GOTV Ground Game Gone

by anderson

(Sorry, fester beat me to the mark. Oh well....)

Sean Quinn at fivethirtyeight has a great post up showing the demoralized ranks, or lack, of McCain's field office forces. A series of photos from around the country of various McCain campaign offices is simply grim. Except for Democrats. In that case, you're probably smiling at the wreckage of a campaign that appears to have no ground game, no volunteers, and is now going to rely solely on television adverts in the final weekend. So much so, that the McCain team has told volunteers that they are on their own.

This week, a number of veteran GOP operatives who orchestrate door-to-door efforts to get voters to the polls were told they should not expect to receive plane tickets, rental cars or hotel rooms from the campaign.

"The desire for parity on television comes at the expense of investment in paid boots on the ground," said one top Republican strategist who has been privy to McCain's plans. "The folks who will oversee the volunteer operation have been told to get out into the field on their own nickel."

Now, that's ballsy. It's not a great electoral strategy, either. I can't imagine many of these volunteers (volunteers!) are going hump around for McCain after being told their efforts aren't worth a dime, except for those scared so silly by McCain's version of Obama that they will happily assume debt to prevent the horrors of an Marxist regime.

Anyway, check it out. It is a fascinating look at the McCain campaign scene around the country, fascinating in the way a fly blown carcass is fascinating.

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