The Republican National Committee's less-than-stellar fundraising this summer is forcing the party to dial back on some of its traditional get-out-the-vote efforts in the final weeks of the 2010 campaign.
As first reported by Roll Call's Jackie Kucinich, the RNC has decided to end the long-standing practice of sending congressional staffers into hotly contested districts to make contacts with voters and assist the GOP's midterm election efforts. A spokesman for the RNC says the program isn't "cost-effective" and the party plans to spend its money on other get-out-the-vote efforts, like mailing fliers to voters' homes.
The move seems counterintuitive on the eve of an election in which Republicans are strongly favored to make serious gains in the Senate and possibly regain control of the House. But with less than five weeks to go before Election Day, the RNC doesn't have the cash it had in previous years to spend on dollar-intensive get-out-the-vote efforts.
As of Aug. 30, the RNC had roughly $4.7 million cash in the bank for the final push, according to its latest Federal Election Commission report. By comparison, the Democratic National Committee reported more than $13 million.
RNC Chairman Michael Steele has been under fire for months for the party's lackluster fundraising and what some officials have described as frivolous spending. Steele is currently on a 48-state bus tour — which some GOP insiders have privately criticized as a waste of money.
Bob Schieffer's teevee program this morning was all about the Democrats' infighting, the projected loss of Congress, what went wrong with Obama's agenda ... basically the same thing you would hear if you were listening to Mike Wallace's wayward son on FOX.
This might have been news last month. Today it's already false.
Now if you will excuse me again, I'll get back to GOTV efforts and rallying the base.
