Sixty five-people were abruptly fired from their jobs as phone-bankers at the Republican National Committee last week. Anne Hathaway oversaw the project at the RNC and confirmed the event after the former workers went to the press. The RNC maintains that the program was canceled due to outdated phone-banking technology but the staffers don't believe it.
The real problem was the precipitous drop in small-donor donations. Staffers estimate donations are down 40 percent this year and is primarily due to the President's controversial stance on the immigration debate. Many conservative donors want their President to back up their xenophobic tendencies with actions, while George wants to keep his friends supplied with cheap labor. The difference in opinions is hurting George's party where it hurts, in the wallet.
From The (sometimes credible) Washington Times:
Fired employees acknowledged that the committee's phone equipment was outdated, but said a sharp drop-off in donations "probably" hastened the end of the RNC's in-house phone-bank operation.
"Last year, my solicitations totaled $164,000, and this year the way they were running for the first four months, they would total $100,000 by the end of 2007," said one fired phone bank solicitor who asked not to be identified.
There has been a sharp decline in contributions from RNC phone solicitations, another fired staffer said, reporting that many former donors flatly refuse to give more money to the national party if Mr. Bush and the Senate Republicans insist on supporting what these angry contributors call "amnesty" for illegal aliens.
"Everyone donor in 50 states we reached has been angry, especially in the last month and a half, and for 99 percent of them immigration is the No. 1 issue," said the former employee.
The RNC denies all of this of course but it does not matter. The story shows that there is a lot of discord within the party and all over the conservative landscape. The fact that the highly dubious Washington Times would publish this shows their discontent with the President.
Reverend Moon's publication takes substantial losses every year in order to keep conservative propaganda alive and well within the District of Columbia. So when they are going against Bush, you know there is trouble in the ranks.
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