Romney sweeps up the crumbs

(Photo Credit: Chris Glass © 2004)

After several trips to Utah to raise money from big donors, Mitt is coming back to take small contributions from the little people. Shows his priorities doesn't it?

His visit is part of a nationwide "Rally for Romney" effort announced Wednesday. Events are being held in more than 40 cities in 20 states through September. The Utah rally is set for Sept. 28 at the Salt Palace Convention Center, from 2 to 8 p.m.

Participants will be asked to call family and friends for smaller contributions, money that Romney told the Deseret Morning News is key to his campaign.

"I'll tell you, to raise the money you need to run for president, you've got to get donors who will write $100 checks or $50 checks to be part of your campaign," Romney said in a recent interview.
[...]
...This year, Romney has collected big checks in Salt Lake City, St. George, Logan and Deer Valley.

But the problem with big-money donors, Romney said, is that "you run out of them. So I've got to broaden the base of my supporters to people who haven't given before and who are willing to write what to some are small checks but to them are large checks."

The problem with big-money donors isn't just that there are fewer of them, but that it distorts your policies towards them. And Romney's big money first hasn't been so successful.

Sure he has raised the most money ($44M)...among Republicans, but he has been spending it hand over fist to get the Ames straw poll victory he needed, as well as leads in IA and NH. Obama has the most cash on hand ($36.2M) of any candidate And he did it my getting near 260,000 donors. "$9.7 million of the $33 million he raised in the second quarter of 2007 came in increments of less than $200"...that's right a third of all his money last quarter.

The campaign ad Utah Republican Party press release Deseret News article ends with this information: "Utahns can sign up to attend the rally by calling 801-961-4070. For more information, go to the Internet at www.mittromney.com/rally." Go to the Internet at? That is even worse than "Log on to"... how hard is it to say "visit" or "go to" without saying the Internet or Online. If you see www. or .com, people who would go to that website know it is on the Internet.

I wonder if I would get kicked out if I brought a sign for someone like Obama or just wore a anti-Bush T-shirt. I also look forward to the local press inflating Romney's crowd numbers. Let's see if he can get more than Obama did with his last minute roadside rally. I have a feeling it will be underwhelming.

After all, this is the map that Chris Bowers made culling all the recent state by state polling from three different polling firms on a Romney vs. Clinton matchup: