Mitt Romney’s plan to get the support of student fundraisers? Let them keep a chunk of the money they raise.
Participants in “Students for Mitt” will get 10 percent of the money they raise for the campaign beyond the first $1,000. While candidates often offer professional fundraisers commissions up to 8 percent, campaign experts believe the Massachusetts Republican is the first to do so with the legion of college students who have historically served as campaign volunteers.
“For the kids that want to get involved in a political campaign and they don’t want to spend their summer painting houses, they can help the campaign and themselves at the same time,” said Romney spokesman Kevin Madden.
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Successful applicants to Students for Mitt get an ID and source code so the campaign can track donations made at their behest.The participants are asked to contact members of their academic, social and family circles, and point them to Romney’s Web site. The students get 10 percent of all money above $1,000 that is contributed under their ID and source code.
I’m not sure how many students are down to raise five and six figure bundles for Romney, but any members of the Bush family that want to stand with Romney will likely do well.
I don’t think that there’s anything intrinsically wrong with letting students fundraise for Romney on a commission basis. If students can support themselves by being involved in the Romney campaign, more power to them. It doesn’t cost Romney anything and it will let students take a different role in campaign politics than pounding turf and making phone calls from a campaign office. I don’t know that this is a more advanced involvement in the campaign, though asking your parents’ friends for money is surely a handy trick for young Republicans to have. Romney’s betting that the kids already know this trick and thus will tap into a funding stream that comes from the outstretched hand.
Technorati Tags: fundraising, Mitt Romney
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