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Fundraisers Sought To Continue After Election Seeking to Cover "Debt"
Dr. Ada Fisher lost the 2006 bid for a North Carolina Congressional seat by a wide margin -- 34 points.
But that didn't discourage her fundraisers, BMW Direct, a Washington-based political firm.
Just a few days after Fisher lost to Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC), an official from the fundraising firm emailed the candidate about mounting a post-election money drive -- and maybe signing on for another race.
Ada,Attached is a debt reduction letter. We still owe outside debt to vendors and this will go to pay it off.
I would also like to set up a time to speak with you about running again. With more time to mail, I think we could do even better.
Timothy
That's an email from Timothy Webster, a founder of BMW Direct, and it was provided to TPMmuckraker by Fisher. She wasn't very happy with the firm, which raised more than $400,000 on her behalf but, after taking out the costs of its own direct mail effort, only provided her campaign with about $30,000.
She also provided us with a draft copy of a "debt reduction letter" drawn up by BMW Direct.
Fisher told us she's not sure whether she ever signed off on the letter and agreed to let BMW send it out.
Read more to see the letter's full text.
Late Update: Jordan Gehrke, BMW Direct's director of development, said in a written response to a query from TPMmuckraker: "To the best of my knowledge we did no debt reduction letters for Dr. Fisher."
XXTITLE/NAMEXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
November 30, 2006
Dear XXTITLE/NAMEXX,
You're one of the first people I had to reach out to after the recent elections.
Because you've been such a faithful and trusted supporter, and I had to thank you for your help in my race for Congress.
Unfortunately, we came up short by a swing of only 17,388 votes -- but we had a heck of a run and sure put Mel Watt on notice!
And if the climate for Republicans had not been so bad this year, I'm sure I could have ended Mel Watt's career.
But we were sailing into a stiff headwind this election cycle and we couldn't do anything about it!
Even considering all the obstacles we faced, my campaign wattwas credited with running one of the toughest campaigns against Mel Watt he's ever had to face.
XXTITLE/NAMEXX, it was your personal support that made this possible.
But even with the money we spent in the final months, when all the absentee ballots were counted we came up short.
Nevertheless, we accomplished something nobody thought we could when we gave Mel Watt a real race -- because I got solid support from the black community.
We showed him that the black community is not going to blindly follow the Democrat Party.
A smart, black Republican woman such as myself can make real inroads into the African-American community. And that makes Democrats nervous!
Because I had such solid results, I'm being encouraged by friends to seek a rematch.
I'm still deciding what to do. But before I can officially gear up again, I need to take care of roughly $75,911 in late bills that have come up during these last few weeks.
If you would be kind enough to help me retire this debt by signing another generous gift $HPD, $1.5HPD, or even $2HPD, I would sincerely appreciate it.
I know $2HPD is twice what you've sent before, but I could really use it. I have vendors calling me and my consultants asking for payment.
So if you can send $2HPD, please do...
...but in this crisis, even a gift of $HPD or $1.5HPD would be a real godsend.
Over the course of my campaign, I had well over 6,000 patriotic individuals send a gift to my campaign.
And while I'd like to think I can count on all of them to send a gift of $2HPD to help me retire this debt in the next 21 days, I know not everyone will be able to give.
But I'm mailing you this letter because I know you're one of my most loyal supporters. I can always count on you.
That's why I've taken the extra step of enclosing a stamp with this letter because I don't want you to waste any time in getting back to me.
Please know that I did not intend there to be any debt whatsoever. I don't believe in debt.
But when Mel Watt started putting up hundreds of thousands of dollars in false, negative advertising against me, I knew I had to respond.
And so I did. I made phone calls to every hard-core voter in the district I could telling them they can count on me to defend their interests in Washington.
Plus, my billboard ads, voter mail, and law signs highlighted the fact that I'm a dedicated conservative who will fight for our values.
I had to spend these funds to define myself in the eyes of the voters...
...or risk it all by having Mel Watt's deceptive and outright false advertisements define who I am for me.
We did everything we could on what was essentially a shoestring budget -- spending less than 10% of what Mel Watt spent on paid advertisements.
And yet we made a solid showing in the African-American community and showed Mel Watt that he's vulnerable.
Mel Watt is too liberal for North Carolina, he's bad on protecting American from terrorists, and he votes against our conservative values.
That's why I am seriously considering running again, and building upon my solid performance this year.
But first, I must retire this debt.
Won't you help me, XXTITLE/NAMEXX?
I know you're the type of person who will not abandon me in my hour of need.
Please help me put an end to this debt by sending in a gift of $2HPD, $1.5HPD, or even $HPD in the next 21 days.
It would mean a great deal to me to be able to pay off some -- if not all -- of these vendors in the next few weeks.
They knew I had to respond to Mel Watt's lies or else I would lose all credibility.
But now the campaign is over and I need to do my part to pay down this debt.
Please, XXTITLE/NAMEXX, help me today.
I've already enclosed a self-addressed reply envelope for you to use.
And I've already affixed a FIRST CLASS STAMP for you to send it back to me with your check of $2HPD, $1.5HPD, or even $HPD.
Thank you in advance for sending the most generous gift you can.
I look forward to hearing from you in the next few days.
Sincerely,
Ada Fisher, M.D.
P.S. Please fill out your reply below an mail this entire page back to me with your gift of $2HPD, $1.5HPD, or even HPD so I can pay off these overdue bills.
------------------------DO NOT SEPARATE------------------------
FROM: TO:
XXTITLE/NAMEXXXXXXXXXXX Ada Fisher
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Fisher for Congress 2006
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX P.O. Box 96165
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Washington, DC 20090
AF08 ID
DEAR ADA: Enclosed is my generous gift to help you pay off these bills so you can prepare to mount a rematch. Like you said, I won't abandon you in your hour of need. I've made my check payable to FISHER FOR CONGRESS 2006 in the amount of:
( ) $2HPD ( ) $1.5HPD ( ) $HPD ( ) Other $_____
Or make your donation by credit card:
( )Visa ( )MasterCard ( )Discover ( )American Express
Name on Credit Card:____________________________________________
Signature:______________________________________________________
Credit Card Number:_____________________________________________
Exp.:______/_________ CVV:________________
The CVV is last three digits on the back of credit cards issued by Visa, MasterCard, and Discover or the four numbers on the front of the American Express card.
Josh
Zachary
You know what, sweetie? You choose to swim with the sharks and now your whining to Democrats about becoming just another meal to conswervative cannibals.
You weren't screwed. You got exactly what you deserved and your DONORS paid for.
I wouldn't trust yaas far as I could throw ya, which doesn't look like it would be very far.
If you won the election BMW would have been completely justified in YOUR mind regardless of what you or they had to do to get you elected. Being a conservative means the end ALWAYS justifies the means. You're a loser. The people weren't fooled. Don't look for any sympathy from me.
July 8, 2008 5:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, come on. That's just mean spirited and wrong. You don't know a damn thing about this woman's politics other than her party affiliation.
The one thing we do know, based upon the similar cases already reported, is that Dr. Fisher is probably a political naif who was preyed upon by BMW. These are extremely quixotic candidates. They don't expect to raise more than twenty or thirty thousand dollars, are grateful for what they get, and are bamboozled by BMW's claims of high costs and such.
I don't disagree that there is a culture of dishonesty and greed thriving in the Washington GOP for a number of years now and that because of this it's no surprise that such an operation turns up on the right rather than on the left.
However, I think this has much more to do with classic con-artistry than anything else. It could have been an operation aimed at Dem candidates, or even non-partisan. More likely, it's aimed at the right because there's far more likely marks for the direct mail affiliated with the right than the left. This preys upon the elderly, counting on these donors not to know that the candidates are lost causes. As we've already seen, BMW still solicits contributions after their candidates have dropped out of the race.
Personally, I feel sorry for these candidates because even though they're undoubtedly often very much extreme wingnuts, they're also always just average Americans, not part of the party machine or insider politics. They take on lost causes, and good for them. I appreciate Dem candidates in solid Republican districts who do the same. And while it's a bit hard to feel sympathy for probably very reactionary donors, they are regular people, too, our parents and grandparents being bilked out of their savings, drop by drop.
Apparently, BMW Direct isn't violating any laws. Nevertheless, what they're doing is disgusting and makes a mockery of the democratic process. TPM and others are doing a service by shining a light on these con artists and perhaps, if we're lucky, public pressure will shut them down.
July 8, 2008 6:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Look kmellis, I can be as rational and pedantic as anybody else on here. I had a great guy working for me once. He was into his bike. We have a helmet law in Nebraska. He had a sticker on the back of his helmet. It said, "Don't be a pussy"!
Oooohh! The poor Republican!!! (it sounds silly)
July 8, 2008 8:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Right on, mjeffn!!
You simply have to love the irony: GOPer screwed by other GOPer, seeks justice through left-wing website.
Your post summed it up most concisely. Cheers!
July 8, 2008 5:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
She ought to join Codepink and see how women handle the assholes that try to take them to the cleaners.
July 8, 2008 6:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
at least BMW's only fleecing other stupid republicans.
let them cannibalize themselves.
that's half a million this republican didn't get to spend on her campaign.
good.
July 8, 2008 7:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is reminiscent of what Response Dynamics did with the College Republicans in 2004. What the then-president of the group said was that Response Dynamics had his and another officer's signatures and used them on letters he hadn't necessarily approved (there was disagreement between him and RD, and he allowed that in the crush of the election he might not have read and approved all the letters, which would have gone out if he didn't specify for them not to).
If her story is true, then BMW may well be soliciting money that she "owes" to BMW's related vendors without her permission. Yet they are representing it as debt she ran up toward the end of the race.
Did BMW provide these services? Did one of its "vendors" provide them? Or were phone calls, billboards, and lawn signs things that she got for herself with her campaign funds, but BMW is representing as where she has outstanding debts?
I've got little sympathy for the dear doctor's political aims, but if she was rooked, she was rooked, and that is wrong, even if it isn't illegal.
This is, of course, disgusting.
What Response Dynamics did with the College Republicans was to send many letters to the same people over and over, and most of them were pretty elderly. They sent those letters out with the College Republicans' signatures but only a teeny tiny mention of that group. Instead they used a variety of other group names and made pleas to these people that their donations were the only thing that would keep George Bush's campaign against John Kerry afloat. Sick bastards.
For info about these groups and this scam, start with http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002075044_repubs28m.html
P.S. TPM: Clicking on the picture of the letter only gets one back to this article, not to a pdf of the letter.
July 8, 2008 9:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why is it the candidate who got rooked? Isn't it the donors themselves? If you thought you were donating to a cause, any cause, and the fundraiser took 90% and gave your cause 10%, I think you'd be one claiming fraud.
And why does it matter if they are Republicans or Democrats? This is a fraud that can and probably is going on in lots of contexts having nothing to do with politics.
Actually, this all sounds like some kind of money laundering scheme to me.
Has anyone figured out what their profit margin is?
July 9, 2008 2:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Economides: YES. There's got to be money-laundering in there somewhere, I agree.
Everyone: The larger point isn't about "Protecting GOP Candidates or GOP Donors from Predatory GOP Direct Mail liars" it's about:
"Trying to send some crooked Republicans to jail."
BMW Direct is Rovian. They most likely did something illegal, and if enough people (the Dr. Fichers, the Dr. Honeycutt's) begin to tell the truth about their shady dealings, then TPM just might send another Rovian GOP operative "TO F#CKING JAIL" (to quote Sean Penn).
No matter what, that is a GREAT THING! :) :) :)
July 9, 2008 2:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't disagree that there is a culture of dishonesty and greed thriving in the Washington GOP for a number of years now and that because of this it's no surprise that such an operation turns up on the right rather than on the left. Did BMW provide these services? Did one of its "vendors" provide them? Or were phone calls, billboards, and lawn signs things that she got for herself with her campaign funds, but BMW is representing as where she has outstanding debts solutions? If her story is true, then BMW may well be soliciting money that she "owes" to BMW's related vendors without her permission. Yet they are representing it as debt she ran up toward the end of the race.
December 24, 2008 1:59 AM | Reply | Permalink