The election before the election

There is always an election before the election and it is about money. Cold hard cash. Who has it and who is going to get it. If the money bags don't back you, forget it. Which is why this news is interesting. I am not smart enough to know if it is really a problem, or just wishful thinking on the part of The Washington Monthly. But, in politics as in every other endeavor, follow the money

As a rule, the RNC and DNC spend the year before an election retiring their debts and filling their coffers. In 2009, however, the RNC's finances got worse -- Steele started with $22.8 million in cash, and about a year later, has $8.7 million. The difference was the RNC's investments in the off-year elections, most notably New Jersey's and Virginia's gubernatorial races.

The investments paid some dividends -- Republicans lost all five of 2009's congressional special elections, though they won both gubernatorial campaigns -- but the RNC nevertheless spent more than $90 million in an off-year and doesn't start 2010 on the right financial footing.

Anyone out there with an opinion?

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