Tom Cole

This Red State criticism of the NRCC and Tom Cole seems misplaced...

Now, in the height of all douchebaggery, [Tom Cole] has pulled all funding from Michelle Bachmann's very winnable race in Minnesota, in which she is presently leading, though not by a great deal. [...] Apparently we have Republicans to spare.

I'm certainly in favor of major reforms within Republican organizations - and I'm not inclined to defend anybody who supports Rep. Don Young - but there are less than two weeks left untl the election and money is not an unlimited resource.  Allocation decisions have to be made.  If Red State wants Rep. Bachmann to get more money, then some other candidate has to get less.  Which Republican does Red State think we have to spare?

What's more...

• Michelle Bachmann recently reported "$1.37 million in cash on hand".  She's got money; she can fund her own race. 
• The DCCC is outspending the NRCC by about 4-1.  The NRCC can't afford to keep up with them everywhere, particularly when the NRCC has dozens of open seats to defend and the DCCC only a few.  The NRCC has to fund the candidates who aren't already sitting on large piles of money.
  
• In any event, Tom Cole is legally prohibited from coordinating with the NRCC's independent expenditure wing.  It's not his call.

Perhaps a case can be made for supplementing Bachmann's $1m+ out of very scarce NRCC funds.  "Tom Cole is a douchebag" isn't that case.

UPDATE

The NRCC has issued a response on this story.  Their response is posted below the fold.

The  National Republican Congressional Committee's internal audit, which was leaked to Politico last Friday, is required reading for anyone who cares about the state of the Congressional GOP.  Politico’s main takeaway was the audit’s advice to “avoid the party brand,” but they missed the deeper problem the audit revealed – that the NRCC’s head is still firmly planted in the sand. 

The NRCC is one of the party’s cornerstone political institutions and it’s badly in need of reform.  After such a disastrous ’06 cycle and the debacle of three straight special election losses in very solid Republican districts it’s clear that the committee needs a serious house cleaning.  The tragedy is that while the NRCC has shown in the past it knows how to win, they're now badly, perhaps fatally, off course.  This audit shouldn't inspire confidence in incumbents or challengers.

The NRCC’s audit makes three key claims…

1)  It’s not our fault, the candidates were flawed!

2)  It’s not our fault, the candidates’ tactics and strategies were bad!

3)  It’s not our fault, traditional Republican messages just didn’t work!

…and none of these claims hold up: