McCain to Rely on Party Money Against Obama

[tekisui]

Pivoting toward the general election, Senator Barack Obama is turning again to his history-making fund-raising machine, which helped to anoint him as a contender against Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and then became a potent weapon in their battle for the Democratic nomination.

To confront the Obama juggernaut, Senator John McCain, whose fund-raising has badly trailed that of his Democratic counterparts, is leaning on the Republican National Committee. Mr. McCain’s efforts to raise money suffered a blow this weekend when a key fund-raiser, Tom Loeffler, resigned because of a new campaign policy on conflicts of interest.

Mr. McCain is likely to depend upon the party, which finished April with an impressive $40 million in the bank and has significantly higher contribution limits, to an unprecedented degree to power his campaign, Republican officials said.

To that end, Republican officials said they were enlisting President Bush, a formidable fund-raiser who has raised more than $36 million this year for Republican candidates and committees, for three events on Mr. McCain’s behalf. They will appear together at a fund-raiser in Phoenix on May 27, and the next day the president will take part in a luncheon with Mitt Romney in Salt Lake City and then an exclusive dinner at Mr. Romney’s vacation home in Park City, Utah.

The financial arms race that is shaping up is likely to produce the most expensive presidential contest in history and test the commitments that both Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain have made to rein in the influence of money in politics.

Mr. Obama’s fund-raising success makes it increasingly likely that he will back away from a pledge he made last year to accept public financing for the general election — and its attendant spending limits — if the Republican nominee also accepted public money.

Several major fund-raisers for Mr. Obama said in interviews that they could not envision the campaign sheathing its sword and accepting public financing, given how powerful Mr. Obama’s fund-raising could be in the Democrats’ urgent quest to reclaim the White House. Mr. Obama would be the first major-party presidential candidate to bypass public financing for the general election since the system began in 1976.

Mr. McCain, who abandoned public financing in the primary but has indicated he would employ it in the general election, is aggressively building a joint fund-raising operation with the Republican National Committee and state party committees in four battleground states. These committees can raise money far in excess of the $2,300 limit imposed on individuals giving to Mr. McCain’s presidential campaign. Donors can write a single check of almost $70,000 to the committees that is divvied up to various entities.

good read at link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/us/politics/19donate.html?bl&ex=1211342400&en=0aa12d67be5b8c74&ei=5087%0A

With McDubya using RNC money, will that significantly hurt the pukes running downticket, money-wise?

[napi21]

1. Isn't most of the $$ raised by a National Party usually used to

help support House/Senate/Governor candidates? If the Pubs give most of it to McNut, and they have LOTS of congress critters up for reelection, it sure sounds like a flawed plan to me!

[tekisui]

2. That's my thinking. We should make BIG gains in the House and Senate!

[Happyhippychick]

4. He has no choice, the man can't raise a dime on his own.

He would love nothing better than to get fat donations but nobody's coughing up so he has to rely on public financing.

Buh bye McClone.

[NewJeffCT]

3. and, hasn't the DNC been outraising the RNC this year & last?

so, we could be in pretty good shape that way.