Dysfunctional National Committee

The DNC Is Plagued By Money Troubles And Obama’s Worst Surrogate

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JUST A FEW WEEKS OUT FROM ITS CONVENTION, THE DNC’S FUNDRAISING OPERATION IS IN DIRE STRAITS

In July, The DNC Raised About $10 Million, While Spending $32 Million, Leaving It With Just $15.4 Million Cash On Hand. “Early reports showed the Democratic National Committee spent about $14 million in coordinated advertising with Obama. That’s as the DNC raised roughly $10 million in July while also spending $32 million, leaving the party with about $15.4 million in the bank by month’s end.” (Jack Gillum, “Obama, DNC Spending Exceeded Donations In July,” The Associated Press, 8/20/12)

“The DNC Alone, Meanwhile, Raised Nearly $10 Million In July – Less Than Half The Amount The Committee Collected In June, According To Federal Reports Filed By The Committee Today.” (Dave Levinthal and Tarini Parti, “Obama Campaign Spent More Than It Raised In July,” Politico, 8/20/12)

• “The Committee Spent Nearly $32 Million In July, Leaving $15.4 Million In Its Reserves.” (Federal Election Commission, Accessed 8/20/12)
• “It Also Ended The Month $4.5 Million In The Hole.” (Federal Election Commission, Accessed 8/20/12)
• In June, The DNC Raised $20.5 Million And Spent $12.7 Million. (Federal Election Commission, Accessed 8/20/12)

DNC CHAIR REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-FL) RANKS “DEAD LAST” FOR HER EFFECTIVENESS AS AN OBAMA SURROGATE

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Obama’s Pick For DNC Chair, Became A “Headache” For The Campaign. “Another headache hidden behind the no-drama veil soon cropped up, in the person of the Florida congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Obama’s choice to head the Democratic National Committee. After a long internal debate in early 2011, Obama’s team had picked Wasserman Schultz on her strengths as a battleground-state surrogate and fund-raiser. She was chosen over the former Ohio governor Ted Strickland, but the decision was a close one.” (Glenn Thrush, Obama’s Last Stand, 2012)

• Wasserman Schultz “ Grated On Chicago .” “From the start, Wasserman Schultz grated on Chicago. She insisted the DNC hire a handful of her top congressional aides. While she was a tough and effective cable warrior and a serious fundraiser, she tended to do better on MSNBC and struck too harsh a partisan tone when she crossed over to the Sunday shows, they thought.” (Glenn Thrush, Obama’s Last Stand, 2012)

A Focus Group Commissioned By The Obama Campaign On Surrogate Effectiveness Ranked Wasserman Schultz “Dead Last.”“She won the skirmish but lost the war- eventually becoming marginalized. Her fate, to be fair, has been shared by many a party chief in an election year, but by spring some in Obama’s orbit were openly speculating about how much better things might have been under Strickland or Villaraigosa. No sooner had that speculation died down than Wasserman Schultz called Chicago to ask why her national TV appearances, especially on the Sunday shows, had dropped off. The campaign dropped a bomb on her. A focus group, secretly conducted by Binder’s company, was commissioned by the campaign to rank the relative effectiveness of various in-house Obama surrogates. The results, which were made available to me, placed Robert Gibbs at the top. Cutter was second (a later version of the poll placed Jen Psaki, who was soon to return to the fold as Obama’s traveling press secretary, third). Axelrod did pretty well. Plouffe and Press Secretary Jay Carney, not so much. Wasserman Schultz ranked dead last.” (Glenn Thrush, Obama’s Last Stand, 2012)