Rush Limbaugh took a lot of heat when, upon hearing about Elizabeth Edwards' cancer recurrence, he said it was publicized to give the John Edwards presidential campaign a boost. I wondered out loud why Edwards was continuing the campaign, but I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
As usual, Rush was right to be skeptical. In this blog post at WashingtonPost.com, Mary Ann Akers says that the Edwards campaign is using condolences as a way to gain new e-mail address to which they can send out campaign funding requests.
When you visit the John Edwards for President Web site, you're invited to send a sympathy note to the Edwardses. And tens of thousands of well wishers have done so since that heart-wrenching news conference two weeks ago at which Elizabeth Edwards courageously discussed her incurable cancer.
What those well wishers get in return -- e-mail messages soliciting contributions to Edwards's campaign.
Visitors to the Edwards site who choose to "send a note to Elizabeth and John" are first taken to a heartfelt letter from the candidate that was written the day after he learned that his wife's cancer had returned. Edwards thanks readers for their "prayers and wishes," vows that he and Elizabeth will "keep a positive attitude always look for the silver lining" and declares that "our campaign goes on and it goes on strongly."
Anyone who then chooses to send a note of sympathy to the Edwardses -- and, thus, provide his or her e-mail address -- automatically becomes part of the Edwards campaign's online e-mail database, a list that is crucial to any campaign's ability to raise vast amounts of money over the Internet.
It seems a little crass to me that the request for contributions gets wrapped in the thank you e-mail. This is a bit like pitching Mary Kay or Amway in your thank you note for the bridal gift.
But the fundraising e-mails were far more intense before April.
If you sent a note to the Edwardses before the critical March 31 end-of-the-quarter fundraising deadline, you would have received frantic e-mail solicitations from the campaign, such as the one on March 28 from Edwards campaign manager David Bonior titled, "96 hours to show substance works." The solicitation asked for "$25, $50 or any amount you can afford to give."
"John, Elizabeth and you have created something incredible together. Our grassroots campaign for change is raising the bar for what leadership means in America -- and it's strong enough to win," Bonior wrote.
And you would have received Monday's announcement that the campaign had exceeded its online fundraising goal, raking in more than $3.3 million over the Internet.
Even for a trial lawyer, this seems kinda sleezy to me. Not everyone who might have wanted to send their sympathies would be interested in contributing to Edwards' campaign. There are plenty of people of good will who feel badly for the Edwards, but that doesn't mean they want John Edwards president.
It's tacky. But should that be surprising?
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