Dems in safe seats far more selfish than their Repug colleagues

[Onlooker]

http://www.mydd.com/ (a little over halfway down the page)

Use It Or Lose It: Republicans Using It More
by Chris Bowers, Mon Oct 23, 2006

OK, considering how often I have been told about the huge amounts of money safe Dems are giving to Democratic challengers and the DCC, now I'm actually getting a little enraged. CQ politics has the September transfers to the DCCC and the NRCC of over $100,000 from safe incumbents.

Notable transfers from campaign committees of House Democrats:

* John P. Murtha, Pa.: $200,000
* Charles B. Rangel, N.Y.: $200,000
* Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Calif.: $185,000
* Allyson Y. Schwartz, Pa.: $150,000
* Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer, Md.: $150,000
* Ben Chandler, Ky.: $125,000
* Mel Watt, N.C.: $110,000
* Louise M. Slaughter, N.Y.: $100,000
* John D. Dingell, Mich.: $100,000

That's $1.27M. Now, here are the transfers for over $100K from Republicans to the NRCC:

* John Shadegg, Ariz.: $350,950
* Thaddeus McCotter, Mich.: $250,000
* Jack Kingston, Ga.: $250,000
* Ed Royce, Calif.: $200,000
* Robert W. Goodlatte, Va: $200,000
* Majority Leader John A. Boehner, Ohio: $175,000
* Devin Nunes, Calif.: $150,000
* Spencer Bachus, Ala.: $150,000
* Wally Herger, Calif.: $150,000
* Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, Ill.: $150,000
* Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Fla.: $145,000
* John L. Mica, Fla.: $125,000
* Doc Hastings, Wash.: $125,000
* Joe Knollenberg, Mich.: $111,000
* Edward Whitfield, Ky.: $100,000
* Lamar Smith, Tex.: $100,000
* F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., Wis.: $100,000
* Frank D. Lucas, Okla.: $100,000
* Charlie Norwood, Ga.: $100,000
* Gary G. Miller, Calif.: $100,000
* Joe Pitts, Pa.: $100,000
* Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, N.J.: $100,000
* Shelley Moore Capito, W.V.: $100,000
* Gresham Barrett, S.C.: $100,000

That comes out to $3,531,950, or $2.3M more for Republicans in large transfers than Democrats in large transfers. Now, Republicans have a pay-to-play system where how much you donate to the NRCC is a factor in determining seniority in Congress. However, elections also have a pay to play system, where if you don't have a majority in the House, you can't get anything done, and you can't stop Bush's agenda. The entire reason why the NRCC has more money in the bank that the DCCC is because Republican House members in safe districts are transferring more to the NRCC than Democratic House members in safe districts are transferring to the DCCC.

...

[MiniMe]

1. I believe that Repuke war chests are larger than Dems

Their donors tend to be corporations and the very rich, not to mention the lobbyists. They are the party in power (at present), so they are the ones that people make donations in order to get favors from. They could also hold fund raisers with * & Cheney, back when *'s popularity was a bit higher.

[maine_raptor]

2. I'm looking at a "Good Thing" here.

R's moving 3x's the cash around, maybe they're worried about something, eh?

[Bucky]

3. I imagine there are some rules regarding how much they can transfer

I wish I knew more about this. The legal network of regulations of campaign cash certainly affects how parties can move their money from race to race. It's also a good principle that you should spend some money on maintainence of the electoral bases that you have.

[flgeorge]

4. Strangely, the righties claim the exact opposite for the Senate.....

http://washingtontimes.com/national/20061024-121457-5701r.htm

Some Republicans aren't sharing the wealth
By Charles Hurt
THE WASHINGTON TIMES


The stinginess alarms some of the Republican Party's top campaign strategists, especially because it is in such stark contrast to the millions of dollars that Democrats have transferred to their candidates in need.
Control of the Senate will come down to a half-dozen close races next month, and both sides agree that money will likely determine the outcome of each. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) has nearly twice as much money on hand as the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) for that final sprint to Election Day.
According to the latest figures available, the DSCC has $23 million and the NRSC has $12 million. Much of that difference stems from the disparity in late giving from sitting senators.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

5. This would perhaps be a more reasonable assertion if you spoke to porportions

proportions. Those Republicans have much larger warchests than do Democrats. And they can't empty their banks because they might eventually have to face a battle themselves.