Republican panic sets in over Dems' financial dominance
By Steve Benen Sunday Mar 02, 2008 7:30amFollowing up on an item John had yesterday, the NYT noted that the contests in Ohio and Texas are going down to the wire between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, with Obama hoping to use a fundraising advantage to deliver a “knock-out blow.” Both sides have the resources, though, to oversee massive campaign operations in both states — in just February, Clinton raised $32 million, while Obama is believed to have taken in at least $50 million.
And, across the aisle, there’s John McCain, who reportedly collected about $12 million in February — the same underwhelming number he raised in January.
Republicans are not oblivious to the problem.
For Republicans, watching Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama fight for supremacy in fundraising is not just a spectator sport. It is a look into the future, and the GOP isn’t cheering.
Obama and Clinton together raked in as much as seven times as much cash in February as John McCain, the all-but-certain Republican nominee.
The Democrats, particularly Obama, are also developing a broad base of fervent donors whose help goes beyond sending money.
Some Republicans are sounding alarms. “Since the midterm election of 2006, Democrats have had an enthusiasm gap with Republicans,” said GOP strategist Scott Reed. “They have big crowds, raise more money and appear to have more excitement on the campaign trail. Couple this with turnout numbers, which are off the charts, and Republicans are going to have a big challenge in the fall.”
Worse, they don’t seem to have any idea what to do about it.
It’s a dynamic Republicans haven’t faced in the modern political era. I couldn’t be more pleased.
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That's why the Dems Should Just Say NO, To Public Financing!
I hope we can keep up this level of enthusiasm and fundraising till the fall. Which I don't see happening if Hillary is the nominee.
I don't understand why anybody would send money to Hillary since we have seen how she spends it (not to mention her likely departure form the race entirely). Obama is a fundraising machine. I look forward to watching him roll over McCain.
RHM
And still the GOP will have a shot because very little has been done to protect our votes.
To my eyes, this represents a good argument for 100 % federally funded campaigns, with broadcast entities who use our airwaves being required to donate broadcast time equally among candidates. With the amount of cash pouring in from corporate and PAC sources (Clinton, McCain, mostly), it cannot be reasonably argued that some kind of quid pro quo is not expected.
Amusing. I have visions of turd blossom crouched on a hill above a dem event like a fat pasty faced grinch. Grumbling and spitting because he can't think of any way to stop them. Of course it helps that he and his criminal gang all but own the company that makes the voting machines.
It really doesn't matter how big the gap, how much money the dems make or how much momentum they have.
The shrub co.criminal gang will just fudge the results and have their crooked judges hand them the victory. Just like last time.
Finks @ 2:
I agree. The scary part about the Democratic party being so far ahead in the race (both financially and in the polls), is that the not very well known Presidential Directive 51 can be executed at any time.
The White House is crazy enough to do it if the lead is too big for the Diebold macines to turn things in their favor.
if we have mccain, obama or clinton the military industrial complex still wins.
with the dems more kids will get insured and less foreign kids may get bombed.
but the differences aren't that great and neither dem can really be called a progressive.
Some advice for McCain:
Pull yourself up by your bootstraps
Get a job
Wait for campaign money to trickle down
Don't worry, the good Lord will provide
marko @ 8:
so who do you say we vote for?
If you say Nader I'm gonna walk over to your house and beat you up.
Wait until the 527 advocacy groups start making their presence known.
You may recall that McCain wrote the bill that made the 527 unlimited contribution possible.
Just remember,when Repugs begin to whine, it is just a decoy for their next move.
MargeAggedon @ 6:
Good point Marge. And if the American electorate just sigh and accept it ? No one to blame but themselves.I think "dumbed down" is a gross understatement. I thought the actual "tipping point" for these bastards passed long ago.
Where are the large conglomovangelical churches putting their money now?
Paul @ 5:
Of course! The Israel lobby is first in line when it comes to "buying" a candidate, and they're also first in line when pay-back time comes. And that goes for any candidate. They're bought and sold long before they are sworn in.
Live by the Thug, Die by the Thug. So goes the way of the ReThugs and I couldn't be happier.
CheneyIsADick @ 14:
Yeah I would say that the Israeli lobby is right up there with the CIA, causing more problems than they fix.
Col Kilgore @ 12:
At this point I would consider the word cowed, rather than dumbed down.
Enough of a $ lead and the Dems might actually have a big enough watchdog machine (and turn-out) to overcome the Repug dirty tricks. A big enough win, and we might actually see the criminal prosecution of Cheney and other deserving members of the other Bush crime family.
Joementum @ 9:
Awesome. You're officially My Hero Today.
"Republicans are going to have a big challenge in the fall.”
Funny how these Republican ad men are so good at inflating their positives and understating their negatives.
This isn't just "a big challenge", it is a fundamental change, unprecedented in history. The young people who were in high school in 2000 are stepping up to the ballot box because they all watched their parents' desperation growing throughout the Bush tribulations.
So many people are desperate these days, they are uniting to prevent another Bush era.
They are turning out in droves for Democrats. And the Republicans at the same time are losing their f*ing faith-based base, Without the evangelicals and fundies to fund their coffers and encourage turnout, they have nothing left but anti-immigration hicks and greedy, wealthy monopolists in capitalist clothing, and there just aren't enough of them to beat a populist movement of historic proportions.
"A challenge?" I would call it more of a desperate rout.
RHM @ 3:
Umm... because they support her? Delegates so far are at what, 55% Obama, 45% Clinton? Yes, Obama's ahead, but that's still a lot of people who've put their support behind Clinton.
JEP @ 20:
ditto
JEP @ 20:
All these are good things...but may mean squat if Bush cancels election...which IS possible...I just don't trust that bastard to just leave the WH without a fuss.
And YES, I am feeling cynical and pessimistic this mornin.
BoilThemInTheirOil @ 18:
Now THAT would be kickass!!
all this talk about HRC and her affecting the GOP turnout.It Doesn't Matter who wins the Nominee.Either candidate(HRC or Obama) will crush McCain.After what the GOP has done in the last 8 years,do you really think people will stay home and not vote if it's HRC? Either candidate will win in a landslide. The GOP did this to themselves,so now they get what's coming to them.
JEP @ 20:
It would really be sweet to see the Obama kick king george and his court out of the White House in November. Everybody on the planet deserves it. The neo-cons most of all.
EliteLemming @ 13:
Blackwater?
deezus @ 10:
LMAO!!!!
The GOP is toast, cooked, spect, DOA.
A quick look at voter turnout from the primaries shows the Dems are going to absolutely crush the repukers. Prepare for Martial Law folks, these criminals are not going to go quietly. Sharpen the pitchfoks and prepare to do battle with the wingnuts.
A life without a cause worth dying for is not a life worth living.
California
4,000,000 Dems to 2,000,000 repubs
OK
401,000 Dems to 329,00 repubs
Va
970,000 Dems to 481,000 Repubs
NY
600,000 Dems to 172,000 Repubs
Louisanna
357,000 Des to 156,000 Repubs
And that is just the tip of the iceberg.
JEP @ 20:
I love that they're losing the fundies because no one is willing to drive that crazy train to fundie town. Except shmuckabee. But he was already there. He's running for jebus not president.
Didn't United Tech just offer to acquire Diebold?
Don't it just break your heart? Actually, if the Dems do as poorly once elected as some are hinting they may (you know, us folks who expected change back in '07) I may break down and become a full-fledged anarchist. I think I'm already going to give up my party affiliation and register as Libertarian. I have no choice in this primary, anyway.
The Money quote:
"It's not who votes that counts.
It's who counts the votes" Apocryphally attrributed to Iosef Vissarionovich StalinSocial revolutionary,political leader, party animal and all around scary character.-rcareaga
I think I heard Novak trying to sell "McCain/Romney 08" , or as I call it "Flip/Flop 08"....lipstick on a pig. They're toast.
And as the Democrats pull away in both fundraising and popularity, I hope we don't turn into that which we despise. I hope, for instance, we welcome people at rallies who are wearing anti-Democratic t-shirts, and welcome dissent and questioning within our own ranks, and don't pull all of the top-to-bottom, steamin', smelly, shit that Bush Co. has.
The crowds at the Dem rallys aren't as bused in, pre-filtered like the ones Bush gets. They're basically regular folks who are ready to work for the Cause, though the unions have set up t-shirted hordes that say "organized" in capital letters.
Well, at least that confirms what I have been observing for a while. The Republicans that I know are not at all excited about the election this year and for the most part have already conceded that a Democrat will win.
But before we sit back and rest on our laurels, remember that a Democratic victory - especially if it is a Hillary Clinton victory - will galvanize the Right more than anything has before. During the term of the next president, the Right will pull out all the stops to rally the base and stand in the way of any initiative presented by Democrats. It's still a long way to November, y'all.
the spin on this will be the "Liberal hollywood uber rich and international uber intellectuals" are donating the money. Where as MCCain is taking his money from "hard working.common workers of america" like tobacco workers, coal minors, nascar fans, small rural communities where the resources are spent on fighting meth... not politics.
The truth is, the rich right wingers' investments haven't been going so well after 7 years of Dubya. The markets in the toilet and so are their returns. Are they going to give money to these assholes after losing so much money? Hell no. They have written this one up like the Dolphins' season. They are sitting this one out.
We will now begin to hear the GOP support campaign finance reform as an urgent necessity to save our democracy. Another round of losses will then have them pushing term limits again.
ronhohn @ 31:
Indeed. From Forbes.com:
United Technologies thinks it can help Diebold expand internationally, and it doesn't care what Diebold thinks. United Technologies will let Diebold shareholders vote on a $3.0 billion hostile bid.
Late Sunday, United Technologies revealed that it had been trying to talk to Diebold for two years about a takeover and that the maker of automated tellers and voting machines had coldly spurned it.
What it all means in terms of elections, I don't know.
McCain seems to me to be only marginally more energetic than Thompson. Is McCain even campaigning or what?
Does it not offend anyone that the catalyst for winning is the party that is purchased? The two Dem candidates are spending like drunken sailors and the poor "recession hit" average American is sending cash for? Oh ya. Donuts and pizza. And somehow these two "money managers" are supposed to change things? Yikes.
Well Bush/Cheney/Rove/Alito etc. took a big shit on America and killed the Republican party.
Dear Lord what are we going to do if the Dems win and our Military is no longer able to bully and intimidate the countries we owe money to!
The GOP in the toilet, eh? It all brings a smile to your face, doesn't it?
L.A. Confidential @ 45:
Sense a pattern? Bushie bombs around. Clinton bombed around. Bush1 bombed around. Raygun bombed around. Hell even Jimmy Carter bombed around........Since the 50s, how many nations have been bombed by both Dems and Reps? Damn, must be hard for civil servants to keep track of all that American gunboat diplomacy.
ConcernedCanuck @ 47:
And we won't be able to use the Military as our Global collection agency either!
Re: the United Technologies (makers of military aviation and other public teat dependent bidnesses) and Diebold (makers of corrupt vote "counting" machines):
(From SourceWatch):
United Technologies gave $580,500 to federal candidates in the 2006 election through its political action committee - 32% to Democrats, 66% to Republicans, and 2% ($14,000) to independent Joseph Lieberman (I-CT).
I'm just sayin'...
Hope the campaign bean counters have this dough spread out in different currencies.
http://finance.yahoo.com/
Joementum @ 41:
I JUST heard about this on NPR...If United Tech does nab Diebold, will it change the fact that the machines are hackable? Will it change even remotely how votes are counted or miscounted?
Is United Tech any more or less ethical than Diebold?
How will this affect elections around the rest of the world if they take these machines global? Can any given election around the world still be affected by a handful of hackers with an agenda?
charles @ 50:
Do campaign bean counters have a problem with flatulence?
No freaking wonder the Republicans have no enthusiasm, they are offering nothing different to a people who already know what the FAILURE of the Republican Party brought to them.
Who the hell would invest their hopes in 4 more years of an idiotic preemptive war, a failed economy, a broken Health-Care system, not to mention infrastructure that is falling apart across America, (bridges, road etc.) a school system in the dumps and a 2+ year old Hurricane disaster that has still not been dealt with properly.
When you listen to McCain, what do YOU hear? Nothing but the same old crap, stay the course, never give up crap and no ideas at all about what to do to turn around the Economy.
Not to endorse anyone, but if Obama wins this will be the first time in my voting lifetime that the GOP will have to compete in the South. I am from NC and had never seen a national political ad. I have since moved to Ohio, the epicenter, and even me a poltical junkie has to turn the TV off.
The GOP has more money trouble then they realize.
Different Anonymous @ 49:
Great....no doubt whose side they're on. The EEEEEVIL side.
ysbaddaden @ 52:
Dunno 'bout them, but I sure as hell do...well, I don't have a problem, the people around me do, lol!!!
liberalNmoderation @ 56:
GOP beancounter sure seem to have flatulence, every time they get up to speak, all I hear is something akin to a fart. Stay the course braaaaack
McCain is a default GOP candidate who has the impossible challenge of attracting and uniting independents and moderates, while seeking the endorsements of hateful right wing extremists like Rod Parsley and John Hagee. Frankly, I think that is an impossible task. No one can eat their cake and have it too, and oil and water don't mix. McCain's botched acceptance of John Hagee's endorsement, while attempting to separate himself from Hagee's religious and ethnic bigotry, not only alienates independents and moderates, but accepting Hagee's endorsement and not accepting his beliefs is a red flag that arouses the suspicions of hypocrisy and the resentment Hagee's true believers. McCain will never unite or motivate today's radically disparate Republican party enough to equal the passion and contributions Obama and Clinton are receiving from motivated Democratic voters. Never. Even if he did, too many Republicans are simply going to stay at home rather than vote for a default GOP candidate who is despartely attaching himself to Bush's destructive and failed presidency that less than 30% of Americans support. The Democrats will vote in such overwhelming landslide numbers that it will be impossible for even Rove Republicans to steal this election.
moonsha @ 4:
Not true.
The CEO of Diebold was removed in 2005, folling allegation of fraud.
Did you notice that in 2006 the election results were much more favorable to the American people.
The Republicans no longer have the Diebold card to play.
I don't think "Worse" is the word that would come to my mind.
L.A. Confidential @ 48:
Perhaps you could hire some of those Mastercard telemarketers. G-damn am I sick of those idiots phoning every day. Same story over and over about a wonderful offer.
Large corporate donors tend to not like political parties that shit-can the economy. They want to make money; not, file for chapter 13 bankruptcy.
Chuck @ 59:
Have you noticed/heard about all the election irregularities so far in just the primaries?
The republicans seem to be losing their faith.
Just pray to Jebus and he will provide, don't worry.
Joementum @ 41:
If Diebold exports the machines or the technology that can rig elections, it means that the NWO is one step closer to happening.
Bangkok Bob @ 57:
LOL!!! True, so very true!
With all this "great" news, the polls on a November match-up still show a very competitive race, with McCain even beating Clinton.
After 2000 and 2004, I will not feel confident until after the election is held and certified.
For many this will not be a contest between McCain and Clinton or Obama, it is a battle against the evil liberals. The right wing media has spent a couple of decades defining liberals as the enemy. They can use this to rationalize anything - exposing a CIA agent, avoiding an investigation into 9/11, politicizing the Justice Department, denying a climate change crisis, and on and on.
There are 8 months to go. The terror alerts that magically happened for weeks before the 2004 election could well turn into terror events. There is nothing that the Republican party finds too contemptible to do.
scioto @ 67:
GAH!!! What a bunch of evil fuckers!!! Can't they just have their damn Rapture already, so the rest of us "heathens" can live in peace?
osage @ 58:
I find the problem to be a bit perplexing that the the RePUGlicons can only come up with a McBush and all the other contenders dropped out early. this can't their best suit in the closet.
Which brings to mind the options for election day and beyond.
1.) they are going to suck up what they have done in the last 25yrs and try and win some hearts in four years, knowing that they will not only lose the the big guys post but much of the Congress and Senate too. I really don't think they are going for this option.
2.) Screw up the election with Diebold and the Courts. A distinct possibility, and what have most states done to change this shell game, Nada. So this may be their option, figuring that after the fact that we, good citizens won't do anything, because, well you know the reasons why. I figure this what they might try this one again.
3.) Directive 51, if #2 don't work, declare martial law, because we need to be a sovereign nation and because of problems with #2. this is false flag to the max. I hope this doesn't happen, but when you put RePUGs into office, and they want to keep that office in any way possible, then perhaps some sort of martial law might happen. We can kiss our Bill of Rights good bye as well.
as yea SOW, shall yea REAP
the repuglitards ain't reaping so good lately ???
must have sown some bad fruits, huh ???
by their fruits shall you know them
4 more wars, that's the christians' fruits ???
well, there's yer problem, right there ...
The fundraising totals aren't really fair to compare since McCain is running for all intents and purposes, unopposed and has the nomination wrapped up.
However there is still no denying the shockingly large disparity in turnout.
I hate to think it but I still suspect that Bush & Co. will come up with a catastrophic terror warning close enough to the election so that its emotional impact is felt the strongest, but not enough time to debunk by our dimwitted media.
Ooohhh yesss...spank me with a stack of fifties!!!
Oh sure McCain knows what to do about it. War war war war. Fear fear fear fear. Mary Matalin says people really aren’t worried about their personal finances, it’s the evil liberal media that’s giving them the perception that the economy is tanking. So the economy is not a proble. All is well.
Hahahahahahahhahahahhahahahahaahah
Keep it up you jackasses. See what it gets you.
Vman @ 29:
My only caution about these numbers is to consider that McCain has been the frontrunner for some time, so many registered Republicans might have skipped the primary figuring that it was all but over with already.
My guess is that the Republican donors see that McCain is already the annointed nominee due to the lack of competition among the R candidates, so they feel no need to contribute money to a candidate with no competition.
This may change when the conventions are over, so while it may look good for the Dems now, it's always possible the Repulicans will throw off their apathy at a later date.
moonsha @ 4:
Not to mention trying to orchestrate the weakest candidate through their campaign to reregister and be a Dem for a day and vote Obama in primaries and having repugs vote in Dem primaries in open ones.
MargeAggedon @ 6:
Might the ending be more like that of Gollum in Lord of the Rings? In a final struggle, the turd blossom loses his case in front of the International Court of Justice for crimes against humanity, and is consigned to the fiery depths of the US prison system, where he is "everybody's bitch"!
secularhumanizinevoluter @ 76:
On what the RePUGs do on changing votes 1 at a time in the voting booth I don't think there is much to do.
My real problem is what will happen when states find out that they have problems with Diebold or rePUG party hacks show up and wanna count chads. most of the states haven't gotten back to any sort of paper ballots. I don't have to tell you what Fascist Stalin said about elections.
I have thought the turnout numbers have been a significant story that has been all but ignored by the "liberal" media. I have heard it mentioned a few times, but not with any detail attached. Super Tuesday, both sides still had a real battle going on (so no MaCain had it wrapped up excuse) and the overall numbers that day were a bad day for the GOP. I can't remember them exactly , but it was close to half overall.
Vman quoted a few earlier, but the "Red" states have done no better. Obama got 27,000 in Kansas, as red as it gets, and all the GOP combined received only 19,000.
Same state after state- link to super Tuesday totals
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/dates/index.html#2008...
Hell even in Alabama, the GOP did have a bigger turnout, 560k to the Dems 540k, but with Obama still winning more votes than any GOP candidate.
BOO HOO!
I love watching the fracturing of the GOP. They've earned it.
To any GOP readers present. Now is the time to pray. The lord will save you. Good luck. (tee hee hee)
Worse, they don’t seem to have any idea what to do about it.
It’s a dynamic Republicans haven’t faced in the modern political era. I couldn’t be more pleased.
Maybe they're acting like they don't care about the presidential race is because they really do not care about the presidential race....and have other plans in mind. Think about Bush, Cheney, Rove and all the satanist neocons behind them...do you think they plotted out these past 8 years consolidating all this power..and just forgot about what to do with it when Bush's term was up? They purposefully put Mccain out knowing that he was someone the republicans wouldn't attach too, because they know there won't even be presidential race. The neocons are plotting something big enough that will make the fall elections all-but-impossible. I bet if you investigated Guilliani's trips during his campaign you'd find out they had less to do with a presidential campaign and more to do with getting his establishment prepared.
Again, how seriously can you believe Cheney and Rove would allow either Mccain or Hillar