From the diaries. As Chris Bowers and Markos have argued money is one of the main advantages the GOP has always had in closing in November. This is definitely good news. mcjoan
Every year in August, George Bush headlines a fundraiser at his neighbors' ranch, the Broken Spoke Ranch. The fundraiser is targeted to the top GOP fundraisers; it's a no-press private affair for rich corrupt Republicans. Since it's an annual affair, it provides a good measure of how Bush's fundraising ability compares from year to year.
And this year, he only raised 38% of what he raised last year--even though 120 more people attended the event.
Here are the important details from last year's party:
On Friday, Bush arrived before noon at a neighbor's ranch for a barbecue that was expected to raise at least $2 million for the Republican National Committee.
About 230 people were attending the fundraiser at Stan and Kathy Hickey's Broken Spoke Ranch, a 478-acre spread next to Bush's ranch. All have contributed at least $25,000 to the RNC, and many are "rangers," an honorary campaign title bestowed on those who raised $200,000 or more for Bush, or "pioneers," those who have raised $100,000 or more.
And the breaking details from this year's party:
The event at the Broken Spoke Ranch, owned by party activists Kathy and Stan Hickey, has been an annual one during Bush's presidency. This year, 350 attendees raised $750,000 for the Republican National Committee for giving to Republican candidates this fall.
Those invited were proven donors who in the past have contributed at least $15,000.
So it's taking them 120 more people to achieve results that are only 38% of what they achieved last year. $750,000 instead of $2 million. And last year wasn't even a campaign year.
Some of this is predictable. After all, consider all of the former Bush Pioneers who probably had to send regrets this year, either because they're in jail, on their way, or would have been if not for the heart attack: Jack Abramoff. Tom Noe. Ken Lay. Brent Wilkes. James Tobin. Ralph Reed. Tom Craddick. Tom DeLay. It's hard to continue to give at the $100,000 level when you need to save your pennies for a legal defense fund.
But they're also casting a wider net, expanding the invite list to those who gave only $15,000 people. Even when you attempt to keep such a tight circle of insiders as Bush does, when your insiders start going to jail, you end up having to cheapen that circle.
I guess Texas beef doesn't have the same allure it used to have.