Congressional Dems Probably Don't Think They Need the Netroots Anymore

by: Chris Bowers

Thu Sep 27, 2007 at 15:15:12 PM EDT

1.  Chris Murphy (D-CT) - $502,997.60
2. Jason Altmire (D-PA) - $447, 939.94
3. Joe Donnelly (D-IN) - $378,950.54
4. Michael Arcuri (D-NY) - $183,495.05
5. Zack Space (D-OH) - $170,158.40
6. Nick Lampson (D-TX) - $168,200.01
7. Chris Carney (D-PA) - $168,107.14
8. Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX) - $163,643.00
9. Tim Mahoney (D-FL) - $159,580.97
10. Paul Hodes (D-NH) - $150,017.00
11. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) - $148,812.62
12. Harry Mitchell (D-AZ) - $146,645.72
13. Joe Courtney (D-CT) - $113,157.99
14. Tim Walz (D-MN) - $103,438.05
15. Patrick Murphy (D-PA) - $91,284.24
16. Bruce Braley (D-IA) - $87,004.67
17. Jerry McNerney (D-CA) - $53,043.62
18. Steve Kagen (D-WI) - $11,846.04
19. Baron Hill (D-IN) - $11,711.72
20. Brad Ellsworth (D-IN) - $10,823.76

Throw in all money the campaigns directly raised online, and those totals swell further. Considering these numbers, not to mention all o hte other activism and work the netroots provides for many Demcorats, over at Daily Kos diarist Carnacki wrote a funny diary talking about how Demcorats want to lose by condemning MoveOn.org:

WASHINGTON - Congressional Democrats unveiled tonight that their vote on resolutions condemning MoveOn.org and lackluster efforts to end the Iraq war were part of a plan to lose the 2008 election.

"MoveOn.org has done much to help Democrats win so we had to attack them," said one Democratic Hill staffer. "They're upsetting our best efforts to lose."

Congressional Democrats fearful that polls and many prognosticators have predicted a major victory for Democrats in 2008 are doing their best to turn the possibility of a landslide for them into a crushing defeat.

First rate satire--chck otu the whole thing. However, after thinking about this a little while today, most House Democrats probably don't think they need the netroots anymore. While we wre all a fine and acceptable stopgap fundraisinging measure when Demcorats were in the minority, and facing nearly a two to one fundriasing deficit again Republicans, now they are in the majority and thus recipients of far more corporate PAC cash than ever before. In fact, Democrats now hold a decisve fundriasing lead over Republicans, mainly because of the influx of this new cash.

So no, many of them don't care about their activist base. Actually, many probably think of large donors and corproate PACs as their activist base now, and as such they actually think they are doing what their activist base wants. While participants in the progressive netroots community give a lot of money to Demcorats, over $200,000,000 in 2003-2004 oth online and off, for example, we are still unable to shift a 2 to 1 fundriasing deficit into a similar fundraising majority in only one year.

This certainly makes one think that when Hoyer and Emanuel argue that more aggressive tactics on the war would not play well in freshman districts, what they actually mean is that such tactics would not play well among their new donors base. And, on that point, they are probably absolutely right.