rssObama Texts Hurricane Relief
Monday, September 01, 2008 at 5:25 pm
- 4 Comments
Sen. Barack Obama is tapping his sizable political cell phone network to help Hurricane Gustav relief. On Monday, he issued a personal plea via text message to his supporters:
Barack asks that you give to the Red Cross…
The short message encouraged supporters to give money online, by calling an 800 number, or, in a first for presidential politics, by using a dedicated text message number. Supporters could donate the pre-determined amount of five dollars by simply texting “GIVE” to 24357. Obama sent a similar message to supporters via email:
At times like this, it is our compassion and resilience that define who we are as a nation. Please give whatever you can afford, even $10…. and I hope you will join Michelle and me in praying for the safety of those in the path of the storm and the first responders who are doing all they can to ensure the safety of their communities.
Sen. John McCain and GOP leaders are also responding to the hurricane, as TWI’s Suemedha Sood reports, by paring back political convention activities. The McCain campaign released a round-up of relief activity on Monday afternoon:
The governors of the states affected by the hurricane recommended five charitable organizations that Americans can donate to if they wish to contribute to the relief efforts. The 2008 Republican National Convention is working to coordinate and encourage donations to these groups. In addition, the McCain 2008 campaign has set up a phone bank at the Hilton in Minneapolis, which will help coordinate donations to these groups.
Both campaigns are using their political networks for relief, with an emphasis on depoliticizing the activities.
4 Comments
Comment posted September 1, 2008 @ 9:18 pm
I think its a great idea. There's no reason why you can't spare 5 bucks for people who lose everything. A lot of people pay 100 dollars or more for their cell phone service every month. I'm interested to see how much money is raised specifically through the text messages…maybe a follow up story will tell me. The article says “Both campaigns are using their political networks for relief, with an emphasis on depoliticizing the activities”, but it is not clear what McCain did.
Comment posted September 1, 2008 @ 10:34 pm
I read someplace that the Republicans were boasting about the amount they've raised. I gave through the Red Cross link at the Obama site, as I did back during the Midwest Floods – but I note that while the Red Cross may be equipped to track how much money they get from that link, it's not direct or obvious, and I don't remember the Obama campaign or the Red Cross releasing the number from the Midwest Floods (though I guess the Obama campaign must know how many clicked through, if not how much they gave). I'd be interested to know, although it's probably more respectable to ask and not to boast.
On a similar note, I will point out that in both this emergency and the Midwest floods, Obama asked his supporters to give and mobilized local volunteers to help, while keeping his person and the attendant media circus away from the most troubled areas. McCain doesn't have a volunteer network, and tied up local law-enforcement with unnecessary visits to the epicenters of both emergencies.
Comment posted September 2, 2008 @ 2:18 am
I think its a great idea. There's no reason why you can't spare 5 bucks for people who lose everything. A lot of people pay 100 dollars or more for their cell phone service every month. I'm interested to see how much money is raised specifically through the text messages…maybe a follow up story will tell me. The article says “Both campaigns are using their political networks for relief, with an emphasis on depoliticizing the activities”, but it is not clear what McCain did.
Comment posted September 2, 2008 @ 3:34 am
I read someplace that the Republicans were boasting about the amount they've raised. I gave through the Red Cross link at the Obama site, as I did back during the Midwest Floods – but I note that while the Red Cross may be equipped to track how much money they get from that link, it's not direct or obvious, and I don't remember the Obama campaign or the Red Cross releasing the number from the Midwest Floods (though I guess the Obama campaign must know how many clicked through, if not how much they gave). I'd be interested to know, although it's probably more respectable to ask and not to boast.
On a similar note, I will point out that in both this emergency and the Midwest floods, Obama asked his supporters to give and mobilized local volunteers to help, while keeping his person and the attendant media circus away from the most troubled areas. McCain doesn't have a volunteer network, and tied up local law-enforcement with unnecessary visits to the epicenters of both emergencies.
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