Oh, what a hoot. That’s My Congress reports a blogger in New York State is gently teasing two Democratic congressional candidates for their refusal to engage with the public:
In New York’s 24th district, there are three serious Democratic candidates: Michael Arcuri, Les Roberts, and Bruce Tytler. The problem is that, of these three, only Les Roberts has bothered to get a campaign web site up and running. This is worrisome to local Democrats, who wonder if Tytler and Arcuri have the energy necessary to take on incumbent Republican Sherwood Boehlert.
In response to the slowness of Arcuri and Tytler, the local Democratic blogger is prodding them – with money. He has sent a $500 donation to Les Roberts, as a reward for getting online. He has also promised $500 to Tytler and Arcuri – if they can get their campaign web sites online this week. The catch is that the donation will be reduced by $100 each additional week that it takes these campaigns to get up on the web until, a few weeks from now, there will be no donation at all.
It boggles my mind that serious campaigners wouldn’t spend the $50 necessary to get someone to write up even just a simple website with a few platform statements, the text of a speech or two, and contact information for those who are interested in donating or volunteering. Sigh. The Democratic Party is a big institution, and big institutions move slowly. It’s a shame that Arcuri and Tytler won’t step out of their institutional roles and engage in a behavior demonstrating individual initiative.
