Moe Lane

[UPDATE] Welcome, Instapundit readers. To save time: we need implementation of the good ideas we’ve had already more than we need new good ideas; if I have a choice between bondage-themed clubs and more of this I’d like the bondage-themed clubs, thanks; and the grassroots activists that we have now are not public utilities, and many do not like being volunteered to work.

Glenn Reynolds:

My advice to GOP donors: Ignore ‘em, and send your money directly to candidates you like.

Moe Lane:

…Just resign yourself to the fact that doing so will limit November’s victories to candidates that can somehow manage to get your attention.

You don’t like the RNC, the NRSC, and/or the NRCC? Fine. You got something that will replace them? You have something that will allocate resources to every race, work with every candidate, keep track of the Other Side’s mistakes and pounce on them? Let me save you some time: no, you don’t.  You don’t have anything that’s even close.  And if there is anything that’s even close that’ll be in place in time to be a meaningful factor in November, I have not heard its name.

If you have a problem with the Republican party’s candidate selection system, join the Republican party and start doing all the boring scutwork involved with candidate selection.  You’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ll be in a position to do something about your problems.

Moe Lane

PS: Please note that this reflects my personal, private opinion and nobody else’s.

It’s that time again.  Short version: RNC above DNC, DNC took a big cash on hand hit, NRSC over DSCC in the biggest shocker, NRCC/DCCC more or less the same, DCCC has a big CoH advantage, and blessed if I know how much any of this means, post-Citizens’ United and post-Brown.

(more…)

As Hotline on Call notes here in passing: the RNC reported 6.6 million raised (CoH of 8.4 million*), but nobody else really has yet.

Which is why no post yet on the topic.

Moe Lane

*Hotline points out that the CoH number is down because of the VA & NJ gubernatorial races (and health care).  [pause] Yes.  Yes, it is.  It’ll be down some more because of the MA-SEN race, too.

Fine by me.

Crossposted to RedState.

Interesting article here from the Daily Caller on Brandon Darby, who people might remember as being the former fringe-left activist who helped the FBI shut down a domestic terrorist cell planning to murder people at the Republican national convention. For this act of elementary patriotism and decency he has, of course, been vilified (the woman mentioned in passing as being arrested for making death threats was later acquitted).  A few thoughts:

• Speaking as somebody who was actually at the 2008 convention, I appreciate not having been burned to death.
• I don’t actually expect the fringe Left to be sorry that they put themselves in a place where my being burned to death seemed like a good idea, but it would be nice if they didn’t feel safe to be so flipping wistful about the missed opportunity.
• ‘The Texas Two.”  Ye gods: this entire City Integer way of looking at organizers of violent political protests is subtly corrosive to the Left’s soul in general, and the Democratic party’s in particular.  In other words, I’d like people to stop treating the Chicago Seven as being somehow worthy of emulation*.

What a world that any of this has to be written out, no?

Moe Lane

*What?  Yes, yes, I’d always like a pony, too.  Unfortunately, there’s no space for one on my Amazon.com wish list.

Crossposted to RedState.

It’s that time again.  Short version: RNC beat DNC, but DSCC & DCCC significantly outraised their counterparts – sufficiently so that the Democrats raised more overall for the month.  When debt is factored in, the Democrats also went from being significantly behind on cash-on-hand to being slightly ahead.  That being said: the RNC and NRCC are both reporting significant increases in small-person donors.

(more…)

I would like to crunch the numbers for September, except that the DNC hasn’t released their monthly totals yet.  Given that the Democrats had great months for both their Senatorial and Congressional campaigns, it’s going to take exceedingly little for the Democrats to have both more money raised and more cash on hand this month.  The DNC had over 15 million in the bank last month; even assuming no change in that it’s enough to make for a significant COH advantage.

On the bright side – and it is a significant bright side – small-donor contributions are up for both the RNC and NRCC.

Wouldn’t you know it: I decide not to do anything consequential and the fundraising numbers become available. Short version: the GOP out-raised the Democrats for the first time since April; the NRSC beat out the DSCC for the second month; the NRCC continues to stay essentially tied with the DCCC; and the Democrats aren’t paying their debt down.

(more…)

So stop wasting everybody’s time with pretending that you want Republicans for anything but cover and pass your cursed health care rationing bill.

Actually, that’s pretty much what he said:

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele on Thursday dared Democrats to try a one-party push to overhaul the nation’s health care system.

Steele told reporters that he thinks if Democratic senators think they have the votes, they should try a tactic that would allow them to get around a bill-killing filibuster without the 60 votes usually needed. Steele said he didn’t think Democrats would do it because of potential voter backlash.

“Get it to the floor. Up or down, baby,” Steele said at a news conference at the state GOP headquarters. “Put it on the table. And if you don’t think you’ve got enough votes to get to 60, you’ve got the nuclear option. You’ve got 51.”

(Via Hot Air Headlines)

Democrats who are surprised by this shouldn’t be: this is the natural and inevitable result of the Democratic House leadership deciding to freeze out House Republicans in writing bills this session. That particular bit of hubris then means that we feel that we’re under no obligation to give the Democrats political cover for a blessed thing now – and if the Democrats are feeling upset over that, well, good. They should direct that upset towards the people who actually caused it – which is to say, Pelosi, Hoyer, Murtha, Waxman, Frank, Obey, and every other House leader who let their sense of entitlement and need for petty revenge override their good sense. (more…)

Short version: Democrats had a good month for the DNC – they beat out the RNC for a change – which was enough to let them end with a edge in amount raised and total cash-on-hand of a couple million. Fortunately, July fundraising for the congressional and senatorial committees was not a repeat of June’s: despite their having a significant edge in membership, the DSCC lagged the NRSC and the DCCC barely edged the NRCC. And the debt still remains significant on the Democrats’ side.

(more…)

Short version: the Democrats had a good month in their Congressional/Senatorial Committee fundraising (double their previous month’s totals, as well as double their Republican counterparts); the RNC is back to outraising the DNC; cash on hand is at parity, except that the GOP is running with a debt that’s 1/10th of their total and the Democrats are running with one that’s half; and this is all very different than this time in 2007.

(more…)

So far, the RNC’s reporting over 8 million raised; 23.7 million cash-on-hand; no debt. The DNC’s reporting 6.75 million raised; 13.03 million cash-on-hand; 4.91 million in debt. As a look at last month’s numbers show, the DNC continues to trail the RNC in cash on hand and debt being retired, and is now back to trailing it in cash being raised, too.

Congressional/Senatorial numbers to be posted when I get them.

Crossposted to RedState.

The RNC has decided to get in a kick or two:

…presumably on the principle that you never let a good dip in the polls go to waste. Based on the length, this looks like a web ad, which means… actually, the jury is still out on how effective web ads are. They’re certainly more cost-effective, but the dispute is on what their real reach is – and the dispute is rarely between people who don’t have a vested interest in the answer.

Full points on the big lettering, by the way. Subtle, this wasn’t. Nor was it particularly meant to be.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.