How Bush spent $130 million running for President with nothing to show for it
How Bush spent $130 million running for President with nothing to show for it
When Jeb Bush formally entered the presidential campaign in June, there was already more money behind him than every other Republican candidate combined. When he suspended his campaign Saturday night in South Carolina, Bush had burned through the vast majority of that cash without winning a single state. It may go down as one of the least successful campaign spending binges in history. Here is Bush's story, as told by his ledger:
— Positive Advertising: $84 Million
When Bush finally did get in the race, he needed to reintroduce himself to the Republican electorate. After all, it had been eight years since the end of his final term as Florida's governor, and he had spent the intervening period as a philanthropist, consultant and investment banker. His campaign and a super PAC supporting him spent heavily on sunny advertising spots in the hopes of announcing Bush to the post-Tea Party Republican Party as a credentialed conservative.
— The Consultants: $10 Million
A well-funded candidate tends to attract hordes of consultants, and Bush had plenty. All told, his team paid consulting fees to around 140 companies or individuals, including senior campaign staff members, opposition research firms and get-out-the-vote operatives in Iowa and South Carolina.
— Branding: $88,387
Right to Rise, the super PAC supporting Bush, and then his campaign directly, retained 30 Point Strategies, a public relations company in Bethesda, Maryland, specializing in "thought leadership" and "brand journalism," according to the firm's website. But in the end, the most lasting label of Bush was supplied by Trump: "low energy."
— Clubbing: $94,100
Instead of spending last winter on the hustings of Iowa and New Hampshire, Bush held off, instead using the first half of 2015 to raise money in places like New York, Chicago, Texas and Florida. His goal: Raise enough money for super PAC to scare other candidates — especially those with a similar political profile — out of the race. Over the entire campaign, Bush's team racked up tens of thousands of dollars in dinner and event tabs at the Yale Club, the Union League Club of Chicago, Nantucket's Westmore Club, and more than two dozen other haunts of the well-heeled and racquetball-inclined.
— Valets: $15,800
Donors' cars don't park themselves. With an aggressive fundraising schedule and several major donor gatherings, Bush and the super PAC, Right to Rise, incurred a proportional parking tab.
— People: $8.3 Million
As Bush's campaign matured, he and the group supporting him built one of the largest organizations of any candidate in either party, banking that his superior fundraising would sustain his high overhead costs, which in turn would yield him wins or near-wins in states like Iowa and New Hampshire, where organizing is critical. But Bush's message — experience, civility and technocratic competence — did little to win over voters mesmerized by billionaire provocateur Donald Trump.
— Positive Advertising: $84 Million
When Bush finally did get in the race, he needed to reintroduce himself to the Republican electorate. After all, it had been eight years since the end of his final term as Florida's governor, and he had spent the intervening period as a philanthropist, consultant and investment banker. His campaign and a super PAC supporting him spent heavily on sunny advertising spots in the hopes of announcing Bush to the post-Tea Party Republican Party as a credentialed conservative.
— The Consultants: $10 Million
A well-funded candidate tends to attract hordes of consultants, and Bush had plenty. All told, his team paid consulting fees to around 140 companies or individuals, including senior campaign staff members, opposition research firms and get-out-the-vote operatives in Iowa and South Carolina.
— Branding: $88,387
Right to Rise, the super PAC supporting Bush, and then his campaign directly, retained 30 Point Strategies, a public relations company in Bethesda, Maryland, specializing in "thought leadership" and "brand journalism," according to the firm's website. But in the end, the most lasting label of Bush was supplied by Trump: "low energy."
— Clubbing: $94,100
Instead of spending last winter on the hustings of Iowa and New Hampshire, Bush held off, instead using the first half of 2015 to raise money in places like New York, Chicago, Texas and Florida. His goal: Raise enough money for super PAC to scare other candidates — especially those with a similar political profile — out of the race. Over the entire campaign, Bush's team racked up tens of thousands of dollars in dinner and event tabs at the Yale Club, the Union League Club of Chicago, Nantucket's Westmore Club, and more than two dozen other haunts of the well-heeled and racquetball-inclined.
— Valets: $15,800
Donors' cars don't park themselves. With an aggressive fundraising schedule and several major donor gatherings, Bush and the super PAC, Right to Rise, incurred a proportional parking tab.
— People: $8.3 Million
As Bush's campaign matured, he and the group supporting him built one of the largest organizations of any candidate in either party, banking that his superior fundraising would sustain his high overhead costs, which in turn would yield him wins or near-wins in states like Iowa and New Hampshire, where organizing is critical. But Bush's message — experience, civility and technocratic competence — did little to win over voters mesmerized by billionaire provocateur Donald Trump.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/How-Bush-spent-130-million-running-for-President-with-nothing-to-show-for-it/articleshow/51104074.cms
Comments
Post a Comment