You’d better watch out, complacent Vermont Democrats: Randy Brock’s about to light the fuse on a money bomb — an Internet fundraising ploy designed to induce a quick influx of donations.  

The goal is to raise $40,000 by Friday afternoon, to help him “defeat Governor Shumlin’s single-payer health care experiment” which Brock has lovingly dubbed “Titanic Care.” (The webpage even has an outline drawing of an ocean liner with its nose pointed downward. Ha ha, get it? The Titanic is sinking. Those Republicans and their impish sense of humor.) So far, it looks like he’s raised about $8,000..

$40,000 might seem like a lot of money, but remember that in 2010, Shumlin and Brian Dubie each raised and spent well over a million dollars.  So 40K is nice, but it’s not a game-changer.

It’s quite the coincidence that Brock has launched his “money bomb” on the eve of two major fundraising events — a Wednesday evening reception and a Thursday morning breakfast with special guest Paul LePage, the notorious Governor of Maine. The cheapest admission is $200 for a pair of tickets to the “general reception” and the real high rollers will cough up $2,000 for four tickets to a “private reception” and one ticket to the breakfast. Which means that if Brock sells 20 combo packs, he’s met the goal.

This is assuming, of course, that fundraiser tickets count toward the “money bomb” goal. I think that’s likely, considering the consequences of a dud on the eve of the first campaign finance reports, which seem likely to show a formidable lead for Shumlin in the fundraising battle.

If Brock gets a halfway decent turnout for the LePage events, he’ll be able to announce a “money bomb” total well in excess of $40,000. Then, even if Shumlin scores big on Monday, Brock will be able to claim that he’s got the momentum. It’s kind of a sad little tactic, really, but when you’re challenging a deep-pocketed incumbent who’s flying high in the polls, you need every bit of good news you can scare up.

Feel the Brockmentum!