DNC going broke

If the dems are the ones destined to win and the party everyone wants, why isnt anyone giving them money?

Democrats Widen Fundraising Lead for Senate Campaigns

Senate Democrats continued to dramatically outraise their Republican counterparts in the first three months of 2008, a differential almost certain to result in a huge spending disparity in competitive contests this fall.

From Jan. 1 to March 31, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee brought in nearly $17 million -- about $5 million more than the National Republican Senatorial Committee raised in the same time period. In March, the DSCC nearly doubled the take of its counterpart, bringing in $8.2 million to the GOP committee's $4.2 million.

Most troubling for Republican strategists is the growing chasm between the two committees' remaining war chests. The DSCC ended March with nearly $38 million in the bank, compared with $17.3 million for the Republican committee.

House Dems Outraise Republicans, Again

The month of March provided an eight-figure take for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the political organization of the majority Democrats in the U.S. House: the DCCC collected $10.1 million last month, ahead of the $7.1 million raised by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), according to reports both organizations filed Friday with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). [..]

By raising more and also spending less last month than its GOP counterpart, the DCCC widened its advantage in campaign cash on hand over the NRCC to $44.3 million to $7.2 million, a ratio of greater than six to one. The cash-rich DCCC will begin to spend these tens of millions of dollars this fall, primarily to air television and radio advertisements and publish mail pieces in districts in which Republicans are the defending party.

Campaign finance: Mammon, McCain and Obama

Both parties' candidates were expected to raise such huge sums that they would find it advantageous to forgo the subsidy. But Mr McCain has not.

He has raised some $72m so far, but spent most of it winning his party's nomination. At the end of March his campaign had about $11.5m in the bank. Such sums are pocket change to Barack Obama, who has raised an incredible $235m. The junior senator from Illinois boasts $51m in cash, insignificant debts and a web-based fundraising operation that parts donors from their dollars at least three times faster than Mr McCain's operation can. And that is before Mr Obama has even clinched the Democratic nomination.

GOP recruits show lagging fundraising

Several of the GOP's most highly touted candidates posted mediocre fundraising numbers in this year's first quarter, raising questions about their ability to seriously compete in races that were once at the top of the Republican radar screen.

The first-quarter fundraising period is often a make-or-break test for challengers. By April, candidates usually need to demonstrate they can consistently raise money to mount a credible race, or risk irrelevance in the months to come.

Businessman Steve Greenberg, running against Rep. Melissa L. Bean (D-Ill.), is perhaps the most striking example of a recruit failing to live up to expectations. Once highly touted [..], Greenberg is a candidate Republicans hoped could run a strong campaign against Bean [..].

But Greenberg raised only $113,000 for the quarter and is nearly broke, with just $5,000 left in his campaign account. By contrast, Bean has $1.35 million in her campaign account. Given the financial disparity, the prospect of Greenberg being able to run a competitive race looks dimmer by the day.

Another Republican fundraising disappointment was Lou Barletta, the mayor of Hazleton, Pa., who is running against Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski (D-Pa.). He raised $187,000 in the first quarter, underwhelming many GOP operatives [..]. Kanjorski, meanwhile, raised more than $453,000, giving him a nearly $1.9 million line of defense ?- well ahead of the $154,000 Barletta banked in his campaign account.

Another example is former California Assemblyman Dean Andal. Running against freshman Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.), Andal barely topped the $100,000 fundraising mark in the first three months of 2008.

And former GOP Rep. Melissa Hart has seen her quarterly fundraising totals trail off ever since she announced she was seeking a rematch against freshman Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.), who defeated her in 2006. Hart raised only $143,000 in the quarter ?- well short of Altmire's $478,000.

To be sure, many Republican recruits posted strong fundraising numbers. [..] Former GOP Rep. Anne Northup raised $461,000 for her rematch against Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), who unseated her in 2006. Yarmuth raised only $255,000, making Northup one of the few Republican challengers to outraise a Democratic incumbent this quarter. [..]

Targeted Democratic incumbents have also been amassing sizable war chests, however. With the exception of Rep. Michael Arcuri (D-N.Y.), every member in the DCCC's Frontline program has raised at least $200,000 for the quarter. [..]

It's going to take a whole lot more money for Obama to make a dent in McCain than McCain needs to pummel Obama....

Brand X wrote:

It's going to take a whole lot more money for Obama to make a dent in McCain than McCain needs to pummel Obama....

So how do you explain that even now, after months in which Hillary attacked Obama and the media revelled in Wright and bittergate and whatnot, and in which McCain was sailing through without any primary opponent, any concerted attacks from the Democrats (who were far too busy with each other), and any media scrutiny of note, McCain still hasnt been able to build any kind of consistent lead over Obama in the polls?