Some commenters at this post missed the real point of the thread by asserting that fundraising in and of itself really doesn't matter. True, on one level.
The point in this case, however, is that fundraising is one measure by which we can tell that something unique is happening with Dino Rossi's campaign (which is quite literally crushing the benchmarks set by his previous financial success in 2004). Moreover, anyone who has spent some time talking to Republicans at Lincoln Day Dinners, county conventions, or anywhere else the grassroots are assembled can attest to the palpable enthusiasm for Rossi's run this year.
Thus, the dollars raised and contributors earned is not necessarily the point. The enthusiasm behind that success is.
Moreover, consider the fact that Rossi is raising money in impressive amounts from a larger and newer donor base in 2008. This the year when the GOP base is otherwise unenthusiastic (see McCain, John) and when the public view of the Republican party is dim. Yet, Rossi is finding success running against an incumbent Governor in a firmly Democratic state.
It will still be an exceedingly difficult race, but the very fact the race is so competitive at this point in the cycle given the macro-tide against Republicans says something about Rossi and his candidacy.
Posted by Eric Earling at May 14, 2008 10:09 PM | Email ThisFor example, in 1994, a very bad law was passed by the Legislature to put a chill on legal challenges made by citizens specifically of governmental land use actions. In 1996, with widespread understanding of how bad this law was, the State House unanimously passed a bill to repeal it. But when it went to the Senate, it died in committee, killed by the committee chair. Upon review of the PDC records for this fellow, it was somewhat shocking that he'd been elected to office with just 312 donors in his last election. 311 were clearly linked to the growth industry, with only a handful of individual donors. There was no doubt that statewide contributions from the growth industry had gotten this senator elected from a relatively small corner of the state.
So while amount of funds raised is certainly most important, understanding who donated and the numbers of supporters can often tell you a lot more about who really is pushing a given candidate. In the case of Gregoire, the fact that Rossi is so close dollars, despite the benefit the incumbent carries, is actually very positive.
Posted by: MJC on May 14, 2008 10:13 PMAnyway, that year the GOP lost the presidential race AND this state's gubernatorial race. The one lone bright spot was Dino winning his race. This year could be a repeat of such with Dino being the lone bright spot (but what a great one that would be). Go, Dino! We are SO behind you. And this year we have a third voter for Dino at our house---watch out, CG, Dino's coming back for what should have been rightfully his. (to all you trolls who disagree, go back and read Stefan's posts on all the crud that went on with the ballots. It's undeniable.)
Posted by: Michele on May 14, 2008 10:30 PMI think you hit the nail on the head. So much more information can be gained from the PDC report other than how much money. Another note worthy figure would be the amount of money that Gregoire raised that came from outside the state. She raised over $700,000 from out of state individual contributers by the end of March. Dino had only brought in around $61,000 from out of state individual contributers. That is a stark contrast and shows that there are allot of out of state interests that want to see Gregoire back in office. The question is why?
Posted by: TrueSoldier on May 14, 2008 11:10 PMI'm not giving to the national party
I'm not giving to the state party
I AM giving directly to candidates I believe in.
But then, I'm sure that no one else shares that view, right?
Posted by: Hinton on May 15, 2008 05:41 AM..greatest understatement since Gen Custer's 'look, I think they might be friendly' :)
Posted by: Duffman on May 15, 2008 06:24 AMEven I might have gone along with the final subsidy/proposal where it was a 50-50 match with the taxpayer match made up with hotel/motel tax add-ons.
I don't think he was pandering and while I don't agree with the subsidies, I can understand being in favor of this last one.
Posted by: swatter on May 15, 2008 07:15 AMKeep telling yourself that.
Posted by: cliff on May 15, 2008 08:29 AMSo he's an elitist...since only really rich people own sports teams. Sounds to me like he's more likely to pander to other millionaire sports team owners who claim they cannot generate positive revenue in Seattle but somehow think they can do it in a city half-the-size. Give me a break.
I'm sitting home this election since the party has lame candidates in all races except my local Dist.
No, minor league baseball it's a farm team for a bigger business. This and his Sonics stance make me feel he'd give away public money in a second to teams that threaten to leave unless they get more taxpayer funding. I'm sorry that's not something I believe in or support. Gregoire held firm to the NBA's outrageous demands. Since I can't bring myself to vote for her and Rossi would cave, I'm sitting this one out.
Rossi and other select candidates will get money from me soon and the money will continue through the election if I continue to believe in their message and that they will deliver if elected.
Don't give the Party money to spend as they wish, period.
Posted by: JDH on May 15, 2008 09:34 AMIf the Sonics leave, there is basically no revenue to be gained from Key Arena (a public forum). So we would be paying off the current debts with taxpayer money. The last deal from the Sonics would have kept them here and had the people who attend games pay for the debts as well as the additional taxes paid by the surrounding business owners that will otherwise go down due to the Sonics loss.
I'm no Sonics fan and personally I think they're nothing more than a bunch of overpaid crybabies. But if we're going to have Key Arena as a public forum and it has debts to be paid off, then the deal wasn't so bad.
So now instead of paying a portion, we're going to be paying the whole thing.
Posted by: Ken on May 15, 2008 11:25 AMNew law to collect sales tax from Internet purchases
chrissy, chrissy, chrissy, tsk, tsk, babe, that is NOT the way to win friends and influence voters.
Posted by: Ragnar Danneskjold on May 15, 2008 11:51 AMNew law to collect sales tax from Internet purchases
chrissy, chrissy, chrissy, tsk, tsk, babe, that is NOT the way to win friends and influence voters. You do realize don't you chrissy, that some/many of us begin our internet Christmas shopping oh, just about early November?
Posted by: Ragnar Danneskjold on May 15, 2008 11:54 AMGo Dino!
Posted by: pbj on May 15, 2008 11:58 AMBut hey I have a question...
On SOME comment threads, (and it always seems to be the more controversial ones) when the comment box pops up, I get a Microsoft Suspicious Website warning telling me that it might be a pfishing website that impersonates trustworthy websites "for the purpose of obtaining your personal or financial information".
Example, I did NOT get that warning when the comment box for this thread, but I did get it for the Keep it Civil thread... and a few of the others that garnered loads of comments.
I will be the first to admit I know nothing about programming etc but my worry is that someone has tagged or hijacked the thread for some reason.
The warning makes me thing of the admonitions about the care in using banking sites so that you actually have the site you want and not a phony one.
Anyone else have this come up? Any ideas?
Posted by: Ragnar Danneskjold on May 15, 2008 12:06 PMDino should absolutely use that law in campaign advertising.
Criminalizing online poker is another stupid, stupid law that the nanny staters enacted.
Posted by: Palouse on May 15, 2008 12:32 PMciting concerns about underage gambling and illegal wagers, the Washington state legislature banned online gambling, including poker, making it the first state to effectively shut down virtual card rooms.
Posted by: Palouse on May 15, 2008 01:02 PMWe'll be watching and phishing! :)
Posted by: Duffman on May 15, 2008 01:55 PMWell duh, aren't we now a vote by mail state?
Posted by: Sam Adams on May 15, 2008 02:08 PMAnd I'll be sure to send in my use taxes Duffer.
Posted by: Palouse on May 15, 2008 02:45 PMSo because you paid to have it transported here in order to save money you don't want to pay taxes on it? That's just silly.
Or maybe I'll take a visit down to Portland for big purchases, just for fun.
Let me get this straight, you are willing pay the gas tax and drive 6 hours and 300 miles round trip just so you don't have to pay sales tax on stuff you bought on the internet?
Yeah, you keep doing that while the rest of us pay our fair share. It's not a tax grab if you can buy the same thing at a local store and pay the same tax on it.
I'm curious how this would work with non-physical items like internet only software/programing. Will I be paying local sales tax to download episodes of The Wire from iTunes?
As stated in another thread, I buy all of my brewing supplies locally when I could get the same thing on the internet because I want to support that local business. But other things I buy are not conveniently located within a reasonable distance. And I won't support her tax grab by paying shipping and taxes on that purchase.
I enjoy Portland, and make trips down there anyway. I wouldn't go solely to buy something, but will do so while I'm there.
Posted by: Palouse on May 15, 2008 03:55 PMAnd while you're there Palouse, be sure to enjoy their great restaurants ... the queen sure does, as one her very first meetings to thank whomever it is she thanked for giving her the throne was IN Portland.... the queen loves her state so much SHE shops, dines and hold press conferences in Portalnd... could be one heck of an ad... for both her opponent and PORTLAND!
Posted by: Ragnar Danneskjold on May 15, 2008 04:06 PMYes, Dino is doing a great job of raising money...and he will need it. Look at the Dems. The teacher's union is considering continuing their $2 per member/per month tax to support candidate. That is approximately $800,000 from one source. How can Dino match that?
The Dems will spend whatever they have to to keep an incumbent Dem Governor. From the outset Dino will get outspent.
He is doing a great job hitting the grassroots, but is leaving nothing for state house and senate candidates. Look at today's Spokesman Review. They are reporting that Republican candidates are being out fundraised by Dems because there is few funds available. Can you hear the Republican sucking machine from Bellevue?
It is time to take a realistic look at our state's politics Eric. Wishful thinking will only get us the same results we have experienced over the past eight years.
Posted by: David on May 15, 2008 04:50 PM