You've Got Mail From Sen. Chris Dodd

You've Got Mail From Sen. Chris Dodd

Sen. Dodd jotted a casual note to his friends--and sent a "forwarded" e-mail to supporters asking for more online campaign contributions. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post).

Chris Dodd may not be breaking fundraising records, but he gets points for fundraising creativity. His latest invention: the faux internal e-mail.

The Connecticut Democrat and long-shot '08 candidate has found his primary niche as a sort of liberal elder statesman, a powerful Banking Committee chairman with an anti-establishment streak. Good timing: many Democrats are furious that control of Congress has not brought restrictions on President Bush, especially related to the Iraq war and civil liberties.

Dodd voted to authorize the Iraq invasion; now he's a staunch opponent. He vowed to stage a one-man filibuster against warrantless wiretapping legislation, if it reaches the Senate floor. Earlier this week, he was the first Democratic presidential candidate in the Senate to announce he would reject Michael Mukasey's confirmation as attorney general.

The month of buzz was capped by a solid debate performance Tuesday night. Dodd finally got some air time, and he used it to maximum effect, joining Barack Obama and John Edwards in challenging the electability of Hillary Rodham Clinton.

When the inevitable "Chris Dodd" e-mail arrived today in supporters' inboxes, the subject line read "Fw: Re: Update?" Dodd likes the casual approach, having first tried it on Sept. 27, with a pitch shipped directly from the candidate's Blackberry. That subject line read "Real Quick." The salutation: "Hey."

Other candidates, including Obama, have since mimicked the first-name, just-between-us style. Rather than a "rigid ask," campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan said the idea is to casually solicit friends. Hence the odd $27 figure referenced below. In the Sept. 27 e-mail, Dodd asked for $23.

--Shailagh Murray

So here's a quick note from Chris...

Dear Friend --
I only have a few moments on my way back up to New Hampshire. I asked my Campaign Manager for an update on what we accomplished online during the month of October, and I was so pleased with her response I wanted to make sure you saw the email chain.

She tells me that in addition to a spike in traffic and mentions on progressive blogs, we could beat John Edwards October online fundraising goal if I emailed a few people and asked them to help get us there.
So, it might be one day removed from October, but if you chipped in $27 right now we can pass another campaign in this important indicator of support.
You can contribute here:
http://www.chrisdodd.com/contributions
I'll be in touch,
Chris