Don’t Berate Bloomberg Campaign Texters: Slowly Demoralize Them

photo by TechCrunch

The 2020 Democratic Primary has already been plenty eventful. At the time of writing, we’re nearing the Nevada caucus, Pete Buttigieg put money into the app that ruined the Iowa caucus, Andrew Yang dropped out and became a CNN commentator, and the DNC changed their rules to allow Mayor Bloomberg to be on stage for the debates on his own dime.

Bloomberg’s wallet has become a huge talking point this election cycle, especially when it comes to how his campaign has hired staff. Many have already gotten texts from campaign staffers and a common reaction is immediate dismissal with subsequent sharing of screenshots to social media.

Woke up to a text from the Bloomberg campaign asking if I was going to vote for him and I could FEEL my eyes start to blaze like some dork-ass shonen jump character pic.twitter.com/Ye79dPoRZh — Propriety (@Proprietous) February 15, 2020

This trend seems only likely to grow, especially as there are reports that after the most recent debate Bloomberg plans to double down on social media and digital communication spending. Recently it’s been reported the campaign plans to hire hundreds of workers at $2,500 a month to text all of their contacts and post on social media.

While a great chance to express legitimate concerns and distaste, Twitter user @RespectableLaw had a well-shared twitter thread with a much more effective strategy to disarm the campaign in the long run.

It takes an understanding of one concept of how campaigns work to get the strategy’s effectiveness: the campaign knowing who doesn’t support Bloomberg is actually as valuable as knowing who does. If the campaign knows you’re a lost cause, they know not to reach back out to you and they can use their time more effectively.

Option #2 is to bait them into believing you're uncommitted and might possibly vote for Bloomberg. — Respectable Lawyer (@RespectableLaw) February 18, 2020

Then ask questions. For example: "Wasn't there some controversy about Bloomberg targeting black teenagers for harassment by the police?" — Respectable Lawyer (@RespectableLaw) February 18, 2020

A side effect of asking a lot of these questions is that you stand a good chance of demoralizing the Bloomberg staffer who may already be ashamed of debasing themselves by accepting a job with the campaign. — Respectable Lawyer (@RespectableLaw) February 18, 2020

The key to success at this is just how @RespectableLaw lays it out here: you will have to play the role of someone just learning who Bloomberg is for the first time. This can be tricky at this point, especially for people already familiar with the many noted Republican policies Bloomberg had enacted and promoted, especially considering he was active in the Republican party until 2018.

Doing your research and taking advantage of having time to figure out how best to reply will be on your side.

Like the suggestions here, basing what you say on the shallow side of the news cycle will be more deceptive to someone you don’t agree with. While vile and important to know about a man trying to buy his way into the Democratic Party nomination, immediately quoting something like how he told pregnant workers to “kill it!” as brought up in his 1998 lawsuit might be dismissed quickly for someone that’s already made the decision to work for the campaign.

And if you’re worried about not getting to share a good clap-back screenshot, @RespectableLaw has a plan for you there too:

Also, they are likely to say hilarious things when responding to your supposedly earnest questions, which you can then post for likes, retweets, and personal gratification. — Respectable Lawyer (@RespectableLaw) February 18, 2020