"RNC Chaos Threatens GOP Chances For House Takeover"

[Clio the Leo]

RNC Chaos Threatens GOP Chances For House Takeover

The chaos at the Republican National Committee threatens to cost Republicans the chance to take control of the House of Representatives, Republican strategists fear. During midterm elections, the national committee plays two essential roles: it serves as a bank account that can be drawn upon to shore up House races or put others into play. Second, it coordinates the party's field operations and funds joint "Victory" committees with state parties. The RNC, at the moment, is barely fulfilling the second function and has less than $10 million on hand, so it cannot help much with House races.

Charlie Cook, the political oddsmaker, rates 73 House races as competitive. To win the House, Republicans would need to pick up 44 seats. They have the candidates to do that, but Democrats have a significant financial advantage to use to hold seats; the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has twice has much cash on as the National Republican Campaign Committee. As Cook has noted, even if Republicans win most of the tossup seats and races that lean Republican, they'd have to win about half the seats that lean Democrat right now. The degraded political environment, the sluggish or non-existent economic recovery, and the enthusiasm of Republican base voters are intangibles that, properly harnessed, could easily put Republicans over the top.


But without a solid field program to bring voters to the polls, and facing well-funded Democratic incumbents, that edge could be lost on election day.

The party's well-regarded political director, Gentry Collins, has seen his budget slashed considerably, and state parties have complained about the condition of the party's Voter Vault datamart. Many state parties are outsourcing their targeting operations, which would have been unthinkable during the flush years of the Bush-Cheney administrations.

The latest scandal, involving $7m that the party's own treasurer categorized as unreported debt, will undermine any opportunity the party has to regain its financial footing before the election. The NRCC does not expect any money from the RNC, and is instead relying on the much-less efficient mechanisms created by Republican strategists and donors who can't coordinate with campaigns and the committees.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/10/07/rnc-chaos-threatens-gop-chances-for-house-takeover/60263

[roguevalley]

1. can I say yippee or would that be crass?

[babylonsister]

4. 'Yippee' is definitely not crass!

Here, I'll say it: YIPPEE! :bounce:

[ladywnch]

9. no it isn't........ chanting "suck it".....now THAT would be crass. n/t

[KingFlorez]

2. Good, I hope they have less and less money as it gets closer to the election

[tanyev]

3. Gosh, that's too bad.

:spray:

[DCBob]

5. The Republican party appears to be coming apart at the seams. This could have been their year but..

it looks like they will blow it completely. The extremists teabagger candidates, the teabager/GOP feud, the mindless Rethug obstruction in congress, the endless scandals, Mikey Steele's bizarre comments, etc, etc, etc. The Democrats should be thanking their lucky stars! November may not be so bad after all. Cheers!

[mzmolly]

6. :D

:evilgrin:

[Kdillard]

7. My heart bleeds.

[WhiteTara]

8. well, don't forget KKKarl has been collecting money

for his hit campaign this fall. I'm sure it will be very ugly.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

10. They weren't going to take over anything. Sure, they'll win some seats, but

they were never poised to take over the House.

[opihimoimoi]

11. With rash ass and beck leading the once mighty GOP...whad we expect?

Theit foundation is mired in minutiae...hence le problem

[Bitwit1234]

12. I don't understand for the life of me WHY the republicans

are so confident they are going to take over the house and senate. If you go by polls the Democrats are leading overall. With candidates like Angle, McMahon, Fiorna and Paul to name a few they suck big time. I guess that's the problem with republicans their ego colors reality.

[demosincebirth]

13. They can always bring up their usual hot button issues: like gay marriage and illegal Mexicans.

[WI_DEM]

14. They need 44 seats? I thought it was 39. Oh well, the more the better odds of dems keeping the

house.