PLANK JUNE 21, 2012
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Like a lot of liberals, I’m skeptical of the idea that successful businessmen are likely to become successful presidents by virtue of their business experience alone.
But there is one way in which business success seems very likely to benefit a future president: fundraising. It’s not just that the businessman knows a lot of affluent people whom he can tap for money, though that helps. And it’s not just that the former businessman is steeped in the social mores of businesspeople, making him deft at rubbing elbows with those he doesn’t know. It’s that he’s likely to be very skilled in the mechanics of convincing people—even perfect strangers—to give him money, since that’s a huge part of the entrepreneurial game.
It certainly was for Romney, who raised billions of dollars from investors during his 15 years running Bain Capital. As the Times reports today, that skill—and it really is a skill—has paid enormous dividends for Romney as a candidate. To take one example:
There are daily and weekly conference calls, many featuring senior campaign members who offer updates [to donors] on strategy and policy, and a software system that encourages friendly competition by allowing donors to monitor giving from friends whom they recruited. Several supporters recalled receiving all-hours phone calls and e-mails from Spencer Zwick, Mr. Romney’s fund-raising chief, who has a 24-hour rule: all messages are returned within a day.
Or another:
Mr. Romney has repeatedly invited top-flight donors to his home on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire for intimate gatherings where he serves cookies baked by his wife, Ann ...
Mr. Scaramucci said he relished his time at Mr. Romney’s house in New Hampshire, where the candidate gave a slide show about campaign strategy and spoke with guests on a deck overlooking the lake. “People love being able to say they went to Romney’s house,” Mr. Scaramucci said. “It’s an attractive magnetron for the campaign.”
The Obama campaign is obviously no slouch when it comes to fundraising mechanics—they (and the Bush campaign) were basically the gold standard prior to this election. But the priority that Romney Inc. places on cultivating donors, as well as the candidate’s personal involvement, seems pretty unprecedented and clearly emanates from Romney himself.
Having said all that, I’d argue that the relevant portions of Romney’s background here include more than just his business experience. After all, Romney was actually a fantastic fundraiser long before he entered the business world. Consider this from a great Washington Post piece about his undergraduate days at BYU:
On Page 379 in the 1971 school yearbook, Romney, wearing blazer, tie and slacks, is identified as club president as he kneels with other members in front of a pond on a farm outside Provo. The opposite page reads: “What student group would accept the challenge to raise $100,000 in twelve months’ time? Cougar Club did without hesitation.” …
In addition to the traditional sale of chrysanthemums for homecoming and pushing records of BYU fight songs and tickets to football games, Romney “did things in Cougar Club that had never been done before,” according to Clint Hunter, a junior member of the club. “Mitt had much grander concepts of how you raise money.” …
“…He said, ‘What if we can get the school administration to share with us the contact information of everybody who has ever matriculated through the school.’ And we set up phone banks and got the students to make these calls as volunteers.”
Romney also worked out a deal with a local car dealership so that the Cougar Men, along with their wives or girlfriends, would pick up prospective donors in new, polished cars for a spring day of activities and presentations.
Now some of this savvy was just in the ether around the Romney household circa 1960, given that George was a highly successful businessman himself. But surely a certain amount of it flows from Romney’s Mormonism, too. Like successful fundraising, evangelizing requires endless conversations with strangers. The fundraiser, like the evangelizer, must speak without embarrassment about subjects that are normally cause for much embarrassment, and must ultimately persuade the stranger to entrust him with something of great importance (money in the first instance, their eternal soul in the second). Both pursuits are highly transactional and empirical—you have to officially be baptized into the Mormon faith, a kind of religious analog to signing on a dotted line, and Mormon missions keep close tabs on the numbers of converts they’re attracting. Both activities involve lots of rejection and require incredible resourcefulness and on-the-fly learning. I described a bit of this in a piece about Mormon evangelizing several years back:
Arguably the most important skill they acquire in this regard is how to get in the door, and the [missionary] trainees hone this skill through extensive role-playing. For example, they are taught to search for common ground with potential converts--everything from their taste in cars or pets to their religious worldview. "Take the belief in Jesus Christ," says one of the former missionaries. "We might have different beliefs about Him, but most people do believe in some sort of Supreme Being, they have ideas about that." …
[T]here is a strong, if crude, element of demographic targeting involved. Certain neighborhoods develop reputations for being more or less hospitable to proselytizing. In one missionary's recollection, lapsed Catholics tended to be more receptive than lapsed Protestants, because the latter often still belong to a community of coreligionists even if they aren't especially observant. …
[O]ne of the former missionaries recalls being encouraged to shovel snow from people's driveways as a way to make a good impression.
Etc.
In Romney’s case, I’d say it was both the general culture of entrepreneurialism that Mormons are steeped in, and his own particular experience trying to save souls in France (possibly the least hospitable place on the planet for such an undertaking), that gave him such a leg up in his future salesmanship.
And so while it’s no doubt true that Romney’s business background helped turn him into a remarkable fundraiser, it’s probably more accurate to say that Romney’s Mormonism made him more successful at both.
Follow me on twitter: @noamscheiber
28 comments
I'm one who believes religion/ethnicity are not predictors of a propensity for making money. But what do I know.
- rayward
June 21, 2012 at 4:29pm
But surely culture and sociology count for something...
- Noam Scheiber
June 21, 2012 at 4:44pm
To say nothing of highly relevant prior experience...
- Noam Scheiber
June 21, 2012 at 5:01pm
Yes, experience. I agree. And no better experience than raising money, while at Bain, from wealthy heirs of successful industrialists looking for a better return than from bank CDs.
- rayward
June 21, 2012 at 5:26pm
As possibly the only Mormon who comments here, I'd have to say that you have a point but at the same time fall into the trap of over generalizing that point. 3 out of 4 of my Young Men leaders were businessmen, and pretty darn successful. Two went on missions, one did not. All were successful. They all had a hefty dose of religious tone to the way they interacted with customers. It's hard to deny that there are many ways the LDS lifestyle can help you in business. But at the end of the day Romney is a good fundraiser and businessman because he's a good fundraiser and businessmen, who happens to be a Mormon. There are plenty of unsuccessful Mormons out there, and one's who really suck at fundraising (that would be me). So yes, Mitt did have a good skill to add to his portfolio, but there are really any number of experiences and sociological things that could add to being a businessman, it just happens to be very prevalent in Mormon culture.
- ARealHero
June 21, 2012 at 7:53pm
It’s that he’s likely to be very skilled in the mechanics of convincing people—even perfect strangers—to give him money, since that’s a huge part of the entrepreneurial game. Romney to Investor: "If you give me money, I will use it to make money for you, although we will have to throw some people out on the street." Romney to Political Donor: "If you give me money, I will use it to make money for you, although we will have to throw some people out on the street."
- Nusholtz
June 21, 2012 at 8:13pm
I have long believed that religion (especially evangelistic/viral) is the original and ultimate salesmanship. It promises life after death – and no one ever returns to complain that “there's no there there” and it promises to make life fair – wicked will be punished and virtuous rewarded. Everything evolves – even something as conservative as religious belief, and the most notable religions appearing in historically well-documented time are “New Age [woo woo],” Mormonism and Scientology, each perhaps better at “selling” than any of their predecessors. Two of the religious refinements of Mormonism is that you can retroactively put your ancestors in Heaven and that you become elevated to Godhood in your imaginary afterlife.
- skahn
June 21, 2012 at 8:21pm
A Real Hero: 1. Why are you here at TNR? (Not meant as an insult; I am genuinely curious.) 2. Have I written anything incorrect about Mormonism? 3. Have I written anything offensive to Mormonism? I don't promise to apologize or refrain, but I do try to refine my criticisms of religion.
- skahn
June 21, 2012 at 8:24pm
Skahn: 1) Because I'm a liberal who enjoys the work of TNR and really enjoy the conversation in the comment section. 2) Nope, that's a pretty even-handed way of explaining it from a non-religious view. 3) I’m sure there's plenty of Mormons who would get offended but there's really nothing we can do about them, as they would simply be over sensitive. Definitely not saying that the culture of Mormonism hasn't helped out Mitt Romney and Noam has caught onto something that probably is at play, but as you said, any religion involves selling itself. So the title "Why is Romney So Good at Fundraising? Because He's a Mormon" is what I would call foul on. Mormons do not have a monopoly on business friendly upbringings, and there are probably several hundred things that could lead to a person having the same skill set as Romney. Romney is a good businessman because he is naturally good at selling himself and his product; the social life of a young Mormon was simply another avenue to refine it. Either that or I simply didn't get the memo and we are all in fact super good at raising money.
- ARealHero
June 21, 2012 at 11:01pm
ARH, thank you for your prompt, courteous, and informative reply. I never know when to stop. (As my wife often tells me). My theory of religion, besides eternal life and balancing the books as selling points, is that Christianity and Islam were the original “social (viral) networks”; Christianity invented by Paul and Islam by Mohamed. Hard to say about Christianity (as we have so little “factual” documentation), but Islam indicates and I doubt that Mormonism or Scientology indicates anything different, that early religious leaders are frequently men of great charisma who use their “inspiration” and magnetism to acquire many “babes” and much cash. Hard to find corresponding female religious leaders; perhaps Aimee Semple McPherson? My other theory of Mormonism (I probably won't stop until I succeed in offending you) is that it is a “cuckoo religion.” Cuckoos are birds that often lay eggs in other birds' nests; the emerging offspring then kills the babies of the original mother bird. Don't take the analogy too literally, but when original Mormonism arose, it was not too digestible to American Christian culture. After Smith's martyrdom (taking “method acting” a bit far I would say), Mormonism has gradually reshaped itself to fit standard Christian culture, dropping polygamy, accepting black people, etc. To see Romney making a serious run for the White House indicates that the chick has hatched. Romney's confusion about what he stands for an what he really believes may indicate that he is still developing into whatever He will turn into. As an “ethical nihilist” non-believer – whatever you want to call me – I can only fall back on the old cliché : Be afraid. Be very afraid.. Well, I am old, and I don't know what this century will bring, and I know I won't live to see the end of it, so I don't much care. But I worry about my granddaughter, who is being raised by her mommies to think the world is a kind, generous place. I doubt it. I suspect Road Warrior (which you can already see in places like Somalia; 1984, (see North Korea); Animal Farm (Monsanto), and Iran, and China (can't think of literary parallels this late) are more likely.
- skahn
June 21, 2012 at 11:57pm
Nah, Romney is just a power hungry person with terrible people skills but has the benefit of an incredibly stupid and guillible/ill-informed/stupidagain right wing voting populace. At least with the church, the reforms over the years have improved the church for the better. With Romney, it just makes him look spineless.
- ARealHero
June 22, 2012 at 12:46am
Real Hero -- I like your comments here, that bring a perspective sometimes badly needed. I have a question, however, and that is, why did the GOP become the natural party of Mormonism (I'm making a big assumption here, I know)? Is it simply that people can't identify with Democrats out of some historical experience, or is it that the character of the church has shifted over the last few decades and become politically more fixed? I mean, with a few tweaks Jon Huntsman might well have been a D. And you are one also. So are we making judgements based on an inaccurate picture of Mormonism nationwide?
- ironyroad
June 22, 2012 at 1:01am
I like Hero's comments here, too, probably because they're eminently sane. It's true that many Mormons are good at business. It's part of their culture. But, in Romney's case, he's raising so much money because business people, some of whom are Mormons, are kicking in at a record rate. Most business people are terrified of the "socialists, communists, and Marxists," as I heard a businessman refer to the folks in the Obama Administration recently. They're determined to beat back the devil Democrats with a tidal wave of filthy lucre.
- magboy47.
June 22, 2012 at 1:59am
ironyroad: You are right; the GOP is the apparently natural party of Mormons, though I wouldn't say it's the naturally party of Mormonism. And I ask myself that question everyday (in fact, why aren’t nearly all Christians at least independent or moderate liberals?). One could try to link it to a rough history with the government early on, what with the whole Missouri making it legal to kill Mormons up until the late 20th century and being pushed from the country only for the rest of the country to catch up and take away our own little spot of land, but frankly I fail to see how that would have any meaningful impact as if we took that into account we probably would have tried out anarchy seeing as how we were screwed over by just about every form of government there is. And another thing discounting historical bias is that the early church in Utah was basically a religiously tinted communist commune worthy of Karl Marx. In the god forsaken desert we ended up in even the water was "federalized" by the church. Everything from water to land to money was tightly regulated and distributed equally to ensure we didn't end up starving to death. These measures eventually relaxed (you could use whatever amount of water you wanted as long as it didn't endanger others & land became less regulated) but for the most part, until the federal government came in and took power away from the church, it operated as a base equal society operating under Christian values (called the Law of Consecration, at least by us) that would be called the very model of godless socialism by today's GOP (and by association, most Mormons! Though they try to cop out and say that god was behind ours, which is not the official church standing as far as I'm aware). So again, historical arguments fall flat. Now practically, there are reasons for most Mormons to align themselves with a moderate GOP, such as Huntsman. As Noam points out, it is a very business orientated culture that we've established over the years, with the emphasis of good people skills that many young Mormons put on themselves for two years; and a high emphasis on higher education and anything else that will help you better support your family and the community (one of the main reasons I have chosen to remain a Mormon is the wonderful sense of community that is a de facto priority, at least from everything I have personally experienced). As such, there are a decent amount of very successful Mormons out there, and most are what I would call "well off." Due to the relative affluence of Mormon culture, and the seemingly endless amount of effective support programs that the church offers for members and non-members alike, there would appear little reason for that far of Federal government to get involved, and that by increasing it's size, the inept federal government will want more of your hard earned money, that as far as you as a working individual are concerned belong to you and god. Once again, this is more the position of individuals (albeit a very large percentage) that the actual stance of the church, which for the most of history has gone along with the Federal government in step (its actual scripture to adhere to the just laws and practices of a just government). Now all of that is a decent reason why most Mormons would be moderate republicans or right leaning independents. But as we all know, as with every religious group, many members of the LDS Church take their fervor for the GOP to a level that you would think make the official church jealous. At this point it becomes more of a sociological experiment more than a theocratic discussion. You have you're single issue voters. The pro-life, anti-gay people, who for whatever reason, cannot see that stuff like that is really not something god wants them persecuting people over, and apparently didn't get the memo that "Jesus love's everyone." I for one am for those things, as they are things that wouldn't affect me in the slightest, as long as it is made clear that churches are not obligated to marry gay people or provide abortion clinics. Obviously this is not a Mormon or Christian thing, and much more of a bigot thing. And then there is just the fact that the world is changing. In the 50's it didn't matter if you were a Republican or a Democrat because neither one acknowledged the fact that gay people exists. But now gay people exists, and drugs, and other such things that the bible or whathaveyou say's is bad. The Democrats have come to accept the fact that they live in reality, while the GOP has not. This is simply the fact that certain elements of society, those that have gotten used to the way things are, react volatile to change. This is the case for all conservatism, and the fact that the GOP has embraced that mindset, means that any similar thinking Mormons have gone over to the GOP. And lastly there are simply some crazy Mormons out there lol. Glenn Beck is in no way the poster child for Mormons, but he is the perfect poster child for crazy Mormons. There is a certain amount of apocalyptic tone that I have found most religions to have, and many Mormons have taken to interpreting that however they please, usually in the form of Mormon republicans (who are originally there for the "logical" reasons I mentioned above but may very well be there now due to this apocalyptic message that has permeated Christian culture. Romney is a mixture of both in my honest opinion) receiving their undying support to get rid of those godless liberals. Not going to lie, if Mittens gets the POTUS, people like Glenn Beck are going to start saying crazy things. So in short you would be perfectly correct in believing that Mormons are overwhelmingly republican (last time I checked the number was 14-20% of us are Democrat's), and that does affect many things. But you would be incorrect if you called the GOP the party of Mormonism, as the official church is very apolitical in most cases and our history and scripture is at best endorsing a mildly socialist theocratic central government and at worst Karl Marx's dream home sans the theocracy. There is definitely a skewed perception of Mormonism overall (there are a few things about the whole "baptizing dead people" that definitely could use some clarification) that leads to some undue hostility. You have people like Dear Leader Harry Reid, Rock & Roll star Brandon Flowers (of The Killers), Huntsman and many other people like myself that are Mormons, yet clearly not the crazy individuals you see all too often. Mormons are people, and those all have their own opinions. As a religious people, Mormons all too often seem to follow other religions & conservative minded people on the trek into intolerance and crazy right-wing things that make no sense if you are looking for a justifiable reason.
- ARealHero
June 22, 2012 at 2:51am
Whoa, sorry for that wall of text, don't mean to sound preachy or anything, it's just that the rightward trend of religious people against all logic is something that puzzles me to say the least. But back on topic, magboy47 sums it up perfectly.
- ARealHero
June 22, 2012 at 2:53am
Don't worry about the wall of text, I read through it all and found it all very informative. I have a fair number of Republican friends (most of whom live in semi-rural areas in Indiana and Wisconsin). Their views on social issues vary widely, but there are two things that tie them together - a belief/desire for self reliance, and a feeling that changes are occurring that will marginalize them. I think the geographic distribution of Mormons combined with the history of the Mormon Church makes many Mormons lean towards those two general Republican worldviews.
- Attrill
June 22, 2012 at 3:45am
Religious cults have often acquired great wealth and resources, both as 'religious entities' and as members of cults, on an individual and family level. I'm convinced that religion, inter alia, is a business enterprise, in addition to being the bedrock of faith for many millions of people. This is not an original observation. It is possible to acquire great wealth as a religious entity when the entity is tax-exempt and employs slave labor. Take for example the Jehovah Witnesses-Watch Tower Society's vast concentration of real estate holdings in Brooklyn Heights, NY. as another example. It would be interesting, and perhaps too controversial, to do a study of the economic wealth of LDS: finance companies, real estate, etc. What is the quantitative reality of this cult? What are they worth as a Church? What is the interconnectedness of their membership in the business community in Utah, in Washington, D.C., in the USA and internationally? We know the Vatican owns a bank or two; how many banks does the LDS own? How many finance companies, construction companies, etc. Mitt is a gifted fund raiser and some Mormons are successful at business. Mormon wealth is not coterminous with Mitt. The Mormons were an economic powerhouse long before Mitt was born. To discuss Mitt's business achievements without reference to preexisting Mormon economic power, political influence and dominance in various sectors of the economy is whistling in the dark. It is a disconnected discussion. Mitt is not the first Mormon who aspired to be POTUS. Do you believe this ambition has been lost on the leadership and base of the Mormon economic engine? How silly!
- LawrenceGulotta
June 22, 2012 at 5:22am
A few thoughts from someone who is religiously agnostic and has a number of Mormon friends and former business colleagues (I'm retired): The possible higher than usual Mormon donor component to the Romney campaign should not be ignored. Mormons are used to giving, generously, especially since they MUST tithe to the LDS Church at 10% of gross income and are strongly encouraged to give even more. How many other established churches come even close to that? The Mormon culture seems to foster group solidarity and support of their co-religionists. Because of the huge amount of cash that the Mormon Church has acquired, on a relative size basis, I suspect they make the Vatican look like a bunch of paupers. From my past experiences in grad school at Cornell in the 1970s, I was amused when the no-caffeine Mormons, while still politely declining offers of Coca-Cola at social events, began asking for Pepsi's after the LDS Church bought big into Pepsico. I know that they invested heavily in Union Pacific in the late 1970s/1980s, so they probably have an extensive investment portfolio that could include outright ownership of some banks or at least substantial positions in some of the biggest financial institutions and Dow Jones heavyweights. While the reporting of Church holdings and worth are rather opaque, Googling gives net worth of the Church holdings at perhaps $30 billion with maybe $4.5 to $6 billion per year in tithing income and all kinds of investments and investment income. This probably may have no relevance to the Romney money raising juggernaut, although it has been noted that the Mormon Church supplied anti-gay marriage Prop 8 struggle in California with considerable financial resources, so maybe the LDS Church might donate to the Romney SuperPAC that keeps contributors' IDs secret. It would be interesting for someone to sum up what percentage of the Romney campaign and associated PAC/SuperPAC money (to the extent that it can be known) come from his fellow LDS adherents.
- spolnaszek
June 22, 2012 at 7:51am
Could you imagine the National Review running a story headlined "Why Is Rahm Emmanuel So Good At Fundraising? Judaism."? Ugh.
- Lymon1
June 22, 2012 at 9:47am
Everywhere you look, its mormoning in America
- Tristan
June 22, 2012 at 10:39am
whole Missouri making it legal to kill Mormons up until the late 20th century I'm thinking, no.
- ReganaD
June 22, 2012 at 10:58am
Real Hero, thanks for your informative and compelling post. I don't know what you do for a living but I think, if you have time, that TNR should give you a new laptop, assign you an expense account, and have you cover the Romney campaign for the next few months! We're missing a great chance for a more inside read on him. One thing you said is curious, though, thinking of MR: the notion that he as a young Mormon developed "people skills" which became helpful in later life . . . :(
- ironyroad
June 22, 2012 at 11:10am
Lol I'm currently studying to be a journalist. Balls in your court TNR, I have a portfolio of freelance stuff that's been published if you want it ;). As for the "people skills," I meant that more in the sense that Romney has a terrible time acting like a human being, especially in front of crowds. So it would make sense that those two years he spent abroad would come in handy when it came to talking to people. It's hard to go door to door for two years asking people if they want to learn about the LDS church and not pick up on a few things. Don't worry; we're not trained from a young age to swindle people and convince them to give us money. Noam basically explains this part of it in the article. There's no secret classes or anything.........that I'm aware of......dun dun dun. And yes, the LDS church does have quite the payroll to draw from. They own several companies, farms, distribution centers, even a mall outright. Then, mixed with the plentiful amount of Mormons with cash that give tithe, then yes, we do have a lot of money. I don't believe a study has been done, and from what I’ve heard on the subject we aren't the richest church out there, but we are well off. Now, I would be surprised to see the church itself giving to Romney, but from the comments I hear from some members, you can bet he has a sizable list of Mormon donors.
- ARealHero
June 22, 2012 at 1:31pm
Yeah, but it's like those years abroad didn't really do much for Romney's skills. Have you seen that clip from when he was running for governor of Mass. and he goes into a working class diner? It's like an anthropologist with zero social skills arriving in a remote village in the Amazon. I confess to being very curious about Romney in France. The whole thing fascinates me. What did he learn about France before he went? Were his language skills sufficient? What were his reactions when he first arrived? What did he think of the country and its people later on? What kind of food did he like? What did he think of De Gaulle and the '68 crisis? What did he know about France and Catholicism?
- ironyroad
June 22, 2012 at 2:09pm
Oh, well in that case he's just plain terrible. Seriously, that guy is a total robot. And it would be interesting to know. Do any of the books out there on him talk about?
- ARealHero
June 22, 2012 at 2:16pm
A couple of pieces here: http://swampland.time.com/2012/03/29/mitts-mission-in-france-then-as-now-romney-worked-methodically-to-convert-skeptics/ http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/12/16/1045983/-Mitt-Romney-lied-about-his-stay-in-France The idea of the young Romney living in a mansion in the 16th arondissement with the servants while Paris in May '68 explodes a few miles away is a kind of surreal picture, I have to say.
- ironyroad
June 22, 2012 at 5:14pm
How about BHO fund raising skills. How about BHO religions Moslem, Christian . How about BHO community organizer leading to the presidency, quickly forgotten as president. And how about Tritrash making his usual imbecilic coments. I had a coworker that was a Mormon. any news or information he was completely honest. Just like a Jehovah Witness. Do not forget George Romney father of Mitt. Was born in Chihuahua Mexico. That makes Mitt Romney an Hispanic. George Romney was running for the republican presidential nomination. Hecwas at the time a senator. His campaign was destroyed after his coment of being brainwashed about te Vietnam war. George Romney was a liberal Republican. Just like Nelson Rockefeller. While Barry Goldwater was a conservative Republican. Barry Goldwater was nominated and lost to LBJ in a landslide. But the Republican party was taken over by the conservatives and Nixon and Reagan became presidents later on. Of course we had Bush I and Bush II. All conservative Republicans. All Christians. Come to think off Gerald Ford a Republican and the Democrats Jimmy Carter and William Jefferson Clinton were also all Christians. After all the Mormon religion is also Christian. Not bad for the Jewish Carpenter.
- JAIMECHUCHI
June 23, 2012 at 3:23am
Seriously, the guy is a total robot. Artificial intelligence and robotics are in primitive state compared to the human brain. But we are working on it. Romney is an early model? Will robots be Mormons? I don't remember Isaac Asimov projecting that to occur, but why not?
- skahn
June 23, 2012 at 1:26pm