In an informative interview via mail on Real Clear Politics, George W. Bush's 2004 campaign manager let loose this bombshell:
RCP: You are on record as saying this is going to be a close election and that the Bush campaign is taking nothing for granted. What's the one state, not including Florida, that President Bush must carry in 2004 to win reelection?MEHLMAN: We're preparing for an election that could be just as close and hard-fought as 2000, especially when you consider that Democrat soft money groups, funded by the likes of George Soros, will raise and spend anywhere from $450-$500 million expressly to defeat the President.
That's a level of funding and resources that no campaign has ever faced, so we'll need to be organized in every state, every county, and every precinct.
This level of funding, that is outside the campaign finance rules and is likely to be hidden until well after the election, is likely to end up somewhere between $8 and $10 per eventual Democrat voter, an extremely high expenditure rate for a political campaign (many campaigns don't exceed $1 per vote received). And this number doesn't even include the Democrats' official spending via the DNC and the campaign fund of the eventual candidate. This is just the less regulated, soft money side.
I haven't seen any other estimates for Democrat soft money expenditures in the '04 presidential race but if this is anywhere near reality, any 'campaign finance reformers' who stick around with the 'D' label after such a performance are never going to be able to live it down.
Posted by TMLutas at January 5, 2004 02:04 PM