Sad face: Democratic committee’s Facebook emotes on low fundraising

By M.D. Kittle | Wisconsin Reporter

MADISON, Wis. — As the campaign finance filing deadline rapidly approaches, national Democrats’ maudlin fundraising appeals are sounding more and more like overly dramatic Facebook status updates.

“CRUSHING Blow.”

“painful loss.”

“devastating defeat.”

These are just three of the more maudlin subject lines from a series of desperate emails sent out in recent days by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, each one begging for money in time to meet Monday’s Federal Election Commission fundraising deadline.

As overwrought as the appeals sound, you would think the DCCC has brought in Facebook-raging high school girls to write them.

“We’re going to be very honest with you: If we fall short right now, our chances of winning a Democratic House for President Obama are slim to none,” the Chicken Little committee warns in a fundraising appeal headlined “pummeled.”

Of course, the DCCC decries a GOP fundraiser last week that took in $15.1 million, the committee says, that will be used to “attack President Obama and protect their Tea Party buddies.”

“If we want to take back the House, we can’t let them pummel us like this right now,” the appeal admonishes.

Some political oddsmakers will tell you that Democrats taking back the House is as long a shot as Cal Poly going to the Final Four, but money is the name of the game in this fundraising March Madness.

And there’s a lot of House money — on both sides of the aisle. In total, some 922 candidates have raised north of $414 million in the 2013-14 House campaign cycle, according to the latest data from OpenSecrets.org.

Republican candidates enjoy a decided fundraising advantage, having raised nearly $237 million thus far, compared to $177 million for Democrats. There are, however, nearly 100 more GOP candidates for House seats. Republicans hold a substantial majority, boasting 233 members to the Democrats’ 199, with three vacancies.

Democrats hold the majority in the Senate, 53 to 45, with two independents who typically vote along Democratic lines.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Senate Democrats have outraised Republicans — $116.4 million to $100.8 million, according to OpenSecrets.

It probably shouldn’t come as a shock that more than seven months in front of the 2014 general election, there remains a lot of unspent campaign cash, to the tune of $327 million.

“It might be a little too early to draw conclusions about what this election year is going to be as far as fundraising,” Russ Choma, money and politics reporter for OpenSecrets.org, told Watchdog.org. “This is the time that people just start getting serious” about campaign contributions.

That hasn’t stopped the DCCC from sending out a slew of sky-is-falling appeals. Their leader has gotten in on the sad act, too.

“Right now, we are facing our most important midterm fundraising deadline so far. Frankly, we can’t afford to fall short on this one. Will you chip in $5 or whatever you can today for a Democratic House?” President Obama begged in a DCCC appeal last week.

Obama noted he could “get a whole lot more done if I didn’t have Republicans in Congress obstructing our agenda every step of the way.”

The only thing missing: an Obama sad face emoticon.

Contact M.D. Kittle at mkittle@watchdog.org