a Washington DC student and speaker at the March. Zion lost his teen twin brother, Zaire, to gun violence in September 2017. Needless to say, his Followers are increasing dramatically. They included kids from Chicago, and wise beyond her 11 years, Naomi Wadler to speak at the March. They also included survivors from Sandy Hook E.S., some of whom are teens now. By building bridges with existing and budding activists, the Parkland students have ensured wide ranging support.
These young people have faced something most adults have not and would NEVER want to experience. By merely doing what they were supposed to do by going to school, they saw their friends and teachers gunned down while praying and sending good-bye messages to their parents. This leaves an indelible change on the psyche. Once you’ve faced down an AR 15, nothing in life will probably ever be that scary again. So, they’ve earned the right to call B.S. on the current state of affairs in a country where it’s easier for a teen to buy a killing machine than a drink. No one can EVER tell them they don’t know what they’re talking about. And I hope they continue to speak….loudly!
But it’s going to take more……a lot more. The students have had some successes, and these are not to be taken lightly. Polls indicate that 70% of Americans are right there with them in supporting stricter gun control laws.5 But, what they will find is, that this is a VERY long-haul game, with lots of set-backs. To be effective, it will take votes, it will take time, and it will take MONEY. Start your PAC on The Advocator today! Remember, democracy may be broken, but it’s up to us to keep it alive make it work for us, the people.
1 “Thoughts and Prayers and N.R.A. Funding” by DAVID LEONHARDT, IAN PRASAD,
PHILBRICK, and STUART A. THOMPSON– New York Times, 10/4/17
2 March 2013 Washington Post-ABC News Poll
3 “After Sandy Hook, More Than 400 People Have Been Shot in Over 200 School Shootings” by JUGAL K. PATEL– New York Times, 2/15/18
4 Source: CNN
5 CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll
Contribution data derived from 1st Quarter FEC filings due 4/15/18. Center for
Responsive Politics- www.opensecrets.org