Dems To Dean: Show Me The Money!

Lots of grumbling amongst the Democrat leadership these days over Chairman "Mad" Howard Dean's lack of fund-raising prowess, not to mention his stewardship of what he manages to take in.

Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) challenged the former Vermont governor during a session in Pelosi's office, according to Democratic sources. The leaders complained about Dean's priorities -- funding organizers for state parties in strongly Republican states such as Mississippi -- rather than targeting states with crucial races this fall.

Neither side was willing to give ground, according to several accounts of the meeting. Dean argued that his strategy is designed to rebuild the party across the country, and that he had pledged to do so when he ran for party chairman. Reid and Pelosi countered that if Democrats squander their opportunities this year, longer-term organizing efforts will not matter much.

Democratic congressional leaders are particularly worried because the Republican National Committee holds a huge financial advantage over the DNC. One congressional Democrat complained that Dean has -- at an alarming rate -- burned through the money the DNC raised, and that Republicans may be able to swamp Democrats in close races with an infusion of RNC money.

In its most recent filing with the Federal Election Commission, the DNC reported raising $50.1 million so far in the 2005-2006 cycle and had $5.8 million cash on hand at the end of last year. The RNC had raised $103 million and had $34 million cash on hand.

Actually, Dean's focus on building grass-roots organizations in "Red States" would make sense if they had a message that was more than just "fertilizer". The States that went for Bush last time around did so not because they didn't understand where Democrats were coming from. It's because they understood that they voted for Bush. Rather than increase the numbers of Democrat activists in these States, his efforts will more likely just make the ones that are already there more visible. And increasing the volume level of these moonbats may very well have the opposite effect.

And what did folks like Reid and Pelosi expect when Dean became the Party Chairman? This is a guy that raised almost $50 million for his Presidential bid and made it all disappear before the Iowa Caucus!

Posted by: Gary at 09:31 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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