Democrats have a money problem. The Republican National Committee has three times as much money to spend on key races as the Democratic National Committee does. The Democrats’ House and Senate campaign committees are doing better, but Republicans overall still have $10 million more available to dump on last-minute attack ads and get-out-the-vote programs.
Luckily, there’s a short-term fix. Seventy House Democrats who are running for re-election against weak or non-existent opponents are sitting on $50 million in campaign cash. Netroots groups, such as the blog MyDD.com and MoveOn.Org, are asking these protected Democrats to give 30 percent of that money to Democratic challengers or the party committees.
Thus far, only Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts has responded to the appeal. But others will follow if enough pressure is put on them.
Of course, the best long-term solution would be to get money out of politics by supporting clean elections. Yet under our current system, the “Use It or Lose It” plan should help Democrats make do.
