Friday, January 09, 2009

Enough with the fundraising

Marc Ambinder gives voice to something I've been feeling, namely that I'm pretty sick of being hit up by the Obama folks for funds to pay for the inauguration. I realize that they have to pay for the parades, the bunting and all of that, but I'd have to imagine that by now that's taken care of and I'm being asked to pay for inaugural balls and dinners that I'm not attending.

I appreciate that Obama isn't taking lobbyist money to fund the inauguration, and that the capital mall will be open for folks to attend without tickets, making this a more populist event than it's been in the past. Still, lots of people stretched their budgets to contribute during the campaign, and it's been a bit much to have every email from David Plouffe contain a request for another $250.

I think it would have been a better idea to send out fewer fundraising emails for the inauguration and save the requests for when they're really needed, like to run ads in critical congressional districts to pass universal health care. I realize that the inauguration needs to be paid for, but Plouffe and co. are drawing down their pool of good will a bit early.

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