GOP Fundraisers Not Parting With Funds

  It would appear that the top cash contributors to the GOP American Taliban are playing a sit and wait game while the  GOP figures out who is running against President Obama and who is not. They have no fearless leader at this point in the game.

Christian Dem in NC at DailyKos       Sun May 08, 2011

You'd think that given the white-hot fury with which the Republican base hates Obama and with the possibility of retaking both chambers of Congress, the big donors would have long since pulled out their checkbooks for the presidential campaign.  But so far, they haven't.

So far, only former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts has assembled a strong bench of the top Republican financiers. Scores of other fund-raisers remain unaligned, waiting with their money — and contact lists — in their pockets as prospective candidates bombard them with phone calls, e-mails and in-person visits around the nation.

“It’s not at the top of the agenda for most folks right now,” said Brian Ballard, the Florida finance chairman for Senator John McCain’s 2008 presidential bid, who has heard from all of the potential hopefuls this year but, like many of his associates, has yet to choose a 2012 candidate.

Even more telling--the only contender to have an exploratory committee already in operation in the first quarter was Tim Pawlenty.  By comparison, at this point in 2008 the four top-tier Republican candidates had already collectively raised $50 million--just two years after having their heads handed to them in the midterms.

The result is something of a vicious circle.  Many donors are waiting to see how the field shakes out, but several prospective candidates aren't willing to get in without knowing they'll have enough financing to make a serious bid.  And that's no small concern, considering they're up against a president who rewrote the book on campaign financing. 

As a result, even A-list candidates found it hard to open the spicket.  Haley Barbour, for instance, found it hard to attract the maximum $2,500 donation.  Pretty telling for a former RNC chairman.

Also, remember how much we Dems have had to worry about facing an avalanche of red-tinted outside money?  Turns out the candidates and the party are actually fighting with these outside groups for money.  You'd think that wouldn't be a concern to them, but apparently word has gone out to the outside groups to ask their donors to donate directly to candidates or the RNC.

So let's see if we've got this right.  The Republican financial situation is less stable after a Republican wave than it was after a Democratic one.  Go figure.

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