The struggle over appropriation of funds within the Democratic Party economy is always an interesting one, as it rests at the intersection of several strategic, ideological, and power centers. Here are just some of the factors in play:
It is a struggle over the power of television consultants in the party, discussed at length in Crashing the Gate. Democratic Party committees have historically spent a greater percentage of their funds on television commercials than have Republicans, and also tend to pay in terms of commission instead of a flat rate. This empowers certain consultants over others, and is actually one of the main power struggles at play in the fifty-state strategy run by the DNC which is sending money to local parties and field operatives.
It is a struggle between narrow targeting and more aggressive, multi-tiered attacks. This was the message at the heart of the Use It Or Lose It Campaign, which sought to transfer money from ultra-safe districts not to the top tier battleground districts, but rather to second and third tier challengers. Use It Or Lose It caused quite a fuss, although I should note that the DCCC was firmly on our side in that one, while many individual representatives were not. One of the more interesting arguments I heard during the Use It Or Lose It campaign was when one Rep said that he didn't think it was ethical to transfer his campaign money to other campaigns, because the people who gave him the money had not intended for that to happen.
It is also becoming a struggle over ideology. The Politico reports that 15 of the 31 Blue Dogs who are not in the "frontline" and other DCCC programs for highly targeted incumbents have not given any money to the DCCC this cycle. Apparently, they are mad that many, including Lynn Woolsey, are threatening primary challenges against them:
But there is also lingering concern among the Blue Dogs - and resentment, in some cases - over comments made by Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) to leaders of the anti-war movement.
In a late-August conference call, Woolsey encouraged the anti-war groups to field primary challengers to any Democrat who does not vote to end the war. While she later moved to repudiate the remarks, saying they were misunderstood, Woolsey's statement angered many Blue Dogs and led some to withhold their DCCC dues.
"What [Woolsey] said was reprehensible," said one Blue Dog who has so far declined to hand over any money to the campaign committee.
A Democratic strategist with strong ties to the Blue Dogs said the Woolsey incident is being seized upon by some conservative Democrats, even those who don't yet have an opponent, as an excuse not to give to the party committee.
"Some of these Blue Dogs are saying, 'If I have to defend myself in a primary, the DCCC is just going to have to wait,'" said the strategist.
The Democratic Party, even at the federal level, really is run like a local urban machine. Money apparently is only dished out when members feel they have been shown the proper amount of fealty. This is something of a two-way street, given that activists like myself and Howie Klein have called for DCCC funds to become conditional on demonstrations of loyalty to the party other than voting for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker. There are also other ideological concerns, given that I have argued in the past that too many of our resources were spent targeting red districts, and others have argued that too many resources were spent supporting extremely conservative Democratic House nominees in primaries. But the difference in power between entire groups of US Congressman and bloggers such as Howie Klein and myself is gaping.
These are major sources of power within the Democratic Party: where does our money get spent, and how? Does it go it TV consultants, or to field operatives, local activists, and local parties? Is it spent on narrow targeting of a top tier, or on a wide targeting of dozens of seats? Is it spent trying to defend conservatives, or only when loyalty has been broadly demonstrated? This is the heart and soul of party operations, and it cuts across everything we try to do. These struggles over the internal appropriation of our monetary resources are never going to go away, and we need to engage them. This is one of the main areas where power within the party rests, and several competing interests are hitting each other at once.
Design by Politics by Design, Powered by: SoapBlox