Where Is the Money?

The GOP’s financial woes

Editor's Note: Thomas's commentary is in blue and Marcie's is in purple.

You have read the news lately, and you know that the Democrats are outraising Republicans by a great amount this election cycle. Yes, we see that Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney are still pulling in the biggest contributions, but it is nothing compared to the millions being raised by Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama. Of course the media has its own idea regarding what has happened to the Republican fundraising machine. They blame the lack of support on the war in the Iraq Theater of operations. This is a misnomer; no surprise given that it is the media’s opinion. But the answer is quite simple, and we are surprised that more people do not recognize the real reason. The base does not trust it’s elected officials any longer, and without that trust there will be no money rolling into the main fundraising apparatuses.

The war plays a small role in this theory. The larger mistakes made by the GOP makes infinitely more sense. Over the last six years we have seen those in Congress that have spent like tax-and-spend liberals, abandoning a staple of the conservative ideology with fiscal responsibility. They twiddled their thumbs while the Democrats were allowed to filibuster judge after judge appointed by the president. People also didn’t like the fact that many of the GOP in Congress didn’t stand up to defend the President when Democrats launched scathing, verbal assaults against him for the war itself. The straw that broke the camel’s back was the recently defeated immigration reform bill. The base didn’t like being lambasted by those that they elected. The President and many of his supporters in Congress basically accused the base of being racist rather than recognizing our grievances with a bad piece of legislation.

Now the GOP can redeem itself by changing certain things right now. First, recognize where the weaknesses are. It is obvious that we are the party in the minority in Congress. The attitude must be presented to the base that the GOP is ready to fight to retake the Congress, and that they will not settle for any sort of a loss. The GOP needs to identify sixteen-to-eighteen seats held by Democrats in the House. In the Senate we are dead even with the Democrats, so the goal here would be to nail down two-to-five seats that could be flipped. New, fresh, idealistic faces are necessary to retake these seats. We cannot play the “crony” game; that is running old friends, family, etc. This will not gather support from the base. We need new blood in Congress, and they must be solidly conservative.

Secondly, the GOP should set up a separate fund where money can be donated for these new faces. This must have no connection to the NRCC, the NRSC, or the RNC. Those fundraisers can’t be allowed to touch the money needed for the new candidates. The biggest complaint made by the GOP base is that if they donate to those groups, the money is still handed over to incumbents that we don’t agree with. The sort of mindset made its appearance in 2006 when people refused to send any money to those organizations because we knew that people like Lincoln Chafee would be benefiting from the donations in the end. We wanted Chafee gone. He, all too often, would side with the Democrats in the Senate, and had stabbed the GOP in the back far too many times. But without a separate fund for newcomers, the base isn’t going to trust the main GOP fundraisers with a single dime. So, in addition to fresh faces, those people need an extra benefit in the form of a fund where they can receive donations equally.

Accountability is also a key to getting the funds back to the party. John Kyl did not help himself in the immigration debate by being on the wrong side of it. But he accepted the defeat and the outrage from the base in stride. He is still a good Senator, and one that wanted to do whatever he could to get the best bill put to the floor of the Senate on an incredibly explosive issue. We need people willing to run that will place honesty and accountability above partisanship. Yes, we believe politics is a zero-sum game with winners and losers, but partisanship has to end when there is something being pushed that is contrary to the base’s ideology. Accountability also comes in dealing with their colleagues in the Congress. One thing that sickens voters is when their own elected representatives get to do or say what they want, and face no repercussions from the leadership. When the GOP shows that it is willing to police it’s own, then some faith in the party’s leadership may be restored.

Transparency is key no matter how the changes are done. The base must see – and we mean this especially – that the GOP is taking the steps to retake Congress and hold onto the White House, and that they are serious about making the changes we complain about daily. The Senate is rife with those that we disagree with on one point or another, but it also has several lawmakers that we disagree with far too often. Those people know who they are, and they know the ire of the base as they head into 2008. It is time for the GOP to get it through their thick skull that as long as they continue to protect these people, the base will have no faith in them. When this occurs, we take matters into our own hands. We donate directly to candidates rather than the fundraisers. While that is an improvement, it is not the solution to the overall problem.

The solution is simple. New faces, maintaining the ideology the base possesses, accountability, and transparency. Much of the disgust the base has right now comes from the fact that the people in Congress are acting with a nearly “imperial” zeal; that they place themselves above the law, and on a pedestal far from the reach of the voters. The GOP is out of touch with its base where years ago they were not. This has been a problem that has been allowed to fester into a cancer that threatens to fracture the party. One thing is assured if the GOP does not listen to the base: They will be wandering in the political wilderness for many years to come. It comes down to trust, and right now the base simply cannot trust the leaders of the party. We have been fooled one too many times, and if they will not take the steps to change, then why should we foot the bill?

He is a scholar of history, especially American history, and the United States Constitution. She has finished her undergrad studies, graduating with a BA in English and history and will move onto law school this fall where she will specialize in Constitutional Law. Together, Thomas and Marcie form the vanguard of conservative opinion at Hamilton, Madison, and Jay -- a blogging site devoted to advancing the conservative cause by challenging the liberal lies and deceit spread by the media, and espoused by the Left in general. Both are expert debaters, and have beaten many liberals into submission with their collective wit, and unmatched knowledge. The pair is married, and resides in Arizona

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