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House GOP leader desperately sounds alarm: “We’re getting our asses kicked” by Dems in fundraising

House GOP leader desperately sounds alarm: “We’re getting our asses kicked” by Dems in fundraising

“Money money money money, MONEY!”

For the Love of Money — The O’Jays

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told his Republican brethren during a closed-door meeting today that they just weren’t raising enough cash compared to the fired-up Democrats.

“We’re getting our asses kicked,” the California GOP leader complained to his fellow representatives.

McCarthy’s desperate plea to amp up the fund-raising calls comes as the national outrage over the policies of Donald Trump have helped Democratic candidates and organizations reach record levels of political donations that imperil the chances of the Republicans regaining a majority in the House of Representatives during the 2020 election cycle.

“Some people got to have it.”
“Some people really need it.”
“Listen to me why’all, do things, do things, do bad things with it.”

For the Love of Money — The O’Jays

The House Minority Leader’s entreaties were echoed by House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) and National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Chairman Tom Emmer (R-MN) as they implored legislators to up their fundraising games and increase their contributions to the NRCC which helps fund GOP congressional candidates.

According to a report at The Hill:

“Emmer said we are sounding the alarm,” one source in the room told The Hill. “Steve said members need to be raising money and paying dues, Kevin said we’re getting our asses kicked.”

“McCarthy and Emmer reviewed the overall numbers and the disparity. Also stressed difference between D and R member and candidate campaign COH (cash on hand) — about a $40m disparity,” one GOP lawmaker texted The Hill. “ Members need to meet their dues commitment minimally while also funding their campaign. Too many members well behind on their dues.”

Perhaps, given the checkered history of bill payment by the president that they’ve loyally emulated, it’s unsurprising that GOP congresspeople are failing to meet their obligations.

“For the love of money,”
“People will steal from their mother.”
“For the love of money,”
“People will rob their own brother.”

For the Love of Money — The O’Jays

The NRCC has reportedly raised about $85 million in the last year, while, in contrast, their counterpart, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), has raised $125 million to support its candidates, and that’s not counting the $87 million raised by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for candidates and party organizations last year.

Even the combined forces of Congressmen McCarthy and Scalise couldn’t match that number.

“Talk about cash money, money,”
“Talk about cash money- dollar bills, why’all.”

For the Love of Money — The O’Jays

Ironically, some GOP legislators blame the success of Donald Trump’s own money-grabbing skills during a presidential election campaign year for their own deficits in fundraising, given the finite amount of cash that donors are willing to offer political candidates.

“You’ve got members that are well behind in their fundraising goals. I just think it’s hard to do when there’s so much money being sucked up by Trump, his campaign and the super PAC,”  one senior GOP representative told The Hill.

The Republican shortfall has also been attributed to the success that Democratic candidates have had in convincing large numbers of small individual donors to contribute to their campaigns.

“The real problem is the giving-cultural advancements that Democrats have made with their small-dollar donors that frankly have left Republicans in the dust.  It’s not uncommon to meet a middle-class Democrat who has donated twenty bucks to a couple different presidential candidates and a handful of Senate and House candidates. This donor is currently a unicorn for Republicans,” Josh Holmes, a Republican strategist with close ties to party leaders, explained.

Still, the GOP is trying to convince itself that it can achieve the almost unprecedented task of losing a majority in the midterms and gaining it back during a presidential election year, something that hasn’t happened since 1952.

“The reality is, most places across the country, we’re going to be on offense. We’re going to have to have the money to do that, and we’re clearly not there,” Representative Tom Cole (R-OK) said. “A lot depends on how the president runs. He’s pretty unorthodox and in some ways unpredictable, but it’s hard for me to see him not carrying the seats he carried last time.”

“If people believe they can take the majority back, they’re a lot more likely to do it,” Cole added. “We’ve got to get more members to believe that.”

That may prove to be a more difficult task that the GOP realizes, given the recent polling showing that a majority of Americans want Donald Trump removed from office.

“For the love of money,”
“People will lie, Lord, they will cheat.”
“For the love of money,”
“People don’t care who they hurt or beat.”
“For the love of money.”

For the Love of Money — The O’Jays

With a president whose entire life has revolved around the pursuit of money to the detriment of morals, social skills, and education, the Republican party has hitched its wagon to an armored car driven by a psychopathic lunatic. As they chase behind the carefully hoarded bundles of moolah, they may soon be disappointed to find that they’ve been following an empty vessel full of only expired coupons rather than anything of lasting value.

Follow Vinnie Longobardo on Twitter.

Original reporting by JulieGrace Brufke and Reid Wilson at The Hill.

Vinnie Longobardo
Managing Editor
Vinnie Longobardo is the Managing Editor of Occupy Democrats. He's a 35-year veteran of the TV, mobile & internet industries, specializing in start-ups and the international media business. His passions are politics, music, and art.

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