Without love

Why the opposition did not need its voters

“Eugenia,” Trump wrote, “this is Donald. I need your help". Help for a US presidential candidate with a fortune of $ 4.5 billion was needed material. His campaign has set a goal of raising $1 million by the end of the third week of September for television ads against Clinton's "disgusting statement" about something. Then came a similar letter from his son, Eric, then from another, Donald Trump Jr. And so almost every day - since the Republican convention in Cleveland in the second half of July: the e-mail left during registration was immediately entered into the mailing list.

Letters from Clinton Democrats also come every day. From Michelle Obama: “Friend, we are working for the future. Hillary understands this: she understands that children with physical difficulties need help. But for that to happen, now we have to stand next to her. And for this you need to transfer $3 today” (yes, three dollars or 195 rubles). From Barack Obama, current President of the United States. From Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, from Hillary herself, from the functionaries of her party. Each letter contains a clickable link: $5, $10, $15 - and so on up to $50. At the time of the last report (August), Clinton had already raised more than $435 million for her election campaign, of which a seventh ($62 million) was in such dollar transfers.

Money is the most important, but not the only goal of these mailings. Firstly, the person who transferred even a few dollars is already involved in the candidate's campaign and, more likely than not, will come to vote for him/her. Secondly, money goes to money: if others invest in this politician, then he/she can win - people like to bet on the winner, this is how undecided voters are recruited. Thirdly, if a person is reminded every kilometer by a poster: “Drink Coca-Cola”, then in the end he / she will buy this conditional “Cola”.

How many emails, like the ones pouring into my inbox from Trump/Hillary, do you think came to me from opposition candidates — from PARNAS, Yabloko, or from independent candidates who went through majoritarian districts?

That's right, none.

And this despite the fact that the Democrats endlessly moaned somewhere in social networks that they did not have enough money, that they gave out two T-shirts with the party logo to the province, someone mortgaged an apartment, someone declared bankruptcy of their headquarters a week before the elections ( Can you imagine a worse demotivator?).

I hear: how can you compare the electoral culture of the United States and Russia? You can: Alexei Navalny collected 103 million rubles for his campaign for the election of the mayor of Moscow in 2013, the average transfer was 1000 rubles, large donations (more than 100 thousand rubles) were less than 1% of the amount collected.

Trump writes (September 12): “Friend, the polls show we are winning the White House. I formulated ten simple, but incredibly important principles in order to stop illegal immigration ... ”And then a list of these steps, a call to join the campaign, transfer $ 25, because without me (sic!) Nothing will work.

How many of these letters have I received from PARNAS, Yabloko, or from Democrats marching in single-member districts, or from Open Russia candidates?

Despite the fact that I receive a mass mailing from the same Yabloko every other day: the last one was about who Ms. Emilia Slabunova, the current leader of the country's oldest democratic party, is going to meet (or has already met!) They didn’t call me, didn’t ask, didn’t persuade me. Democrats did not need my money, my complicity - even if virtual - too.

Meanwhile, in politics, as in love, reciprocity is needed. No, there is no judgment.