The RNC continues to bemoan the fact that it is having difficulty raising money in a manner that can approach what the DNC does, and what they continue to fail to grasp is that conservatives of tired of the RNC taking the donations they receive and funneling it into a select number of campaigns, normally incumbents, who no longer if they ever embodied conservative values. The rank and file conservative who used to be a Republican but today can just as well be classified as a Blue Dog Democrat, appears to have made the decision that sending money to the giant slush fund of the RNC is not the answer and in fact we are seeing more and more campaign contributions being targeted directly to certain candidates at all levels.
First off is this story of a candidate for governor of North Carolina, Pat McCrory, who is getting donations, and sizable ones at that from outside the state.
$100,000 James Barksdale, Ridgeland, Miss.; former CEO of Netscape
$50,000 Bruce Rauner, Winnetka, Ill.; chairman of GTCR Golden Rauner LLC., a private equity and venture capital firm
$50,000 Gary Heavin, Waco, Texas; CEO, Curves International
$25,000 Peter Coors, Golden, Colo.; chairman, Coors Brewing Co
These big influxes of cash were directed to a PAC called The Republicans Governors Association.
And then there is the case of William Russell, one of the slate of candidates from the Iraq Veterans for Congress, who is putting up a serious challenge to John Murtha in Pennyslvania (PA-12) this year. He is out raising Murtha in some categories by a margin of almost 6 to 1. There is no doubt the further in to the campaign cycle we get, that Murtha will get a huge infusion of cash from somewhere, because the liberals cannot afford to lose such an outspoken critic of the military who has managed to shape the rules of engagement that have been imposed onto our soldiers fighting the war, and a enemy sympathizer who has falsely charged service members with crimes forcing them to defend themselves in court rather then defending the American people on a battlefield. Did I mention that I really hate Murtha and I hope William Russell kick his butt?
So is this the future for Republican candidates? I think so, and the primary reason is because there is so much anger in conservative circles against the current crop of politicians wearing the Republican label, but who no longer support the conservative principles. I, and many like me, are tired of the Arlen Specters, Chuck Hagels and others who spend more time pandering to liberals who scream like babies, instead of swatting them on the backside like they deserve.
Carl Mumpower, running for congress in NC-11, has put his conservative principals front and center and made it a cornerstone of his campaign. The incumbent in this race is Heath Shuler (D). Look at the lack of PAC money for Mumpower to challenge Shuler.
Mumpower has started a campaign within the Republican candidates in NC to sign on to his pledge of conservative values, which has galvanized the conservatives in North Carolina, yet look at how far behind he is in funds compared to Heath. Now how is it a guy who appears to be a leader of the conservative movement in NC is not able to getting any national funds from the party that claims to represent conservative values?
For yet another example of where conservatives are supporting a candidate who is getting no support from any of the national Republican groups you need look no further then the race in the GA-13 district. David Scott is the Dem incumbent and Deborah Honeycutt is the Republican challenger. Take a look at the fundraising numbers and sources.
The Dem is getting all of his money from PAC's and Dr Honeycutt is getting the vast majority of hers from private donations. The national Republican PAC's refuse to battle for seats they consider unwinnable. The national Republican party has lost it's stomach for a fight.
So the Dems like to talk about grassroots operations, and while they have a bit more experience at such operations, it does appear that the conservatives are finally starting to get off their collective butts, and trying to get some candidates who represent them and their values and quit relying on any national group to do it. The RNC no longer speaks for the vast majority of Republicans, and instead just seem to be devoted to protecting the jobs of anybody currently in office instead of supporting candidates who epitomize conservative values.
My advice to everybody. Find candidates across the country who are challenging the Dems, who are running on conservative principles, and donate to their campaigns. I have just listed 3 congressional seats and one governorship that Republicans could take over from the Dems, in a year when everybody says the Republican brand is tainted so bad as to not be embraced, here are at least 4 examples of when it is done correctly, we can pose just as big a threat to the Dems as they pose to Repubs.
