1. United States
2. N.Y.
3. Letter

The relentless deluge of spam emails and manipulative text messages purporting to be urgent fundraising appeals for the Democratic Party is a sham. An investigation into official FEC filings reveals that this aggressive "churn and burn" digital fundraising model pioneered by Democratic consultancy firm Mothership Strategies is grossly inefficient. Since 2018, Mothership's network of interconnected PACs has raised a staggering $678 million from grassroots donors. However, a mere $11 million or just 1.6% of those funds have actually been delivered to candidates and party committees for campaigning. The remaining hundreds of millions extracted from well-meaning supporters has been consumed by exorbitant operational costs and enormous consulting fees paid to Mothership itself and its affiliates. This parasitic fundraising apparatus functions not to bolster the Democratic cause, but to enrich the private consultants who perverted the party's messaging into an extractive spam machine treating donors as cash cows. Urgent action must be taken to sever ties with such unscrupulous firms leeching off small-dollar contributions under false pretenses. Overhauling fundraising standards to prioritize efficiency over deceptive emotional manipulation is imperative to restore integrity and regain trust with the party's grassroots base.