We’ve been pounding this drum so long our sticks are down to splinters.

Since 2018, The Agitator has documented the rise of scammy, self-dealing PACs, the flood of questionable Democratic  and Republican fundraising texts, and the digital consultants who treat donors like slot machines and loyalty like a rounding error.

We’ve published exposés, followed the money, and warned that if Democrats didn’t clean up their act, they’d lose not just dollars, but trust.

Well, Sister and Brother Agitators, change may be finally upon us. In reality the speed of change will most likely be like molasses trickling uphill through a field of abandoned tote bags and bumper stickers.  But hey, change is change.

 This Week’s Headlines: The Good, the Bad, and the Infuriating

✅ GOOD NEWS

• ActBlue, the payment platform used by Democrats and some progressive groups,  finally budges: Starting August 20, they’ll ban deceptive practices—like fake matches and phony endorsements—unless PACs show written proof their offers and content are legit. Violators may lose access to the platform altogether.
• Complaint channels open: ActBlue has also created an Evaluation Committee and a direct donor complaint form: secure.actblue.com/contact. It’s not the Spanish Inquisition, but it’s something.
• Dan Pfeiffer, President Obama’s Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer published a detailed analysis of Democratic fundraising abuses—including scam PACs—on his Substack newsletter, The Message Box 

 The post, titled “The High Cost of Spam: How the Flood of Dem Fundraising Texts Hurt the Party” (July 30, 2025), covers how relentless fundraising texts and emails, misleading match offers, and scam PACs are eroding donor trust and diverting money away from competitive races. Pfeiffer specifically calls out the proliferation of scam PACs that use deceptive tactics and spend little on actual candidates, with most funds going to consultants and overhead .

❌ BAD NEWS

• Stanford’s Prof. Adam Bonica blew the doors off: His recent  report found that since 2018, Mothership Strategies—one of the worst offenders—raised $678 million and only 1.6% made it to candidates or party committees. Most of it fed the spam machine, consultant salaries, and ad buys from—you guessed it—themselves.
• Top Democrats took the money: Despite knowing Mothership’s grift, the DCCC, DSCC, and key Congressional caucuses cashed checks anyway. As The Nation put it, the party’s fundraising “tactics more closely resemble those of a confidence game than a political campaign.”
• Donor trust is in freefall: These tactics don’t just degrade response rates—they erode trust. The average donor now expects manipulation. Not persuasion. Not inspiration. Just another fake “emergency triple-match” before midnight.

Meanwhile, Back at the Agitator

You’ve read all this before. We’ve been tracking this with the vigor a digital fundraiser armed with a thesaurus, a countdown timer, and no shame.

• In 700 X Match to Aid Widow of the Unknown Soldier we warned that donors were being fleeced by “emergency” emails that weren’t just misleading—they were manufactured fraud.
• Are You Playing the Dystopian Fundraising Slot Machine we explained how millions of dollars and thousands of donors were being burned through by consultants more focused on the FEC deadline than the future of democracy.

• From Shipbuilding to Shipwrecking we said a political or nonprofit brand built on deception can’t ask for loyalty without consequence. If you treat your supporters like they’re just walking wallets, don’t be shocked when they ghost you—or worse, switch sides.

A Shout Out for Josh Nelson

It would be journalistic malpractice not to tip our hat to Josh Nelson, founder of Civic Shout, who’s been standing in this storm with an umbrella and a bullhorn for years. He’s written, spoken, testified, and been largely ignored by the very people whose reputations he’s trying to save.

Josh’s message has been clear: You can win elections without screwing over your donors. You just have to want to.

Lessons for the Digital Dems

Frankly, we hope the DNC, DCCC, DSCC  and all the Democrats’ candidates and legit PACs are reading this. Along with the fundraising “wizards” who write midnight texts like:

“ROGER, this is OBAMA. I’m BEGGING. If you donate $3 before midnight, I’ll eat a cold burrito in your honor.”

Here’s a wild idea: How about trying content? Or—brace yourself—emotionally resonant messaging?

As Frank O’Brien wrote in his 2026 Path to Persuasion on Substack:

“When messages are authentic and emotionally resonant, people are more likely to feel invested and motivated, rather than simply tolerating outreach for the sake of the cause.”

Tolerating outreach; that’s where we are now. If Democrats want to move from being barely tolerated to trusted, their path is not paved in ALL CAPS SUBJECT LINES. It starts with honesty and relevance.. And maybe… fewer campaign emails that treat voters like forgotten Tinder dates.

The Rock, the Hill, and the Drum

For more than six years we’ve been rolling this digital fundraising abuse rock uphill along with Josh Nelson. Thankfullly, others are now joining.  Frank O’Brien, Dan Peiffer, The Bulwark, The Nation, the Washington Post and New York Times. Plus the few brave candidates who said, “No thanks” to Mothership’s Faustian bargain.

Now, finally, for some digital fundraisers their abusive voodoo is showing cracks. Reform is possible. But only if the rest of us keep banging the drum—with purpose, with proof, and maybe with a little more shame and sarcasm.

Because as Kris Kristofferson sang:

“If you waste your time a-talkin’ to the people who don’t listen
To the things that you are sayin’, who do you think’s gonna hear?”

Answer: The next generation of fundraisers. The ones not yet corrupted by click-through rates, “double-confirmed” surveys, or midnight madness texts.

Let’s clean this mess up before they get here.

Roger