A very smart person and I argued recently about the idea that Dems with big war chests should be spreading the love around to close House and Senate races in the name of party unity. Smart Person told me, no, that's not what needs to happen now, because the close races are conservative Dems, and progressives want them to lose. But there's not concensus around the net on this.
Senate Republicans with enormous campaign war chests are refusing to transfer significant amounts of money to help fellow Republicans who are cash-strapped and face defeat in the final weeks of the campaign.
The stinginess alarms some of the Republican Party's top campaign strategists, especially because it is in such stark contrast to the millions of dollars that Democrats have transferred to their candidates in need.
Control of the Senate will come down to a half-dozen close races next month, and both sides agree that money will likely determine the outcome of each. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) has nearly twice as much money on hand as the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) for that final sprint to Election Day.
According to the latest figures available, the DSCC has $23 million and the NRSC has $12 million. Much of that difference stems from the disparity in late giving from sitting senators.
"Time is running out," one senior Republican aide said. "People will not want to look back and wonder what more could have been done. That would be a real shame."
The ire of some Republicans in Washington and on the campaign trail has been directed at some of the most senior Republican senators who are harboring millions in campaign cash.
For example, Republican Sens. Richard C. Shelby of Alabama and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas both have more than $9 million in their campaign accounts, and there is no limit to how much they can legally transfer to the NRSC.
Mr. Shelby isn't up for re-election until 2010 and won his last election with 68 percent of the vote. His campaign account contains $11.6 million, but he has given $15,000 to the NRSC. If Democrats take over the Senate, Mr. Shelby will have to surrender his chairmanship of the banking committee.
That comes out to $3,531,950, or $2.3M more for Republicans in large transfers than Democrats in large transfers. Now, Republicans have a pay-to-play system where how much you donate to the NRCC is a factor in determining seniority in Congress. However, elections also have a pay to play system, where if you don't have a majority in the House, you can't get anything done, and you can't stop Bush's agenda. The entire reason why the NRCC has more money in the bank that the DCCC is because Republican House members in safe districts are transferring more to the NRCC than Democratic House members in safe districts are transferring to the DCCC.
I'm sure that if you have made any calls on the Use It or Lose It campaign that you have been told, at least once, just how much money the Democratic Representative in question has given to the DCCC and Democratic challengers. However, no matter how much they have given, the fact remains that they are not given at equal rates to their Republican opponents. Not even close. This is something you need to remind them of when you call their offices and ask them to give more.
Safe Republicans are giving more than safe Democrats. Call safe Democrats in your state and tell them that.
Honestly, I'm not sure what to think. Except, gosh! Was somebody talking about "unity" someplace? 'Cause clearly, that's a foreign word to a lot of pols on both sides of the aisle. Cheap, tight fisted, selfish and arrogant:
your government in action.
Speaking of action: here's an email I got recently. Think about helping if you can:
We need your help for the final push to victory! The DCCC is seeking
election protection and GOTV volunteers for the last week. The time to get
involved is now, don't be on the sidelines this election. Although we need
volunteers across the country, we are particularly looking for volunteers to
go to Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Florida. If you are
interested in signing up please contact Cecily Hastings at hastings@dccc. org,
202-485-3435 or Chris Strader at strader@dccc. org, 202-741-1876
Front page
