The NRSC’s Wasted Millions

The NRSC's decision to send help to Sen. Murkowski, while ignoring more conservative candidate Joe Miller, highlights the trouble with the organization.

The conservative blogosphere is hot with the news that the NRSC is sending its general counsel to Alaska to advise sitting Sen. Lisa Murkowski in her uphill bid against Joe Miller.

For many conservatives this raises the issue of whether the NRSC is sufficiently solid.  There is no question that Miller is the more conservative candidate, and as in Utah, the GOP nominee is an almost certain winner. The NRSC appears to be ignoring Bill Buckley's recommendation of support for the most conservative electable candidate.

The larger question this episode raises, however, is why any family with over 60 grand to contribute to politicking would give it to any campaign committee, not just the NRSC.

As organizations whose first priority is the protection of incumbents, these committees are guaranteed to blow millions of donor dollars on sure loser races.  This waste is harder to recognize in a year when your side is almost entirely on offense. But Republicans should consider the plight of the DSCC.  This year it will make millions in ad buys and in kind contributions in Arkansas and other states well beyond the point that an organization without the need to protect finished incumbents would cut bait and close ranks around more winnable races.

The same was true in 2006 and 2008 as incumbents like Lincoln Chafee, Rick Santorum, Mike DeWine, and John Sununu took money from more winnable races.

With this amount of waste baked into the operations of these committees, it should come as little surprise when fundraising operations with independence from the parties take on an even greater role in coming election cycles.  Whether this independent financing will make a positive contribution to our civic life by empowering amateur candidates or accelerate an ongoing political polarization is less certain.