GOP pulls out the fear card, calls its supporters “reactionary” and “ego-driven”

“What can you sell when you do not have the White House, the House, or the Senate…?” asks a Republican Party fundraising presentation delivered by RNC Finance Director Rob Bickhart to top donors and fundraisers at a party retreat in Boca Grande, Florida on February 18, 2010. The answer, according to the presentation? “Save the country from trending toward Socialism!”

The section of the same presentation with the heading “RNC Marketing 101” is perhaps the most telling section of the presentation, as it clearly explains the GOP’s strategy on how to approach donors. Fundraising is divided into two traditional categories, direct marketing and major donors, with a very different strategy used to approach each group. In the GOP’s presentation, small donors who are the targets of direct marketing are described under the heading “Visceral Giving,” and their motivations for donating are listed as “fear;” “Extreme negative feelings toward existing Administration;” and “Reactionary,” while major donors, by contrast, are treated in a column headed “Calculated Giving.” Their motivations include: “Peer to Peer Pressure”; “access”; and “Ego-Driven.”

Ego-driven and reactionary conservatives…sounds familiar.

If you’d like to peruse the entire GOP fundraising presentation, go take a look.