Banned
Member Since: 5/15/2010
Posts: 15,858
|
Jeb Bush Lays Off Staff, Slashes Campaign Costs.
Quote:
Jeb Bush's campaign insists the wholesale restructuring announced Friday is merely a course correction, a reallocation of resources and heightened focus on New Hampshire. But for a growing number of Bush's supporters, frustrated by his prolonged slump and poor performance, the latest campaign shake-up is looking like more of a death knell.
Starting on Nov. 1, the campaign will cut payroll costs by 40 percent, downsize its Miami headquarters by more than 50 percent, reduce travel costs by 20 percent and cut 45 percent of spending on things other than media and voter contact. Even if those moves ease financial pressures on Bush's large campaign operation, they only reinforce the prevailing narrative about a candidate, not long ago viewed as a front-runner, in freefall.
According to donors, some of whom called for Bush to rein in its spending, the campaign's assurances about its organizational and financial advantages have worn thin; and the third-quarter financial report, filed last week, gave further definition to their growing concerns about the state of a big-spending campaign failing to deliver results.
“These donors are not finding these explanations by the Bush team believable," said one bundler, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "There’s a lot of frustration that a lot of money’s been spent and it hasn’t moved anything."
While there were signs the campaign faced trouble, Bush's team didn't know the depths of its problems until it got to look at the other campaigns' finance reports. The just-ended quarter — the first full period in which all the major candidates had announced and campaigned — set off alarms in Miami.
"I don't want to say panic, but we were nervous," a Bush staffer said. "Marco lied about how much he raised and spent, but the reality is suddenly his campaign had about as much money as we did, but it wasn't as big."
..."It's not like you need to be Nostradamus to see this coming," said one Florida-based donor who has maxed out to Bush's campaign and believes Friday's restructuring is overdue. "It's tough to believe what they say. Their message is 'Everything is great!' Until it's not. 'Just wait, it's going to get better,' isn't a message. It's an excuse."
Top advisers David Kochel, along with Bradshaw and Diaz, had already taken significant pay cuts earlier this summer; and the campaign has sought to minimize its travel expenses of late. But after last week's FEC report, donors demanded major changes, not just belt-tightening around the margins...
...Internal polling from a number of rival GOP campaigns mirrors public surveys all showing that Bush, despite his near constant campaign schedule, is struggling mightily to connect with rank and file voters.
"Yes. This looks bad. But it had to be done," said one long-time Bush consultant. "And really, this is the time they had to start staffing the early states. But they couldn't increase the staff. The couldn't increase the burn rate. They couldn't increase the burn. So they're transferring people or jobs — because there could be layoffs — to the early states."
|
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/1...ampaign-215106
|
|
|
|
