Hot Air is reporting that enthusiasm for the Republican Party is skyrocketing.
Some pollsters, including Gallup, suggested that Republican voter enthusiasm in this midterm cycle began to wane after the passage of ObamaCare. Three months later, Gallup says that GOP enthusiasm remains off the charts — almost literally, in this case. Republicans have a 35-point advantage over Democrats at the moment.
Given that you’d think that fundraising would be going pretty well. But…
Politico reports:
Democratic campaign committees outraised their Republican counterparts in the month of May by over a million dollars and held a $17 million dollar cash-on-hand advantage heading into the summer.
The Democratic National Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee took in a combined $16.7 million, versus $15.45 million for the comparable GOP committees. The three Democratic campaign groups had $60.1 million to spend at the end of last month, compared with $42.7 million war chest for the Republicans…
Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) beat out the Republican National Committee (RNC) by about $150,000 in its dash for cash. The DNC raised $6.6 million in May, compared with $6.45 million for the RNC. Democrats spent $7.2 million in May, about one million less than the RNC.
RNC spokesman Doug Heye noted that once the DNC’s $3 million debt is factored in, the RNC actually has $360,000 more in reserve. Both committees’ receipts fell from April, when the DNC raised $10.4 million and the RNC took in $6.9 million.
Leave it to Michael Steele and the Republicans to translate enthusiasm into getting beat at the bank.
No matter how much excitement there is out there to defeat the Democrats, Republicans still need money to defeat them. Money matters in politics. Political commercials, for all the eye rolls they induce, work. Commercials move poll numbers. You have your hard core Dems and hard core GOP’ers but there’s a mushy middle that’s not too focused on politics but still vote.
Michael Steele and the Republicans better get their fundraising act together or we’re looking at many more years of huge deficits, out of control government, and an advancement of the secularist/ACLU agenda.
June 22, 2010 at 4:27 am
This is not a bad sign. Conservatives are increasingly giving directly to good candidates and advocacy groups. One would have to be goofy to give to either the Republican Senate or Congressional Campaign Committees.
June 22, 2010 at 5:09 am
Hmmm. Maybe you want to rethink your descriptor "mushy middle". I'm a hardcore conservative, but reside in California, where the Republican party has put up yet another pro-abortion candidate. I would vote for a candidate of either party if I thought they respected the values of my faith. And I don't think that makes me "mushy" so much as "thinking".
June 22, 2010 at 5:19 am
I stopped giving to the national and state GOP because so much of what they raise gets plowed back in to fundraising. I contribute to the county party that does the hard work of knocking on the doors and making the phone calls or I contribute directly to the candidate. Contributions to the national or state committee get used to support establishment candidates and those are generally not the candidates generating enthusiasm. Keep your cash local and then sign up to join us knocking on doors, making calls and manning the polls.
June 22, 2010 at 12:10 pm
It seems that many don't trust the Republican Party. And that's a good thing. I wonder if I could see if donations to individual candidates has gone up while party donations have diminished.
June 22, 2010 at 5:25 pm
It's the Republican Party that brought us "years of huge deficits, out of control government, and an advancement of the secularist/ACLU agenda." Wake up people, they're two sides of the same coin.
June 22, 2010 at 7:44 pm
What anony 11:27 said. Why give Steele the money? Local CONSERVATIVE guys/gals need it.
June 22, 2010 at 11:03 pm
Can someone tell me why Steele is still at the RNC? Didn't think so.
June 23, 2010 at 1:57 am
Amen. Not one dime of my money would go to the RNC before the whole pack of them is flushed out in the coming election cycles – that is, flushed out by a total dearth of funds. Let them starve for the horrible candidates they've channeled my hard earned money to prop up.
Remember the nightmare that was Dede Scozzafava? Don't forget her, because the same folks who loved her at the RNC are STILL THERE. Including the bumbling Michael Steele.
Each and every fundrasing letter they send me I adorn with NO MONEY FOR RINOS: FIRE STEELE. It's working, people. Money, unfortunately, is the only thing that moves them to action. Or lack of it.
We are completely capable of directly funding ethical, intelligent, politically savvy, true conservatives around the country. Who needs the RNC? Find your local conservative groups. Check the big conservative websites. Plenty of worthy candidates to support.
June 23, 2010 at 7:44 pm
I'm with the others here. On the last survey the RNC sent me, I wrote that they had totally lost my confidence by supporting Scozzafava and they wouldn't see a penny until they fixed their RINO problems. I want to see the focus on LIFE, marriage, parental rights, and limited government.
Meanwhile, we will support good candidates directly or through the Senate Conservatives Fund. (And you should see the cr*p that's going on in the Utah senate primary.)
June 24, 2010 at 9:48 pm
Part of it is due to primaries. There are a lot of GOP primaries and people will not give money to a candidate until he or she survives the primaries. So this isn't such a big deal. The important thing is to get out and vote and get all your like-minded family and friends to do the same.
I agree with several other posters that you should give money to the local candidates that reflect your values rather than the RNC directly. That will send a message and be a more effective way of equiping good candidates with campaign cash.
Personally, I suggest Sean Bielat who is a member of the KofC running against Barney Frank.