CRACKING
THE CODE
sentation given by the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee (and revealed by The Huffington Post in January) explaining
time management on Capitol Hill.
The presentation laid out a
nine- to 10-hour workday with
three to four hours devoted solely to “call-time,” or the practice
of calling donors to ask for campaign contributions, and another
one to two hours spent going to
fundraising events.
“There was the expectation
that you would spend half your
day calling for money [and] generating new leads by going to
after-work get-togethers, meetand-greets,” said O’Rourke, who
attended the meeting.
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.),
himself a former DCCC chairman,
said when asked about the recommended three to four hours per
day of call-time, “It’s exactly why
we need to change the system.”
Other members of Congress
similarly voiced concerns about
the constant pressure to raise
money. Sen. Chris Murphy (DConn.) described call-time as
“soul-crushing.” Yarmuth told
HuffPost that it was “an experience I quickly grew to abhor.”
Rep. Ed v (D-Colo.), who rep-
HUFFINGTON
10.27.13
resents a suburban swing district around Denver, said raising
money comes with the territory,
particularly when you’re in a
competitive seat.
“I know that’s part of what is
required of me in a swing district,” Perlmutter told HuffPost,
“to raise money so that I can get
up on the air, so that I can con-
“THERE WAS THE
EXPECTATION THAT YOU
WOULD SPEND HALF
YOUR DAY CALLING
FOR MONEY [AND]
GENERATING NEW LEADS
BY GOING TO AFTERWORK GET-TOGETHERS,
MEET-AND-GREETS.”
duct the field program, do the parades, put out the yard signs, do
the voter-to-voter contact that is
required to win a swing district.”
He begins fundraising for
his next race about a week after
an election.
This constant race for money
has made Congress dependent on
a select donor class that is not