Trigger warning: This story contains graphic details of national Democrats and high-dollar donors acting irrationally and being inexplicably stupid.
The Democratic base is on fire, staging inspirational protest after inspirational protest, posting eye-popping fundraising figures through small-dollar donations, and closing the gap significantly in deep-red districts in Kansas and Montana.
Republicans are on high alert, with good reason. Paul Ryan's Super PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund, has vowed to raise $100 million toward protecting the House in 2018, including dropping $7 million on the Georgia race between Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel.
And then there's the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), presenting the urgency of a slug on a hot California day. The Washington Post writes:
In Montana, the group spent $340,000 to attack Republican Greg Gianforte; its GOP counterpart, the National Republican Congressional Committee, spent $1.8 million against Rob Quist.
A memo the DCCC issued the day after Democrat Quist’s six-point loss mocked Republican groups for spending a combined $6 million to triumph in a traditional GOP stronghold but also said it “Refused to Waste Money on Hype,” claiming that polling did not justify more of its own investment.
Are you joking? The DCCC was smugly covering its butt with a memo while Republicans saved a seat by eking out a 6-point win in a district Trump won by 20. And the Republicans are the dumb ones?? Psst, Democrats, you guys lost. Just FYI. Wonder if "the polling" is the same foolproof stuff that Hillary relied upon—‘cuz that worked out well.
It gets worse. High-dollar Democratic donors are also keeping their powder dry because they think there's better things to do than drive a stake through the heart of Trump's agenda by winning back the House next year.
More than a dozen top Democratic donors who have previously donated heavily to the House Majority PAC declined or did not return requests for comment. A Democratic fundraiser who spoke on the condition of anonymity to frankly describe conversations with major donors said they are not accustomed to investing heavily in House races this early in the election cycle — if they invest at all.
“There is a mentality that the bigger checks make more sense when you’re talking about Senate, president or governor,” the fundraiser said. “That is a challenge that we face all the time. I think for a lot of the Democratic big donors that we have, it’s hard to get them to write a $250,000 or a $500,000 check for one House seat in the off year in a district that is very uphill.”
Great—wait for the "big" races in the Senate next year where your dollars will count less in pursuit of flipping a chamber where the math is working against Democrats. Man, what are these guys smoking? “They are not accustomed ...” Wtf? Yo, big donors, don’t know if you’ve heard, but there’s a Dumpster fire burning down the West Wing right now and GOP lawmakers are getting high on the fumes. Perhaps, a sense of urgency is in order.
Meanwhile, Jon Ossoff has a real chance of flipping a seat in Georgia's sixth, where he's in a dead heat with the GOP's Handel. Trump is absolutely toxic in this affluent district and yet GOP groups are still crushing Democratic groups. The NRCC has dropped $6.3 million to the DCCC's $5 million. Outside groups that depend on high-dollar donations are making the disparity even worse.
The House Majority PAC, the leading Democratic super PAC, has announced $700,000 in spending, recently launching an ad targeting GOP candidate Karen Handel, and other Democratic groups have reported $655,000 in spending. But the CLF has already reported spending $3 million on the race, and other GOP groups have reported another half-million in expenditures.
Time to get in the game, folks. Democratic strategist Jeff Weaver said it best:
“We can win if we’re outspent but you can’t fight nuclear weapons with pitchforks.”