Reply #40: Dean wanted to win more places. [View All]

[ieoeja]

Group A - 22 Republican incumbents targeted by DCCC
Group B - 200+ Republican incumbents targeted by DNC

Results: 9 Republicans in Group A were defeated, 30+ Republicans not in Group A were defeated

Carville's conclusion: we may have won those other 13 in Group A if we hadn't wasted money winning those 30+ not in Group A

My conclusion: 30+ is better than 13. But I'm weird that way.

The DNC wasn't even planning for a win this election. They were planning to lay the foundation for wins across the country in the future. I live in Chicago, but grew up and still frequent southern Indiana. During the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections in Chicago I heard all the news that was pro-Gore/Kerry, anti-Gore/Kerry, pro-Bush and anti-Bush. During those same elections in southern Indiana I heard all the news that was anti-Gore/Kerry and pro-Bush. The selective reporting (or if you prefer, censorship) was alarming to me. But my relatives down in southern Indiana had absolutely no concept their news was so heavily censored.

THIS is what the 50 State Strategy is intended to combat. Furthermore, since the 50 State Strategy is new it included a lot of startup costs spreading out the money even more thinly AT THIS TIME. A huge percentage of the money collected by the DNC the past year has been spent on just that. Now that it is built, most of the money collected in the next two years will be spent on the 2008 election. The DNC is trying to win the war while the DCCC was concentrating all their forces on this one battle.