Republicans have always outspent Democrats. It is by sheer force of the Democratic message that we have been able to remain competitive against the GOP financial juggernaut.
(Which is why we have been hurting as the Dems have lost their message...)
But all things being financially equal, Democrats are more than able to compete and win against the best the GOoPers can throw at us (witness Landrieu and Blanco in Louisiana).
Now, for the first time, an activated left is pumping significant dollars into the 2004 contest, and the GOP is genuinely worried it may lose its money advantage.
Republicans worry that President Bush may not be able to fill his re-election fund with anything close to what Democrats are raising to defeat him next year, thanks to a loophole in the campaign finance law.
"The Sierra Club, the AFL-CIO, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, MoveOn.org and America Coming Together are raising up to $421 million to spend on the presidential election next year," Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie wrote last week to former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, in a letter urging the leading Democratic candidate to take a stand against the flood of unregulated "soft money" contributions.
Nevermind the grand hypocrisy of Gillespie, who somehow doesn't see a problem with the vast hard-dollar advantage Bush will enjoy against the fractured Dem primary field. If the GOoPers were genuine about the influence of money in the process, Bush would've accepted public financing in his unopposed primary, putting himself at parity against his eventual Democratic foe.
While the $421 million from liberal advocay groups is a gross exaggeration to scare up more cash from Republican donors, fact is we shouldn't have to start in a financial pit as in years past.
Americans Coming Together (ACT) plans to raise $75 million (seeded generously by George Soros), and is well on track of meeting that goal. The AFL-CIO will probably spend $52 million, AFSCME $16 million, SEIU $4 million, Sierra Club nearly $10 million, MoveOn.org $10 million, and People for the American Way about $3 million.
The DNC plans on raising and spending $100 million in hard dollars (donate to ePatriots, link on the left column). That would put the effort at $270 million.
Our nominee should be able to raise money. If it's Dean, $100 million is not out of the realm of possibilities (he's shooting for $200 million). Other potential nominees should also be able to raise significant funds (but only if he opts out of public financing).
The GOP claims that liberal advocacy groups will raise $421 million. The most optimistic estimates peg the ceiling at $300 million. However, even that number is impressive, and puts us at rough parity with the GOP. Throw in the DNC and candidate's own fundraising, and we may very well approach half a billion dollars.
Not to say that we'll overwhelm the Republicans with cash. That'll never happen. Bush, on his own, should raise close to $250 million. The RNC, no fundraising slouch, should easily best anything the DNC can muster. Throw in allied groups like the Chamber of Commerce, NRA, Christian Coalition (and other "family" groups), anti-tax groups, and loads of free promotion on Faux and allied right-wing media, and, well, there's no chance they'll be financially uncompetitive.
But unlike recent election cycles, we won't unilaterally disarm in the face of the GOoPer financial onslaught.
And it's a good thing. There's far too much at stake.