My Aisling

More money than them

The news has been churned so very often about W raising more money than any candidate in history, and that his lead over Kerry is astonishing. Click on the "campaign cash" link to the right to get very detailed information on every race.

But I found this article of particular interest. Sharon Theimer of the Associated Press reports that, "through last month, the DNC had raised about $56 million, compared to nearly $139 million for the RNC."

I recognize that the campaign finance reform applies to political parties. But, my, the dems raised $246MM to our $250MM last cycle, and it seems as if they are going to be severely crippled this time.

Everyone is saying the 527s will make up the difference. But they seem to be very fluid (sorry for the link - you need to be a paid subscriber to get info beyond that on the screen I provide). $108MM taken in so far; $90MM spent. And the split seems roughly even between dems and pubs.

I just don't see the dems making up the huge financial disadvantage. That is not necessarily good. It means that they will need to get free press to overcome it. Free press comes from playing even more dirty than they usually do. Allegations of public scandal ...

I am not worried, just observant. Instead of leveling the playing field with their dirty politics, they may just as soon implode. Time will tell.