{"id":428653,"date":"2010-03-15T07:00:50","date_gmt":"2010-03-15T11:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/?p=79171"},"modified":"2010-03-15T07:00:50","modified_gmt":"2010-03-15T11:00:50","slug":"gop-firm%e2%80%99s-tactics-sting-candidates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/428653","title":{"rendered":"GOP Firm\u2019s Tactics Sting Candidates"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_79173\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 490px\"><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/baseconnect1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-79173\" title=\"baseconnect\" src=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/baseconnect1-480x344.jpg\" alt=\"The Base Connect office in Washington, D.C. (Photo by David Weigel)\" width=\"480\" height=\"344\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Base Connect office in Washington, D.C. (Photo by David Weigel)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Bill Russell couldn&#8217;t catch a break. He&#8217;d made his first run for  Congress in 2008, as a Republican trying to take down Rep. John Murtha  (D-Pa.), and winning broad support with grassroots conservatives. He&#8217;d  lost that race by 16 points and kept on campaigning, eyes on the prize  &#8212; until, on Feb. 8, 2010, Murtha died from complications related to  gall bladder surgery. That forced a special election for May 19, and  gave the power to choose a GOP nominee to a conference of local  Republicans. On March 11 they met and handed the nomination to Tim  Burns, a businessman making his first bid for office.<\/p>\n<p><div id=\"attachment_27450\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"width: 140px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-27450\" title=\"elephant\" src=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/elephant.jpg\" alt=\"Image by: Matt Mahurin\" width=\"130\" height=\"130\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image by: Matt Mahurin<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"floatButtons\">\n<div style=\"float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/digg.com\/tools\/diggthis.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div style=\"float: left; margin-bottom: 10px;\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\"\n\tsrc=\"http:\/\/d.yimg.com\/ds\/badge2.js\"\n\tbadgetype=\"square\">\n\t<?php the_permalink(); ?><\/script><\/div>\n<div style=\"float: left; margin-right: 10px;\">\n\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\ntweetmeme_source = \"TWI_news\";\ntweetmeme_service = \"bit.ly\";\n<\/script> <script src=\"http:\/\/tweetmeme.com\/i\/scripts\/button.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"float: left;\"><a name=\"fb_share\" type=\"box_count\" href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php\">Share<\/a><script src=\"http:\/\/static.ak.fbcdn.net\/connect.php\/js\/FB.Share\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> Russell,  speaking to TWI on March 12, explained his thinking on just how he&#8217;d  lost. One factor was the &#8220;coercion&#8221; of Republican officials by the state  party chairman, Rob Gleason. But another factor was a &#8220;whisper  campaign&#8221; against Base Connect, the Washington, D.C. political firm that  Russell has employed since 2008 for direct mail fundraising. While Base  Connect paid for ads and polls in the district to show Republican  voters backing Russell over Burns, the word went out from Burns  supporters that the D.C. firm could not be trusted. (<a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/79175\/base-connect-mailings\">See Base Connect&#8217;s mailings for Russell here.<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>A few weeks  before the candidate selection vote, in an interview with TWI, Gleason <a id=\"vsgb\" title=\"pointed to\" href=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/77615\/race-to-succeed-murtha-divides-republicans\">pointed to<\/a> Russell&#8217;s high &#8220;burn rate&#8221;  as a reason to be skeptical of his chances. A week later, influential  political strategist and blogger Bill Pascoe <a id=\"y:_p\" title=\"accused Base Connect\" href=\"http:\/\/billpascoe.net\/detail.php?c=928518\">accused Base Connect<\/a> of &#8220;subprime  fundraising&#8221; and &#8220;highway robbery.&#8221; The next day, Erick Erickson of  RedState <a id=\"hgtc\" title=\"tweeted\" href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/ewerickson\/statuses\/9945582370\">tweeted<\/a> that hiring Base Connect could  cost candidates support from his website; hours later, the influential  blog endorsed Burns. If it wasn&#8217;t the key factor in denying Russell the  nomination, it still struck the candidate as playing dirty pool.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There  were certain people who were posing as journalists, like these guys  from RedState, who were making a bid deal out of how I use Base  Connect,&#8221; Russell told TWI. &#8220;Well, in the last ten days I netted  $112,000. That&#8217;s after expenses. What they were attacking me on, and  attacking Base Connect, on was baseless.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The episode has brought  the spotlight back to Base Connect, a direct mail firm with millions of  dollars in business and a persistent chorus of critics on the right and  left.<\/p>\n<p>Inside of Base Connect, Russell&#8217;s setback was no  surprise. The special election nomination might have been a poison pill  anyway, as one internal poll showed any of the likely Democratic  candidates trouncing Burns or Russell. But the fact that it had become  an issue was upsetting. The same week that Russell lost, TPM Muckraker <a id=\"g7xs\" title=\"ran\" href=\"http:\/\/tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com\/2010\/03\/shady_gop_firm_still_raking_in_the_bucks_while_its.php\">ran<\/a> a story accusing Base Connect of  &#8220;fleecing longshot candidates,&#8221; basing the charge on ugly 2008 stories  about defeated Base Connect candidates and the current coverage of  Russell. The panicked campaign of Rep. Joseph Cao (R-La.) scrambled,  telling local reporters that it was cutting off business with Base  Connect. According to Base Connect Chief Operating Officer Michael  Centanni, the Cao campaign spoke too soon &#8212; Base Connect had just  dropped another Cao mailer to more than 10,000 people, and at the  beginning of April it would assess whether Cao was still able to benefit  from its services.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;What happened with Cao,&#8221; said Centanni, &#8220;is  that our first piece of mail was a huge success. Then he voted for the  health care bill, and the drop-off in donations was just massive.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In  a conversation with TWI, Centanni had responses for all of the charges  that have bedeviled the firm for three years, before and after the name  change. (The change to &#8220;Base Connect&#8221; happened in 2009 &#8212; one staffer  acknowledged that the bad press was one reason for the change, but  Centanni said it was wholly the result of a &#8220;cease and desist&#8221; letter  from the car company BMW.) Critics, said Centanni, simply don&#8217;t  understand how direct mail works.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Some of these folks say, oh,  they raised a million dollars and only got $250,000,&#8221; says Centanni.  &#8220;Well, these candidates probably don&#8217;t have a way to replace that  $250,000. Let&#8217;s look at Bill Russell. Twenty-year army veteran. Not a  rich guy. He decides he&#8217;s going to run this race out of principle. We  look at that race, and we&#8217;re of the opinion that it&#8217;s a bad thing to let  incumbents go unchallenged.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The huge initial hauls help the  candidates generate headlines about &#8212; to use Russell&#8217;s 2008 run as an  example &#8212; how they raised $700,000 in a single quarter. That, says  Centanni, lets them build more buzz.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Russell raises $700,000  and what happens? Michelle Malkin sees it and publishes an article:  &#8216;This might be the guy to beat John Murtha.&#8217; In the next 24-48 hours,  $150,000 comes in online &#8212; which has a much lower cost. How is that  possible without direct mail?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But the stories of the last month  have emphasized the second act of those fundraising stories. When news  outlets decide to dig into FEC records, and when they find out how much  Base Connect and its components are being paid, the negative coverage  starts to churn. That&#8217;s not fair, argues Centanni. First, if the  cost-to-fundraising ratio of early mailings are high, the system is  working. One Base Connect staffer argued that if you looked at the  numbers in April, you would think the candidates were being fleeced;  look again in October, and the money has rolled in for a serious ad  campaign. Second, Base Connect doesn&#8217;t conceal the fact that its clients  are billed for the services of several different components of the  firm, based in the same suite of the same office building. The placard  at Base Connect&#8217;s 15th Street headquarters informs visitors that they&#8217;ve  arrived at Base Connect Inc, Century Data Systems Corp, and Legacy List  Marketing Inc.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Every direct mail operation is the same,&#8221; says Centanni. &#8220;There is a creative agency &#8212; do you remember the show &#8216;Bewitched?&#8217; Darren worked at a creative agency. That&#8217;s what Base Connect is. We&#8217;re the creative agency. The next piece of it is Legacy List &#8212; we get a book here, about the size of the Manhattan telephone book, with nothing but lists in it. We have lists that we market and lists that we mail.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The  defeats of candidates like Russell, Centanni argues, doesn&#8217;t prove that  the strategy isn&#8217;t working. They choose long-shots because they want  everyone to be challenged. &#8220;Every other time he ran,&#8221; says Centanni,  &#8220;Murtha was able to dip into his war chest and give that money to other  candidates. He couldn&#8217;t do that in 2008.&#8221; Their high-profile candidates  lost in years when, as he puts it, &#8220;everybody lost.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s a  certain type of long-shot that Base Connect seeks out. To succeed in  direct mail, the candidate needs either a hated opponent or a compelling  narrative. That&#8217;s where the African-American candidates come in &#8212; and  where some of Base Connect&#8217;s image problem also comes in. Two of Base  Connect&#8217;s eight current clients &#8212; Florida&#8217;s Allen West and Alabama&#8217;s  Les Phillip &#8212; are African-American. Appeals for previous  African-American Base Connect clients like Ada Fisher and Deborah  Honeycutt stressed the threat they posed to the African-American  political establishment. But up to now, these candidates have been among  Base Connect&#8217;s least successful. One strategist credited some of  Honeycutt&#8217;s problems to a &#8220;blinged out&#8221; campaign that spent money  unwisely. That doesn&#8217;t explain the low hit ratio of the Black Republican  PAC, a Base Connect project that has crystallized this narrative to, so  far, little impact. In 2008, the Black Republican PAC raised $1.3  million. By the end of the cycle, only $5000 had been given to black  candidates. If that looks fishy, says Centanni, it&#8217;s another  misunderstanding.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Black Republican PAC was a new organization  for the 2008 cycle,&#8221; says Centanni. &#8220;And you know what? It might take  two or three cycles for it to become a political PAC that becomes really  effective. So what you need to look at is whether it&#8217;s becoming more  effective each time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Allen West &#8212; also a recipient of $1,000  from Black Republican PAC in 2008 &#8212; stands by his partnership with Base  Connect. &#8220;It&#8217;s kind of like investing,&#8221; he told TWI, analyzing the high  cost, eventual high return strategy. &#8220;If you&#8217;re a nervous nellie and  you screw around with your investments early on, just because they&#8217;re  not immediately gaining a lot, you can screw with your portfolio.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>West  also nailed down a reason why, despite some off-the-record attacks of  the kind that helped Tim Burns, Base Connect endures its bad press. It&#8217;s  got connections. West got a prime speaking slot at CPAC, right before  Glenn Beck, through Base Connect&#8217;s President Kimberly Bellissimo. &#8220;They  open the doors to influencers,&#8221; said West.<\/p>\n<p>Base Connect&#8217;s  strategies also drew some support from Richard Viguerie, a pioneering  Republican direct mail strategist who, at every point in his career, has  faced the same criticism over the high cost of his work. (He doesn&#8217;t  exactly conceal the mostly meaningless &#8220;gross&#8221; numbers, claiming on his  web site to have raised &#8220;more than $7 billion&#8221; in the mail.)<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I  was roundly attacked in the 1960s and 1970s for what I was doing,&#8221;  Viguerie told TWI. &#8220;All of the criticism stopped in a few hours on  election night 1980. That&#8217;s when they stopped and said, a-hah! That&#8217;s  what Viguerie&#8217;s been up to! Building these lists!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Centanni looks  to similar vindication from what looks to be the first strong election  cycle for Republicans since 2004.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;People are going to take  another look when Allen West wins,&#8221; he says. &#8220;Hopefully Allen will give  us a little bit of credit.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><em>Rachel Rose Hartman contributed research to this story.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Base Connect office in Washington, D.C. (Photo by David Weigel) Bill Russell couldn&#8217;t catch a break. He&#8217;d made his first run for Congress in 2008, as a Republican trying to take down Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), and winning broad support with grassroots conservatives. He&#8217;d lost that race by 16 points and kept on campaigning, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4313,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-428653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4313"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=428653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428653\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=428653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=428653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=428653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}