"Internet fund-raising from small donors has become the way that insurgent candidates can wage asymmetrical political warfare. But in the early going, ideologically intense long-shots (Ron Paul and Michelle Bachmann) have far greater online appeal than establishmentarian play-it-safe contenders"

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"The New Republic" about Tim Pawlenty and his urgent need of money to run - Internet fund-raising does not seem the best option for him, he has to spend immense amount of time shaking hands at dinners.

Tim Pawlenty and John Huntsman will have to fly cross-country to woo wealthy donors in LA when they should be holding a town meeting in a high-school gym in Cedar Rapids. The pressure to raise $1.5 million a week to compete with Mitt Romney.

The New Republic
Tim Pawlenty's Cash Problem
The major flaw that could sink the former Minnesota governor’s presidential campaign
By Walter Shapiro
May 23, 2011


Tim Pawlenty's Cash Problem


Some excerpts :

And here lies Pawlenty’s problem: To run a competitive campaign, T-Paw will be forced to spend long hours each week ingratiating himself with wealthy donors in places like Houston and Atlanta. But in this cycle’s foreshortened campaign season, Pawlenty cannot afford to shirk even a minute of the face-to-face politics that have proven essential to winning the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. In other words, in a race where time will likely be of the essence, Pawlenty has dangerously little of it to go around.

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This means that Pawlenty has maybe six months to raise $40 million, which works out to be about $1.5 million (or 600 donors giving the maximum of $2,500) per week. Last week, Pawlenty held what probably will be his largest fund-raising event of the second quarter, raising $800,000 from home-state supporters (aka “low-hanging fruit”) in Minneapolis. To hit $40 million by December, Pawlenty has to have two fund-raising events on par with the Minneapolis rollout every single week.

What about the online political cash machine? Since the dramatic rise of Howard Dean in 2003, Internet fund-raising from small donors has become the way that insurgent candidates can wage asymmetrical political warfare. But in the early going, ideologically intense long-shots (Ron Paul and Michelle Bachmann) have far greater online appeal than establishmentarian play-it-safe contenders. If Pawlenty wins Iowa or somehow galvanizes conservatives with dramatic debate performances, then maybe he will be a click away from online riches. But that is a hope rather than a realistic strategy.

The only way that candidates like Pawlenty and Huntsman can reliably raise big bucks is through the most labor-intense form of old-fashioned fund-raising—putting high-roller donors in the same room with the candidate and cocktails and a catered dinner. With Pawlenty running neck-and-neck with the margin of error in most national polls, would-be T-Paw donors will be making a leap of faith rather than betting on a sure thing. That is why they need the handshake, the hand-on-the-shoulder conversation, and the autographed picture with Pawlenty to prove they were there (far) right from the start. Phone calls by Pawlenty from a van in Iowa are not enough—the candidate has to care enough to come to them.

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