Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will pay student-volunteer fundraisers 10 percent of everything the raise, the Associated Press reports.
A millionaire thanks to his work as a venture capitalist, Mitt Romney is acutely aware of the motivating power of money. His presidential campaign hopes it will have a similar effect on college students, which is why it's offering them a cut of their fundraising.
Participants in "Students for Mitt" will get 10 percent of the money they raise for the campaign beyond the first $1,000. While candidates often offer professional fundraisers commissions up to 8 percent, campaign experts believe the Massachusetts Republican is the first to do so with the legion of college students who have historically served as campaign volunteers.
Campaign traditionalists are griping that volunteers ought not be motivated by anything other than supporting their candidate, but pay them no mind. Romney's the one who is, pardon the pun, right on the money with this rather brilliant campaign innovation.
And I think they know it. The first gripe-ee in the story is a Democrat, after all, who probably wishes he'd thought of it first. Or maybe he's critical because he's a professional fundraiser and doesn't want the competition.
But professional political fund-raisers get paid a commission, so why not student volunteer fundraisers? Romney asked the question, and answered correctly - there is no good reason that anyone who raises funds for the campaign shouldn't be compensated for doing so.
Smart move, Mitt.
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