There are plenty of clowns and quite a few Koch-funded brass bands, but finding a worthy drum major is not coming easy for the Greedy Old Perverts’ 2012 presidential parade. ‘Fiscally serious‘ Mitch Daniels and ‘compassionately conservative‘ Mike Huckabee have chosen to remove themselves to the sidelines, along with sideshow carny Donald Trump (probably).
The recent coverage of Newt Gingrich’s antics makes Trump look prescient (but still not presidential). Herman Cain is being dismissed by the Serious People as an ‘unelectable ex-pizza magnate’. Willie Nelson has retracted his endorsement of Gary Johnson in hopes of a Kucinich candidacy.
A once-besotted member of Palin’s inner circle (“We looked at her as … that queen on a horse that could come in and save the state,”) has just published a book calling her lazy, vengeful, more interested in making money than in doing the job to which she’d been elected, and possibly a serial violator of ethics regulations.
Tim Pawlenty is already being derided as a less-charismatic version of flip-flopping, equivocating Willard ‘Mitt’ Romney. And Jeb! seems to be indicating that he might actually live up to his reputation as “the smarter Bush brother”.
Which may explain why the National Journal is willing to discuss what the GOP says is a cashflow problem:
After two years of profligate spending and shrinking revenues landed the party deep in debt, Republicans are doing everything in their power to stanch the tide of red ink and return the RNC to a strong financial footing.
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But the GOP also faces a problem only rarely acknowledged among top party strategists: The Republican Party’s turnout operations, which can suck up millions in funds during the critical last days of a campaign, are much weaker than those of their Democratic counterparts. And without a serious investment soon, the turnout gap threatens to undermine Republican efforts to win key contests in the 2012 election cycle….
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Already, Republicans have felt the negative impact of an underfunded turnout operation. In Nevada in 2010, for example, ballots cast during early voting and by absentee made up more than 60 percent of the total votes cast. By identifying those who turned out early, and by turning out more of their own voters, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s campaign was able to take what it projected was a four-point lead into Election Day, campaign manager Brandon Hall said. Republicans pointed to a Senate race in Washington and gubernatorial races in Minnesota and Connecticut as a few more examples in which Democratic turnout operations bested their Republican counterparts and made a difference in the outcomes….
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Still, the money required to invest in advanced turnout operations is not likely to come from the RNC itself, the traditional architects of the party’s turnout apparatus. The RNC remains mired in debt—nearly $20 million as of the end of March, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission last month…
That gosh-darned Michael Steele! The well-meaning Republicans gave him a key to the corner office, and look how he returned the favor. (They could ask this guy for a little help, except they’re still busy pretending he was a RINO or even an undercover Demon-rat, and besides, with Dubya loyalty was always a one-way proposition.)
I predict a swelling meme that only the “outside funding” from beleagured billionaires stands between the collapse of our sacred two-party system and the free-spending party leftists of Soros and ACORN.
mr. whipple
They said the same thing in the last cycle, but they had no shortage of ads running 24/7 since spring funded via Citizens United.
It will be worse in 2012. There is no money shortage.
Omnes Omnibus
@mr. whipple: There is a money shortage for the GOP itself. It is going to be even more dependent on the wishes of its billionaires because the billionaires will be paying for the ads. Previously, money came into the party and the part could direct where it went. Now, the national GOP will have a much smaller voice. It is not a good development for them.
Chris
Other than the money, their main problem is that no one “serious” wants to run in this economy, other than, for some reason, Mitt.
First, Republican candidates are under tremendous pressure from their own base to step up their anti-welfare, fuck-the-unemployed credentials… precisely at the moment when such rhetoric is most damaging among general election voters (the guys who never swore allegiance to Ayn Rand and just want to see the job market get better). The teabaggers are making the GOP ungovernable.
Second, I suspect they may be even more terrified of winning than they are of running – because after they win, the burden’s on them. (Especially since the Republican’s chances of winning are directly tied to how badly the economy is doing). On some level, the smart ones know their ideas don’t work: they can’t look forward to being elected in 2012, only to be crucified either by their base or by the general electorate in 2014 and 2016.
It’s an unenviable position. But hey, they chose to be Republicans.
GregB
We should put a bug in the tea-partiers ears and have them demand that the Republican Party spend money as though they were a household, meaning if they don’t have it they can’t borrow and spend it.
Bring fiscal conservatism home to the party apparatus!
Demand the GOP not spend and charge!
kindness
Progressives have a penchant for beating themselves (and their allies) up because they aren’t pure enough. Let’s hope we can sublimate that so that we actually elect decent people for a while.
We’ve seen the bait and switch are capable of in 2010. Best we use that and go forth. Will I be going against what I just said if I also say I hope Nebraska’s Senator Nelson loses big time? Probably. Such is the life of a liberal.
forked tongue
Uh, not that I understand these things, but is there anyone more responsible for the RNC’s cash problems than Michael Steele?
So explain to me again why the cable networks got into a bidding war over signing his bumbling ass?
Roger Moore
So IOW, she’s exactly what her detractors have been saying for the past few years.
Benjamin Cisco
Yeah, this is nothing more than a clarion call to the big money crowd looking for that sweet sweet megacorp ca$h. The fact that it also allows for the “but…but..ACORN!” bunch to get a fresh round of face time on the Ferengi-Controlled Infotainment Networks(R) is but a bonus.
merrinc
What Mr. Whipple said. Doesn’t matter if the RNC is broke, Karl Rove and the Kochroaches have this covered.
In other news, a diary on GOS outlines what should be T-Paw’s Willie Horton problem.
jcgrim
The republicans turned over one of the largest Democratic majorities in the House in Nov with no problem. And consider the number of state houses and governorships they took from dems in Nov.
I don’t see how the RNC debt is going to hurt them, considering Rove’s Crossroads money machine and their dominance in state houses. They hold majority positions in every flyover state plus FL and have re-written voting laws to suppress turnout and redistricted to their advantage.
Agoraphobic Kleptomaniac
Fun game: Which “Queen on a Horse” is Palin most like?
me
Don’t forget about The Huntsman.
Redshift
@Agoraphobic Kleptomaniac:
Just to be rude, and on the basis of no particular factual evidence, I have to say Catherine the Great.
Roger Moore
@Agoraphobic Kleptomaniac:
Not actually a queen, but I’m inclined to think Lady Godiva. After all, in this case the “queen” has no clothes.
Zifnab
@merrinc:
It does shape their agenda. One thing I’ve seen fall off big in the last five years has been the GOP messaging machine. George Bush Jr lost control of his base when he tried to reform
indentured servitudeimmigration reform. The xenophobes just drowned him out. John McCain’s campaign was all over the place in ’08. And the GOP wasn’t even allowed to pick its own candidates in ’10. They would have had the Senate if they hadn’t been side-swiped by their own party faithful.If the GOP isn’t in control of its cash flow, it can’t choose the candidates. If it can’t choose candidates, you’ll just get another round of Christine O’Donnells in 2012.
Citizen_X
@Redshift: That’s more “Horse on a Queen,” innit? Bah-dum!
Omnes Omnibus
@Agoraphobic Kleptomaniac: I am going to go with Pestilence.
Jay in Oregon
@Omnes Omnibus:
I’d pick War, personally. Have you read Good Omens?
The Snarxist Formerly Known As Kryptik
At this rate, the GOP’s going to wish they could nominate Bibi, considering apparently his infinitely more popular than Obama around the right circles.
And sadly, it looks like Obama might actually be vulnerable if only because it seems like everyone’s ready to throw Obama under the bus for saying something that the three fucking past presidents supported vis a vis Israel. But I forgot, he’s a dirty secret Muslim, so it’s obvious he intends to usurp Israel for his Palestinian overloards.
Omnes Omnibus
@Jay in Oregon: No, I haven’t.
Villago Delenda Est
@Redshift:
Um, Mr. Redshift? Defamation attorney for Catherine the Great on line two…
Gus
Thanks to the Supreme Court, there will be no shortage of large anonymous cash donations. This is a red herring.
Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal
@Agoraphobic Kleptomaniac:
the red queen satsq
Yutsano
@Omnes Omnibus: Excellent book I must say. A great collaboration between Gaiman and Pratchett. And the funniest take on Revelations this side of Dogma.
Omnes Omnibus
@Yutsano: I may have to check it out.
Roger Moore
@Omnes Omnibus:
Unfortunately, Ignorance is not one of the four horsemen.
Commenting at Balloon Juice since 1937
The GOP is a shell organization fronting for American Crossroads. Since Citizens United, the status of the official party treasury is becoming irrelevant. However, without coordination, it will be interesting to see if the Dick Army gets Koch blocked.
Redshift
@Roger Moore:
I think we may need a revised version.
Yutsano
@Omnes Omnibus: Methinks you may enjoy. But as always YMMV. Early appointment this morning (well not really but traffic means I have to leave early, bah) so must dash.
Culture of Truth
Reading through that list, it still seems like Romney’s to lose.
Nutella
This reminds me of Obama’s 2004 Senate race. The Illinois Republicans put up one candidate after another. Each one quickly went down in flames and they ended up with Alan Keyes of all people.
It’s fun to watch but we have to avoid complacency. Obama’s not a shoe-in even if his opponent is an ass. Every congressional seat needs a good Dem candidate and a good campaign so we can get Pelosi back as speaker.
Han's Solo
A couple of thoughts on the Koch’s control over the GOP 1) Yes, if a larger percent of the GOPs funding comes from a small group of billionaires that small group will certainly have more power 2) With more power comes more control of the party 3) More control of the party means more control of the platform 4) The Koch’s platform is fairly clear, one of them actually ran for President in the past and his wants have been spelled out.
Why is this important? Because the Koch’s desired platform is nuttier than squirrel poo.
I know many high wealth individuals and one thing they tend to hate is spending their wealth. As counter intuitive as it seems it is true that “Keeping up with the Jones'” is, in my experience, even more important for the wealthy than it is for the middle class and poor. You’d think that if you were worth 100 million dollars you could relax a little and enjoy life. But, in my experience, those that are worth 100 million have friends who are worth 200 million and want desperately to catch up with those friends.
So don’t expect billionaires to throw limitless amounts of money at the GOP if they aren’t getting the results they want. These election cycles are expensive – very, very expensive. The Kochs won’t spend to the point where their status among the privileged elite is degraded.
Tom Levenson
@Yutsano: Second this.
arguingwithsignposts
What, no netanyahu thread?
Yurpean
The race just hasn’t been as amusing since Sideshow Donald dropped out. I mean Newt’s trying his hardest, but not even he’s that ridiculous, no matter how hard he tries.
Not that he hasn’t been trying, as his spokesman demonstrated last week:
I’m sure you’ve all seen that before, but it brings a smile to my face everytime I read it.
rea
@Agoraphobic Kleptomaniac: Which “Queen on a Horse” is Palin most like?
Catherine the Great?
Syphon
The GOP spent themselves into crushing debt? Now why does that sound familiar…
priscianus jr
Reality Check
Well, some liberals get it. We have Karl Rove and plenty of funders. Billions and billions to spend while your unions have been neutered and voter fraud cracked down on. You don’t have a prayer.
Tom Levenson
@Reality Check: You are so right.
Which, of course, is why you can pretty much sit the next cycle out. You have much better stuff to do with your time.
Enjoy.
alwhite
GEE, you don’t suppose all the legislative efforts the goopers have thrown into preventing certain types of people from voting has anything to do with this, do you?
If you can’t beat them with dollars beat them with road blocks.
PeakVT
but finding a worthy drum major is not coming easy for the Greedy Old Perverts’ 2012 presidential parade.
The Kochsuckers don’t have win the presidency to get what they want, though. A constipated Congress works in their favor just fine, thank you very much.
Citizen_X
@Reality Check:
Yes, darling, but what you don’t have are candidates.
YOU HAVE NO CHANCE TO SURVIVE MAKE YOUR TIME.
jacy
I think people are underestimating the entertainment potential of Herman Cain.
After totally muffing a question from Chris Wallace on “right of return” by pretending he totally knew what it meant, he told Hannity:
You can never go wrong by consistently referring to yourself in the third person.
And now Constitution fail:
mr. whipple
Bob Dole agrees!
GregB
Holy shit.
I just spent a few minutes in the fever swamps of the Politico comments section regarding President Obama and Israel.
So much for America first.
Politic-ho.
alwhite
@Roger Moore:
I’d say ignorance should be the lead horseman – it leads the others almost every time.
arguingwithsignposts
Good thing Wolf Blitzer is on the teevee explaining What It All Means with Netanyahu’s speech. He counted how many standing ovations!
Villago Delenda Est
Yeah, the souper genious who, in 2006, was confident of GOP victory because he “had the math”.
Right.
Don
I eagerly await the follow-up about discovering that fire is hot and the ocean a tad damp.
Catsy
@Reality Check: Doug, you gotta up your game. The real teabagger trolls are despondent or rabid right now, not smugly whistling past the graveyard like this persona.
I give him a failing grade on believability. He’s not even irritating, just comical.
ruemara
@Roger Moore:
She is a leading horseman camp follower.
Frankensteinbeck (The ex-Uloborus)
@Han’s Solo:
The insanity of the Kochs is IMPORTANT. They are the Tea Party. The Tea Party is pushing government shutdown, credit defaults, and a neutering of government spending. The other rich people DON’T WANT THIS STUFF. The Kochs are the lunatics in the billionaire class, the ones who are willing to pour unthinkable amounts of money into politics – to purposes directly in opposition of what all the other billionaires want. The Kochs back the Angles and O’Donnells, the candidates everyone else knows can’t win. They’re the idiots Karl Rove has had to bow to against his better judgement.
If you think about it, this is a very big money problem indeed.
catclub
@Commenting at Balloon Juice since 1937: “without coordination, …”
Yeah, right, I bet those guys never talk to each other.
Brachiator
@Zifnab:
Now this is interesting. Are you suggesting that the RNC problems might increase the influence of the Tea Party people and move the GOP even further to the right?
Frankensteinbeck (The ex-Uloborus)
@catclub:
Like I said, you can’t coordinate with the Kochs. They are crazy motherfuckers fighting the Marxist Revolutionaries of the 1920s. They push candidates who can’t win and positions that would poison the economy, including the parts rich people depend on.
Han's Solo
@Frankensteinbeck (The ex-Uloborus): You are correct, the Kochs are important, I’m not denying that at all.
What I’m saying is that the Kochs want things so extreme that if they were to get them it would mean the death of the party they invested so much of their wealth into.
Now usually I’d say there is no way the GOP would be crazy and stupid enough to pass the legislation the Kochs want. Oh, sure, they’ll do small things that incrementally add up to large problems (deregulation), but massive, radical, quick change the GOP would avoid out of a sense of self preservation. After all, the nature of “Conservatism” is a rejection of change. Conservatives want things to stay the same, that is what makes them conservatives.
These days, however, I’m rethinking how crazy and stupid the GOP is. Why? The Ryan budget. That was some really crazy, really stupid sh*t right there. I think it was the largest case of political malpractice of my lifetime. Compared to the Ryan plan McCain’s choice of Palin as VP looks brilliant.
Then again, maybe the elephant in the room is that the GOP is no longer, in any way whatsoever, conservative. And maybe that shift is due to the Kochs and others like them? I’ll have to consider that. These days the GOP is about low taxes regardless of economic realities and religious pandering. Historically that is NOT what being a conservative was supposed to be about.
Omnes Omnibus
@Han’s Solo: I don’t think that the GOP has been conservative for 20-30 years now. It is a party of the Right, but it is not conservative. The only true conservatives functioning in the current American political system are the Blue Dog Democrats. This is why the only really policy debates that recognize reality are within the Democratic Party and those smaller parties to its left.
greylocks
Jeb! isn’t going to run because, aside from the fact that he didn’t seem to much like being governor, he has a Mrs Jeb problem. You don’t seriously think the teatards would tolerate a Mexican-born naturalized first lady, do you?
And that’s not even her 1999
arrest and convictionslap on the wrist forfelony smugglinglying on a customs declaration form.Linda Featheringill
Stolen from D-Kos, who is quoting a right-wing blog regarding Pawlenty:
Heh, indeed.
greylocks
Blue Dog Democrats aren’t true conservatives. They’re just plain old panderers. Every one of them would be Al Franken liberals if their districts were D+10.
Karen
It doesn’t matter and I’ll tell you why.
Let’s take today’s election in NY, an election that would have been a cake walk for the Republican candidate in a Republican district may actually be “won” by the Democrat.
I say “won” because immediately the GOP will demand a recount even if the results are over the 1% difference that would automatically trigger one.
If that doesn’t work and the Democrat actually wins and gets to actually be in the position, this is what will happen:
The GOP narrative will be that she cheated, she’s a horrible person and a bad mother.
The media will suddenly “discover” this and it will be repeated on all the media non stop until the demand for her to resign will be the new narrative.
Multiply that by a zillion if Obama wins the election.
Han's Solo
@Omnes Omnibus: You may be right about the 20 to 30 years.
And what started the GOP’s slide away from conservatism? Voodoo economics. If you think about it there is nothing LESS conservative than voodoo economics. Before voodoo economics Republicans would raise taxes to balance the budget. Heck, Eisenhower had the top rate at 91%. He was a conservative that thought balancing the budget was of primary importance (what I call a real conservative.) Now no Republican will raise taxes ever, even on oil companies that are the most profitable organizations in the history of mankind.
Now I don’t know if the Koch’s are behind the pushing of Voodoo economics, but I’d bet my blaster and my brother in laws lightsaber that the think tanks funded largely by the Koch brothers sure helped.
A lot more research would need to be done, but I could see how a viable case could be made that the Kochs, and others like them, killed conservatism. They stealthily changed the GOP from the party of conservatives to the party of, what, kleptocrats?
Brachiator
@Omnes Omnibus:
Aren’t the Blue Dog Democrats a spent force essentially irrelevant to current politics?
They have been supplanted, both in power and in the political imagination by the Tea Party. Further, I think that the Democratic Party made at least a short term tactical mistake by trying to appease this group of losers.
Interesting. I see your point, but sadly, the GOP and the Tea Party is still wielding a considerable amount of influence despite going all in with perpetual foolishness and a refusal to deal with reality. They are finding deep comfort in mythology and a Galtian fantasies, and also finding a way to appeal to a hard core of equally deluded voters.
danimal
GOP supporters aren’t all that concerned about the party being in debt because they have developed a funding infrastructure outside of the party. Where it hurts is in message coordination, GOTV and other less visible parts of a campaign.
Of course the GOP biggies get together to talk strategy, but when a few billionaires are holding the purse strings, they expect to push their agendas, which can be quite different once the kleig lights are off. The public “GOP unity” is a facade and the conservative movement has a lot of factions within it. Without an effective party structure, expect the GOP to underperform in close races, despite a seemingly endless supply of 30 second attack ads.
Omnes Omnibus
@Brachiator: No argument from me on any of your observations. To me, the the fact that the rational debate on policy does not include the GOP because they are not rational is the biggest problem our political system faces. They are irrational, yet they continue to have influence and power. This does not bode well.
Brachiator
@Omnes Omnibus:
One of the things that I find troubling is that even as the GOP is being rejected by voters on the national level (because of their stand on Medicare and other issues), they are finding more success at the state level, especially as they angrily go after social issues (punitive legislation regarding women’s reproductive rights, etc). This will have some impact on how things shape out in the national elections.
Worse, the GOP is not getting called out by either the media or citizens for their mindless obstructionism. They still operate as though they believe that the only legitimate political party is the GOP, and if they don’t get their way, they have an absolute right to prevent Obama and the Democrats from governing.
BeccaM
Pawlenty is in serious trouble, not just because nobody really knows who he is. Turns out, during his Governor days, there was this fellow, Jeremy Geifer, who’d served time for statutory rape of a 14 year old girl. Upon leaving prison, he married that girl, who was pregnant with what would be his daughter.
Fast forward, to Geifer pleading for a full and unconditional pardon, so his wife could open a day care center in their home.
November of last year, Geifer was arrested for (…wait for it…) serial rape of his own daughter, who alleged the sexual assaults began when she was just 9 years old. The complaint also alleges Geifer had been raping his daughter for six years already when he applied for and received the “extraordinary pardon” from Pawlenty.
The attack ad writes itself.
Jay in Oregon
@BeccaM:
Forget costing him the nomination; Minnesota residents should be heating up the tar and stripping their feather pillows…
Ella in New Mexico
Well, fortunately for them and unfortunately for the rest of us, the RNC’s cash flow no longer matters in elections.
Rove, Koch, Norquist, The Chamber and all the other Supreme Court Tested and Approved(R) honey pots will be funding things from now on.
giltay
@Roger Moore: I’m late to the party, but there is a perfectly apt mythology with an Ignorance in it.
I highly recommend Good Omens. It is sublime, one of my favourite books.