The Columbia Tribune has done a great piece looking at how dysfunctional the Democrat Party is in Missouri, with a lot of data that suggests Democrat leaders in the House are letting down their party in a very big way – with some worrying implications for Mike Talboy.
In the words of Chris Kelly, "You have a lot of Democrats who are not actively participating in the job of changing the majority."
The data supports his argument:
This year, 39 of 47 Republicans seeking re-election have contributed to the House Republican Campaign Committee. Four members have turned over more than $40,000 each to the HRCC, with the two top contributors, Reps. John Diehl, R-Town and Country, and Tim Jones, R-Eureka, providing more than $90,000 each.
Among Democrats, fewer than half of 49 incumbents seeking another term have contributed to the House Democratic Campaign Committee, or HDCC. Only two have contributed more than $10,000, and only Rep. Mike Talboy, D-Kansas City, has numbers that compare with Republicans’, giving $57,000. Talboy will be the Democratic floor leader in the 2011 legislative session.
Considering the fundraising advantage that Democrats typically have across the country, the cash disparity between the parties in Missouri is staggering. Some of the problems are structural, but Talboy’s attempts to change the shape of the HDCC isn't going to fix the core problem.
We're referring specifically, to senior Democrats who aren't helping the cause (or possibly just Talboy).
Specific names that come to mind are Paul LeVota, JC Kuessner and Jeff Roorda - three party leaders who probably won't be getting Christmas cards from HDCC leader Mike Talboy this year.
Two of the three (LeVota and Kuessner) are on their way out, and don't seem interested in helping the party anymore. But what about other senior Democrats, who are still running for re-election? Are they helping to plug the gap?
We took a sample of six unchallenged Democrats running for a fourth term - representatives that have been around long enough to bring some weight to bear, who are probably in safer districts, and who don't have to worry about even a token general election challenge.
As of their most recent report, they have made the following in campaign contributions (total):
Joe Aull: $4,450
Leonard Hughes: $2,525
Michael Brown: $0
Jeanette Mott Oxford: $5,445
Maria Chappelle-Nadal: $4,172
Terry Swinger: $8,250
It's little wonder that the Democrat statewide committees are in sorry shape.
Here’s the question – are they apathetic about helping their colleagues, or do they not want to give to Talboy? There’s no doubt that he’s not getting the resources the HDCC needs, and that Talboy is unpopular in certain Democratic corners.
Democrat infighting is definitely in play, and we’d argue that the HDCC’s troubles are a mirror-image of a power struggle going on inside the Democrat party.
More troubling is that Talboy’s supporters don’t seem to be rallying around him. His attempts to turn the HDCC around won’t mean anything if he loses his minority leadership position, and we’re not prepared to dismiss that possibility at this point.
But kick ass Tony KC blog says Jason Bar & Grill is safe in his seat.
Posted by: Guy White | October 13, 2010 at 08:12 PM