Radnofsky Mailers

Oh no! (0.00 / 0)

'this man is degrading the name of the famous dancer! restore honor to film. vote for radnofsky'

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by: Karl-Thomas Musselman @ Thu Mar 30, 2006 at 21:06:02 PM UTC

you know, reading this makes me wonder (0.00 / 0)

is it really smart to continue to harp on Kelly as the dead candidate, rather than selling herself as the best candidate?

the fact is, she needs some of those people who voted for kelly in the primary to vote for her now, continueing with the ridicule of kelly, sort of can't help but be read as ridicule of the people who voted for him initially,

translation" you people were so stupid you thought that this guy running was a dead dancer, now all you stupid heads who voted for him, show up in april and fix what you did"

i'm just not sure this is the best tactic. it's a little immature, and does nothing to tell people why they Should vote for Barb,

hmmmm

Prisoner of hope.

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by: comeon @ Thu Mar 30, 2006 at 21:10:21 PM UTC

mailer (0.00 / 0)

Check the rest of the mailer. They are filled with good reasons as to why to vote FOR BAR. I just pulled that little part out because it was funny.

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by: Karl-Thomas Musselman @ Thu Mar 30, 2006 at 21:11:27 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

sorry, was in a hurry and didn't click on the link (0.00 / 0)

still, i think enough is enough in terms of ragging on kelly.

i'm ready for the dancer is dead stuff to die.

but yea, those are really good mailers

Prisoner of hope.

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by: comeon @ Thu Mar 30, 2006 at 21:14:21 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

comeon (0.00 / 0)

It's so much fun though!  People need to know the dancer is dead, to maybe stop this from ever happening again.

Can our older readers remember if he was ever put to rest in a past campaign? Did the state party apparatus try to inform people about him then?

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by: Karl-Thomas Musselman @ Thu Mar 30, 2006 at 21:24:43 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

well k-t, by your standards i probably qualify as <i>older</i> (0.00 / 0)

though i don't care to think of myself that way.

in answer, not that i recall

and perhaps it is my advanced age, but what you find funny, i just find tired.

but maybe that's a reflection on me and my rather flat though often biting sense of humor

Prisoner of hope.

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by: comeon @ Thu Mar 30, 2006 at 21:35:16 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

how about (2.00 / 1)

more experienced readers. :)

I say you are only as old as you are at heart. For Dick Cheney, that's about 96.

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by: Karl-Thomas Musselman @ Thu Mar 30, 2006 at 21:40:30 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Well.. (0.00 / 0)

Horrible misuse of campaign resources to dump six figures into a program that just reaches triple D's, while ignoring the rest of the electorate.  Why not spend that money going on TV in markets that have run-offs and also build some name recognition with general election voters.

Plus, all but the third pieces look REALLY ugly to me!  Just no "style" to the piece.  It's not funny, it's not scary, and it doesn't piss me off.  There is ZERO emotional appeal...

Ok, I'm finished being critical for the time being, it's just frustrating to watch a campaign with money make mistakes.

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by: David O. @ Thu Mar 30, 2006 at 21:35:18 PM UTC

so (0.00 / 0)

maybe they should have hired your firm. :)  Those were some pretty damn good ads though this cycle.

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by: Karl-Thomas Musselman @ Thu Mar 30, 2006 at 21:41:25 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

i see your point (0.00 / 0)

and she's definatly targeting the wrong demographic

but i think the mailers make her look nice and caring, and really, that should be all it takes to get people to vote for her over someone they've really never heard of before.

you don't allways have to scare or anger people into voting.

she can save the scary stuff for the general

Prisoner of hope.

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by: comeon @ Thu Mar 30, 2006 at 21:49:10 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Speaking of mistakes... (0.00 / 0)

After the Travis County Democratic Convention last weekend, I spotted a Radnofsky bumper sticker on a car in the Threadgill's parking lot.

It said:

  "Tough name,
  Smart dame" in really big letters.

And "Barbara Radnofsky for US Senate" in teeny-tiny, impossible-to-read-from-more-than-a-foot-away fine print at the bottom.

Way to pump up the name rec there, Barbara!

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by: IanX @ Thu Mar 30, 2006 at 22:24:58 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Those are the old ones... (0.00 / 0)

the new ones say Barbara Ann and look very nice.

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by: The Trey @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 02:07:57 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

They're till available on the website... (0.00 / 0)

And the one I saw on the car looked pretty new.

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by: IanX @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 15:31:32 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

That should say "STILL" available on the website... (0.00 / 0)

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by: IanX @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 15:31:52 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

TV (0.00 / 0)

I don't remember any of the political ads that ran four weeks ago.  Radnofsky doesn't have enough money to advertise on TV enough to get people to remember her name.  Mail's the way to go in a runoff where virtually no one will vote.

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by: Jobu @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 02:12:38 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I agree (0.00 / 0)

I agree that this is a waste of money.

Spending 3 figures before the general on this kind of mailer is a bad idea.

As A republican, I would like Kelly to win, but I feel Radnofsky has it locked up.

This was a waste.

Conservative Yet Pragmatic

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by: rightoftexas @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 16:24:47 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

are you sure (0.00 / 0)

One of the strategies Republicans have used to influence elections for the past 30 years is the Rovian direct mail program. It works and that's why we're in the mess we're in now.

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by: Tejana @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 17:24:06 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Rove did do Direct Mail... (0.00 / 0)

But his techniques were COMPLETELY different.  He played pyschologically on people's emotions.  He mainly used fear.  It's very effective to get people to the polls.  He also targeted voters who voted DEMOCRATIC, yet were socially conservative.  He used fear to motivate them to change their votes. 

He mainly used phones and whisper campaigns in primary races, to spread lies about opponents with some level of deniability. 

Rove IS good.  I have studied him QUITE extensively.  He is good because of his strategies, not just because he "used direct mail."

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by: David O. @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 20:19:32 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Direct mail (0.00 / 0)

If used efficiently and correctly, does work. For a low-turnout primary run-off, it's the one thing that is guaranteed to make an impact.
The reason BAR is in a runoff to begin with is because she took the Primary for granted and was acting as the Democratic nominee, gearing up for November. The DSCC money will come after the primary.
The moral of this little story - Don't count your primary victories before you ask people to vote for you.

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by: Tejana @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 21:33:16 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I do not believe at all (0.00 / 0)

that Radnofsky has this "wrapped up."  For whatever reason Gene Kelly gets alot of votes.  I have no idea why---but I don't believe it is simply the name.  I think it could be in protest to the establishment candidate.

It however is completely ridiculous that Radnofsky is in a runoff at all.  There was really no other opposition.  She should have gotten out of the primary without any real issue.

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by: Gabe @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 20:51:10 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

say what (5.00 / 1)

It's the Democratic Primary. You target Democrats who actually care about who the nominee is. A horrible misuse of campaign funds is buying TV/Radio. For one, it's pretty damn expensive, especially in the major markets of Dallas and Houston.
Spending money on mail is something Barbara should have done a month ago.

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by: Tejana @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 17:21:02 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

LOL... (0.00 / 0)

How much, exactly IS TV in those Markets?  How much is TV in smaller markets?  Would you know which markets to touch voters in?  Which markets will have a turnout that is higher than the rest of the state?  How about how much each touch with direct mail costs verses each touch on television? 

This isn't a game of guessing; there are actual mathematical formulas that explain which use of money is more effective.  A LOT of candidates are scared away from TV, expecting it to be more expensive, when, in fact, it is actually cheaper.

Some people had a very good payday due to these mail pieces.  The truth is there are good consultants and bad consultants.  Good consultants help you spend your money effectively, and, in return, recieve a fair fee.  This fee is actually far LESS than you would lose if you were spending your money yourself.  Thus, a good consultant will save you money.  A bad consultant merely wants to maximize their profits.  They will reccomend the wrong course of action solely because it maximizes their profits.  For a print run as large as this, the cost per piece is driven so far down that it is FAR more profitable than spending a comperable amount of money on television. 

These mail peices probably will lead to Radnofsky's victory in the runoff (the Gov. race proved that ANY communication beats NO communication).  However, they do NOTHING to help in November. It's a shame, seeing as how this is not, and will not become a DSCC targetted race, thus resources will be VERY VERY tight. 

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by: David O. @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 20:32:49 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

It's a waste of money (5.00 / 1)

Dallas is market 7 and Houston is market 11. What kind of spot would you create? What time slots and how many rotations would you buy?
It makes no damn sense to sink $500K in a spot that may run twice a week for 2 weeks at the beginning of the 5pm news. And that's just in the two major markets. Austin and San Antonio are top 50 markets, too. So, with $300k, themajor markets and the smaller markets would be able to not see one BAR spot at 5pm one day a week.

I hope no one is paying you to drain their accounts on bad info.

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by: Tejana @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 21:17:19 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Another thing (0.00 / 0)

First thing's first - you get through the primary. No one is doing ANYTHING about November until after the primary.

That's one thing I miss about Austin - everyone's a freakin' consultant.

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by: Tejana @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 21:22:14 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

For a Democratic primary runoff (4.00 / 2)

Why would you want to spend money marketing to the general electorate?

As for TV, no local runoff is going to get even 10% of the statewide votes, so you would have to market in quite a few locations, and still nobody in Dimmit county is going to know who BAR is. Dimmit gave Kelly a 1000 vote margin in the 2000 runoff. You can't ignore the Dimmitites. If you neutralized Kelly's margin in his top 35 counties from the 2000 runoff, he would still have beaten Gandy. He won 160. His 2006 primary numbers were pretty similar to the 2000 primary numbers.

You can argue two ads instead of three, subset of 3Ds, better copy, better pictures etc etc but spending that budget on tv in a handful of runoff markets would guarantee a GK-KBH rematch.

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by: George @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 17:24:58 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Voting (0.00 / 0)

So if I signed Kinky's petition, can I also vote for Radnofsky?  Or will I invalidate my petition signature?

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by: Jobu @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 02:09:16 AM UTC

It will invalidate your Kinky petition (5.00 / 2)

so please go vote in the runoff!
:)

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by: muse @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 02:47:26 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Put me down for Gene (3.00 / 2)

I'm voting for Gene Kelly.  Two reasons: anyone who spends six figures on such crappy mailers isn't qualified to handle my tax dollars in Washington and we could use a candidate or two who doesn;t campaign and scold us at every turn.

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by: BenBentzin'sBrain @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 03:38:11 AM UTC

she needs (0.00 / 0)

to decide if she wants to go by Barbara Ann or Barbara, there needs to be consistency

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by: David Mauro @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 05:08:49 AM UTC

It should have said (0.00 / 0)

This Gene Kelly has run 10 times and lost 10 times.

The Real Gene Kelly is Dead.

This Gene Kelly is Almost Dead.

Finish him off. Vote Radnofsky for Senate

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by: Geoff @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 07:19:22 AM UTC

Appalling (4.00 / 2)

I am not really supportive of Radnofsky but also not really supportive of Hutchison who despite her "poll numbers" is completely out of touch with the needs of the average Texan and that is the basis I will vote for Radnofsky. She at least has some sense of how many Texans have not only been disenfranchised but completely disconnected by their US Senators.

I also find it appalling that Radnofsky would even be in a runoff with Gene Kelly.  The ramifications of that alone should be a wake-up call to the state party. I think it reflects how it has also "disenfranchised and disconnected" a majority of Democrats in Texas who simply no longer vote. But it also reflects how important it is for all of us to "reconnect" with regard to Radnofsky and urge everyone we know to vote in the primary and ensure Gene Kelly maintains his perfect record as an 11 time loser and to vote in November and ensure we are able to say "Adios, MoFo" to Kay Bailey Hutchison.

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by: Baby Snooks @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 17:25:09 PM UTC

I am voting for Hutchison (0.00 / 0)

I have voted in Democratic primaries and general elections since I was first eligible to vote back in 2000, and since then the only Republican I have voted for has been Hutchison.

I am not sure I would say the Hutchison is completely "out of touch" with people.  Hey, Senators are busy.  One day, they are in D.C. and they next they are in El Paso and Dallas after that. Barbara will also seem out of touch if she were to become Senator.  It's just the nature of the job.

If this were a race between Cornyn and Barbara, blindfolded I would vote for Barbara.  Alas, Barbara is not running against Cornyn. 

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by: Aero @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 19:49:32 PM UTC