Winning at e-spam Whac-A-Mole
At the Netroots Nation conference in New Orleans over the weekend, one Saturday panel addressed the Democratic Party’s spam fundraising problem. The description reads in part:
“By bombarding tens of millions of Democrats and independents with unsolicited emails and text messages each cycle – many of them demeaning and deceptive in nature – we are driving donors away, demoralizing supporters, and putting our long-term grassroots fundraising advantage at risk.”
We all know the problem. I posted on the problem just last week. Judging by the page view count, it struck a nerve. Another addressed efforts by Act Blue to get a handle on the fake PAC problem. On Wednesday, Act Blue announced major changes to how it would (and would not platform “progressive” fundraising efforts.
The Bulwark’s Lauren Egan reports on the party’s efforts to address the “scam PACs” problem and the Netroots buzz about attempts at a fix. She references the Adam Bonica piece I mentioned last week. Amanda Litman of Run for Something tweeted, “These are promising policy changes from the @actblue team that show they’re taking the spam PACs and aggressive fundraising practices seriously. There are other levers we need to pull as a party to stop treating supporters like shit but this is a start.”
Whether or not the changes will affect change is TBD, Egan writes. There is skepticism:
But there is also clear evidence that scam PACs can be weeded out—if ActBlue wants to do it. After The Bulwark reported last summer on a slew of scam PACs associated with Democratic consultant Ryan Morgan, ActBlue tossed them off the platform. Recent filings with the Federal Election Commission show that these organizations (Democrats United, Democratic Power, and Democratic Victory PAC) have raised just a couple thousand dollars so far this year after having raised millions during the 2024 cycle.
The fundamental question is whether this is concrete progress or whether ActBlue and others are just entering a whack-a-mole phase. While the constellation of Morgan groups may have wound down, others have popped up. Tim Tagaris, one of the Democratic party’s top digital fundraisers, noted the arrival of the No Surrender Fund, which raised $1.8 million in the first six months of 2025 and spent $1.2 million of it on fundraising, with no transfers to party committees.
All of this is sparking reflection within the party about how it even allowed such dishonest fundraising tactics to get this far. And it’s sparking a push to cleanse the consultant pipeline of its grift.
I’m cautiously hopeful. That’s the best I can do.
* * * * *
Have you fought dicktatorship today?
50501
The Resistance Lab
Choose Democracy
Indivisible: A Guide to Democracy on the Brink
You Have Power
Chop Wood, Carry Water
Thirty lonely but beautiful actions
Attending a Protest Surveillance Self-Defense