I Don’t Hate America!

Dr. Brian Davis, Republican candidate for Congress in Minnesota’s First District, asserted that his third-quarter individual contributions under $200 help show the “whole story” of his supposed rock-solid support from within the district (this was in response to our report that just 15 of Davis’s 80 third-quarter individual donors were from Minnesota). We went on to blow his “whole story” claim out of the water by showing that a mere 5.7 percent of his total contributions were under $200. Thats barely a chapter or passage of the story let alone the whole book.

Now Davis is claiming another “victory” in his little battle to unseat Tim Walz (right here in the comments at IDHA! mind you!).

Hi DJ,

Twenty-nine percent of the contributions have come from Minnesota as of the conclusion of business yesterday (50 of 175 contributions). Twenty-six percent of the total originates from our State.

Wow. Get the man a cocktail!

29 percent!

Geez. He really showed me!
I wonder: if he gets 29 percent of the vote at the First District GOP convention for the endorsement, will he will brag about that, too?

All snarkiness aside, this figure is worthless for two simple reasons:

1. As I foreshadowed by with my sarcasm above, can anyone give me a situation in which 29 percent of contributions coming from inside a candidate’s home state could be impressive? Let alone impressive enough to brag about on a blog published by someone on that candidate’s opposing side of the political aisle?
2. Maybe the figure could be relevant but only after all of the fourth quarter reports are actually filed (mid-January)! Brian Davis has 29 percent of his contributions coming from within Minnesota. So f’ing what?! If he is going to use that figure as a benchmark to judge success, how can that be done without comparing it to those of his opponents?

Davis went on in the same comment to invite me to join the campaign as a volunteer.

Well, Dr. Davis, thanks, but no thanks. At the risk of sounding arrogant as you, I must say: continuing to dominate this game of intellectual ping-pong is much too fun quit playing in the middle of the game.

It seems that Brian Davis, candidate for Congress in Minnesota’s First District, has shown his hand when it comes to campaign strategy early on.

Apparently absent from that strategy is tact. Check out Jason’s earlier post highlighting Davis’s decision to campaign while trick-or-treating with his kids last week on Halloween.

Showing your family on a piece of literature or on a campaign website? That can give voters an opportunity to see the personal, as opposed to the political, side of the candidate.

Campaigning for office while your kids trick-or-treat? While not scandalous or even unethical, it’s the opinion of this blogger that trick-or-treating on Halloween is a very sacred annual event in a child’s life; one which should provide memories for a family based on the costumes, candy and carving of pumpkins. What Davis did crosses a delicate line and violates that sacredness. Those memories should not have to take a backseat to politics.

By showcasing such activity on his blog, Davis obviously feels this is “creative campaigning.” I find it to be simply “tacky.”

In the same post, Davis takes issue with our previous assertion that due to lackluster fundraising within the district, he may not have the support of those necessary to gain the GOP nomination. He didn’t have any real in-depth rebuttal, but had three comments about what we said. In the third comment, Davis becomes the second GOP contender for the First District nomination to show struggles with mathematics, but let’s start from the beginning:

1) It’s good to have friends and colleagues who are willing to provide support.

Sure. Al Franken has given similar justification for his outsta…er…out-of-state fundraising, but Kevin Kline, Lucy Lawless or Paul Newman will not be able to cast a vote for Franken at the State DFL Convention. Likewise, Davis’s nationwide network of physician friends who gave money will not be able to cast a vote for him at the district GOP convention.

The difference comes here: Al Franken has demonstrated that he has already built a grassroots network of supporters here in Minnesota who are working the phones and will doorknock with him. Has Davis? I mean, other than his children, of course. (Only kidding!)

2) Having receipts greater than expenses is a good way to run a business or a campaign.

Being stuck with campaign debt, which is a possibility for Randy “the Whammy” Demmer, would suck, so Davis is correct here. Of course, his personal contribution went a long way towards that accomplishment for the campaign.

Well, over one-third of the way toward that end anyway. Davis’s campaign kitty had $74,104.85 in it at the end of October; Davis donated $26,193.25.

3) The FEC reports don’t tell the whole story, particularly as it concerns donations at $200 and below.

I’m quite curious: what part of the story do they not tell, Dr. Davis? Of $55,035 of individual contributions in the third quarter, just $3,132 of that was from contributions less than $200, which aren’t listed on the FEC report. Even if all of that came from within the First District, at just 5.7 percent of individual contributions that’s hardly anything to brag about, or even “add to the story.” Compared to the percentages of his “Team 3-D” comrades, it’s even less impressive (Day had 20 percent and Demmer had 31.8 percent).

The percentage of the incumbent, Tim Walz, was 28.1.

Randy Demmer, who has proven he can’t count, isn’t a doctor, so I suppose I can see him having some issues with mathematics. For someone with a Ph.D., however, Brian Davis should be able to not only count, but do a better job of interpreting equations and figures.