What's the problem?

I see Republican bloggers here, here and here are attacking Jim Webb for saying this:

"Webb said the need for campaign money has been the biggest surprise of his campaign for the U.S. Senate"

What's the problem with saying that?  When I wanted to run last year, I never did a fundraiser, but 53 people handed me checks at different events over the two weeks I was running.  My opponent was able to write himself a personal check larger than all 53 of those contributions combined.  The fact is politics is slanted to the old, the wealthy and the powerful, and Webb is exactly right for what he is saying.

Comments

This has been the nature of politics since the founding of our country. If he didn't like the fundraising aspect he should not have entered the race in the first place. That being said the national DEMS have hung him out to dry because he is down significantly in the polls. Why give money to Webb when other seats are more likely pickups? This is pragmatism at its best.

[JPTERP]

Anon: 7:22 PM--congressional fundraising for the election cycle in 1996 was $400 million; in 2006 the fundraising amounted to $1.2 billion. This should tell you something about the influence of money in politics. Special interests don't throw money at candidates who can't be bought. If you look at small dollar donations from individuals Webb is doing pretty well all things considered.

As to this issue of three GOP bloggers jumping on this inane non-issue simultaneously; I have to wonder if someone is giving them there walking orders. Great minds may think alike; however, in the post-Goldwater era of the GOP I have yet to meet a hard-right conservative thinker who would fall into the "great minds" category. Ask Dick Wadhams why he thinks this non-issue as relevant.

As a secondary issue George Washington who was someone who hated campaigning would not survive in this current climate. There are some who confuse great campaigning with great legislating. By anon's reasoning George Washington didn't have the raw goods to be a great leader, because he was a reluctant campaigner. History has shown otherwise--as I suspect it will with Webb if he's given the opportunity to serve as a representative of the people.

[Not Larry Sabato]

Allen's campaign is sending out things like this to bloggers- I'm not on the list, so I don't know if this particular thing was sent out or not. But in general, yes, they are doing that.

I think its a major issue that Webb cannot raise any significant money and has been hung out to dry by his fellow democrats. Why is this the case? Maybe these guys really do not trust him in the end. Maybe the national guys would rather see Allen win than a democrat they could never fully trust.

[JPTERP]

Anon: 7:50 PM Maybe hard-right conservatives are afraid that a well-financed Webb campaign could beat Allen, so they concoct stories designed to undermine Webb's financial backing.

Stupid cynical ploys such as these have worked in the past, but you can only insult voters intelligence for so long.

You see Allen's fundraising abilities as a virtue. To my eyes, his special interest and out of state money speaks volumes about where his priorities are. His dismal record as a Senator supports these concerns.

[Kevin]

Trust me Kilo will be on this as only he can do by linking to those bloggers and then adding "Heh."

Other Republican bloggers will do the same thing...yawn.

[Bubby]

Three obscure wingtopian bloggers and the Richmond Times Dispatch do not a story make. But it does beat talking about who George Allen gets his money from, or who he supports 97% of the time.

[Eraserhead]

I don't see any problem with Webb saying this except that it exposes a surprising naivete (or fine whine) for such a supposedly sophisticated candidate, one who did a Hamlet on making the run, probably because he had money doubts.

[Fan of Integrity]

I think Webb has done well since the primary, and think fundraising will only improve.
And I, for one, would appreciate that the people elected to change things actually had the time to do so, instead of spending hours on daily call time.
It goes with the territory, and the richest man usually wins, but it doesn't make it right.

[I Trust Webb]

Oh, Please. Really. I commented on this topic just a while back on one of your posts:

http://notlarrysabato.typepad.com/doh/2006/07/its_not_funny_a.html

Many DC and Virginia fundraising leaders are writing-off the Webb campaign. Again, unless he loans himself and/or raises $2M by September 1, there is no way that Webb will be able to compete with Allen in the TV and radio markets.

And Webb should have known. For God’s sake, I’m very sure that Jarding and Saunders communicated this. Where were Leslie and Larry Byrne, or even Chap? Surely, all of them had an opportunity to say something to Webb, right? The fact is that Webb most definitely realized this while considering his options in late 2005. The question is: Did Webb simply blow-off the fundraising aspect or simply downgrade its importance?

Finally, Mr. Jim Webb is a 60 year-old wealthy and influential gentlemen. He ought to understand the game before he suits-up, let alone runs out on the field. He is running for United States Senate in a good-sized, diverse, and purple Commonwealth. Webb is not running for Delegate. Huge difference. Heck, if he just looked at the fundraising disparity in the 2005 Lt. Gov. race, he would have had a clue.

I think that Webb did have a clue, but he chose to make a statement to generate sympathy, or understanding, or something. That was foolish. Conservative bloggers and TD jumping on that comment should be no surprise—I’d do it if I were in their shoes. Luckily, we are in August and most people are not paying attention.

[Kilo]

Kevin and Bubby
I understand your frustration. Your candidate has no money and no platform. Your 97% theory is not working and the polls show it. It is hard to complain about where Allen gets his money when Webb owns that big oil stock also. Yawn. Your comments sound like "losing team" comments to me.

[carl]

It's not necessarily a problem that he said -- the Repubs are using to spin that he is unprepared for the bigtime. Which, 1) our side would do the same if the roles were reversed and 2) he has shown that he's unprepared for the big time. And Fan of Integrity, if you think not even being able to hit 200k since the primary is doing well when youre, you are sadly mistaken

[charles]

I agree with Eraserhead. If Webb had said he disliked the need for money, or was dissapointed in how hard it was to raise funds, or how much effort it took, or any of a number of cogent comments about the state of fundraising and running for office, that would be one thing.

But how any person running for office could be "surprised" at the need for large sums of money is beyond me, so much so that I can't actually believe he was "surprised" that he needed money -- and I hate to say people aren't telling the truth, but how could he possibly be "surprised" at the need for money, running for the U.S. Senate?

I think that's the story. That and the fact that the REAL surprise is that he doesn't really seem to be actually GETTING those large sums of money he was "surprised" to find he needed.

With a bevy of multi-millionare democrat activists available to try to take back the country for the liberal elites, why is he having so much trouble with money?

Actually, I think the answer is that he isn't a connected democrat politician, so he doesn't have the large donor base you need to run a campaign, like Miller did.

Even if you get the support of your primary opponent, you aren't guaranteed access to his donors or their money.

Just another reason I was very pleased the democrats picked Webb.

[Not Jack Herrity]

Okay, I'll admit it. Jim Riley was right. Harris Miller would have been a far better candidate than Webb.

Don't ever say the need for money in a statewide Senate race is a surprise. A travesty, maybe. But surprise makes him look like his next campaign stop will be Craney Island.

Seriously, this guy needs to get a real press team and a better debate prep person. He's making Allen look like a rocket scientist.

NJH

[Shaun]

Ben's 100% correct here. First time candidates often blanche at the amount of time, effort, and repitition fundraising takes.

Now you know why candidates are always so happy to meet people. Best part of the day!

Not to beat my own drum here, but now does everyone see why Harris Miller would have made a better candidate?

Speaking of Harris Miller, where is he? The Dems were supposed to be one big happy family after the primary, with the loser jumping on the winner's bandwagon. He's a no show...

Please don't tell me this is another one of those campaigning surprises.

[I Trust Webb]

Anon 9:46,

Harris Miller has done everything that he has been asked to do by the Webb campaign. He spent two weeks after his loss by personally calling everyone who endorsed him, his largest contributors, and his most loyal supporters. At a farewell party, Harris pleaded with his entire staff and a dozen loyal supporters to put the primary behind us and help Jim Webb’s campaign. Harris’ biggest fear was that Jim Webb would lose to Allen, something none of us wanted.

When Harris and his wife went to Europe for a vacation, he took his blackberry and emailed (and even phoned) past supporters and Democratic fundraising leaders to urge them to help the Webb’s campaign.

When some conservatives tried to spin Jim Webb's debate comment on Reagan as his most admired President, Harris ran to Jim Webb’s defense and he was quoted in the Washington Times.
http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20060726-113201-8908r_page2.htm

What more could you ask for? Harris was gracious, accepting, and responsive to the immediate needs of Webb’s campaign and our DPVA.

[JPTERP]

If Virginia voters want to elect the representative who will best represent the interests of ExxonMobile and large pharmaceutical companies based in New Jersey and New York in November then they have a clear choice in Senator George Allen.

If they want a candidate who will be beholden to Virginia voters and Virginia's interests--then they have Jim Webb.

That's what this fundraising issue really boils down to.

If Dick Wadhams and George Allen want to have that fight this upcoming Fall--I have three words for them: Bring it on.

[JMU Duke]

JPTerp-- I just cannot believe that you can spin that aggressively without getting dizzy. Jim Webb HAS to have known that you have to pull in big money from somewhere in order to get elected in this country. It's just the way it is. A couple news stories have pointed out that the Dems are outraising the Repubs by a substantial margin this cycle. Should I take that to mean that they are more beholden to special interests? For two seconds let your constant need to promote an agenda go and talk about the topic at the top of the thread. Jim Webb, for some reason, is not running a good campaign. If his goal is to get elected, which it sort of appears to be, then he needs money. If he wants to get spanked but satisfy your standard for integrity in politics, he's doing a great job.

I like Webb, I had high hopes for him coming out of the primary, but to run against a guy like Allen you have to bring your A game at all times and that has not happened. That is the issue at hand and what you should be talking about instead of constantly trying to spin the issue back to why you don't like George Allen. I don't really like him either, but he is outcampaigning Webb and if this continues he'll keep his seat.

I think everyone is freaking out for no reason. If you did any researching beyond the state of VA, you would see that Chuck Schumer has A. endorsed many moderate Dems in the hopes of creating a larger base (hence the silence towards Lamont from him and other prominent Dems) and B. has been very quiet and tight fisted with his $$ for EVERY candidate so far. Dems have been losing for a few years, and they are learning from past mistakes. Frankly, I just keep showing up, volunteering when needed or when I feel Webb deserves some event coverage, and do my part. I don't have as much time to bitch, I guess.

[Riley, Not O'Reilly]

Wow, another conspiracy theory from the nutroots!!!

I saw the RTD story on FreeRepublic and then posted my take on it. When I get something from the Allen campaign, I say I got it from the Allen campaign.

[Jason]

Ben, I think it's that Webb was "surprised" by this that's getting folks scratching their heads (at least, it did for me). Has he not been paying attention to politics his whole life? It's an unfortunate fact and should have not been a shocker for a Senate candidate.

[Bwana]

General to the topic:

a) This is not an issue per se...everyone is entitled to their opinion, and this one does not reflect on his ability to serve.

b) It has been my experience that the cost of any conflict, any activity where multiple parties want something and only one can have it, is always higher than anticipated. Businesses regularly fail because they did not have adequate start-up reserves. An eternal logistical issue in warzones is how supplies of all types are consumed faster than anticipated. So he may be voicing surpise about how much more it costs than he anticipated.

c) On the other hand, it is somewhere between naive to disingenuous for him to say this as phrased. Do we really think he decided to run without some knowledge of how much a campaign would cost? The numbers cited in a post above about the increase in costs of campaigning is not exactly closely held information.

d) I have to wonder if his comment is a reflection, perhaps, of what he was told in order to get him into the race. I don't think (to quote Doonesbury) he was "rosily scenario'd". I would not be surprised if those who were so avid to get Webb to run may have allowed their zeal to somehow mask how much it would cost.

[What?]

Surprised? Even a first time Virginia House of Delegates candidate knows it take money to get their message out. $400,000??? That's not even enough to run a competative Va. State House or State Senate challanger race. As most challanger campaign veterans understand, unless the incumbent has an acute, irreparable weakness (e.g., being redistricted into an unfriendly district, getting caught in a clearly understood by the public ethics scandle, dissing your own party) the ONLY possible way a challanger can compete with an incumbent's trappings of incumbency is through money - and even then . . .

Bwana has tapped the "roots" of this issue with item d).