Blend readers keeping tabs on Referendum 71 in Washington will know how unusual it is for our key opponents of domestic partnerships to not issue daily asks for money.  Yet Protect Marriage Washington hasn’t bothered to ask for contributions since September 15th.  This is very worrying – not for them, but for us.  Here’s why:

On October 12th, two days before the state starts mailing out ballots to voters, a large donor ban goes into effect in Washington.  After that date, no single donor can give cash or in-kind gifts that cumulatively exceed $5,000.  For example, if you donated $4,000 in September, the most you could donate after October 12th would be $1,000.  ALL major cash and in-kind donations must be on the books prior to October 12th.

It’s said that politics is a game of chess.  I think our opponent has a silent second queen on the board.  I think that PMW has stopped asking for cash because they expect an external entity to buy big media time for them.  Knowing that it is harder for us to raise funds while they remain silent, they are cannily having their media fairy wait until the big donor ban kicks in before they start their ad barrage.

Once those ads are on the air, at the time when we need cash the most, it’ll be legally impossible for generous donors to give more.  We need Approve 71 campaign supporters to DONATE NOW, especially people who would be willing to donate over $5,000 cumulative once the PMW ads start rolling.

We all know how National Organization for Marriage and allied organizations have been riding roughshod over state campaign finance regulations in Iowa and Maine.  To them, the end (snuffing out legal protections for families) justifies the means (ignoring campaign laws).  All indications are that the same is about to happen here in Washington.  The only way to defend against this dirty plan is to CONTRIBUTE. NOW.  Before it’s not possible to give more at the time it’s needed most.

A look at the current numbers, below the fold.Here are the current state of finances for Protect Marriage Washington (PMW), their sister group the Faith and Freedom PAC (FFPAC) operated by the Oregonian Gary Randall, and Washington Families Standing Together (WAFST).  Numbers are from the Public Disclosure Commission’s online database, rounded to the nearest thousand.

Combining balances for PMW and FFPAC, the anti-domestic partnerships forces have only about $25,000 in the bank.  One wonders how they’ve even managed to pay for their slick, four-panel, full-color door hangers.  WAFST has about $379,000 in the bank, but knows that this is a mere fraction of what will be needed to get the message of fairness for ALL Washington families out to the voters.

Ask yourself why, given this disparity, inveterate fundraisers like Gary Randall and political campaigners like Larry Stickney aren’t making their usual daily passion play for funds.  Might Randall and Stickney have an ace up their sleeve – a silent second queen on the chess board?

It was September 25th that Randall last made an unusually bland (for him) ask at the bottom of his daily post, “Your donation is needed and appreciated.“.  The last time he made one of his more typical power asks was September 21st.  And as mentioned above, Larry Stickney hasn’t made an ask on the PMW website since September 15th.

A silent second queen on the chess board.  There can be no other explanation.  To beat PMW-FFPAC at this game, WAFST donors need to step up the contributions now, and in a big way.