Monday Must-Reads: Rise of the Self-Funders

Written by Shane D'Aprile on August 17, 2009, 09:28 AM

More than 30 candidates for federal office in 2010 have already poured more than $100,000 of their own money into their races. That's almost double the number of candidates who had sunk in that much of their money this time last cycle. The numbers are courtesy of an analysis by The Hill newspaper, which also found that 15 candidates have already spent at least $200,000 of their own money.

Some of the biggest spenders so far: Pennsylvania Democrat Doug Pike has used some $500,000 of his own money, and in Washington State, Democrat Suzan DelBene has contributed more than $350,000 of her own cash in her race again Republican Rep. Dave Reichert. An added advantage for the self-funders is the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to strike down the so-called Millionaire's Amendment, which permitted candidates to expand contribution limits in the face of challengers spending at least $350,000 of their own money. 

Now that the White House appears to be backing away from the so-called public option in President Obama's healthcare reform plan, the real question is whether the president will pay a political price among progressives, some of whom are already disenchanted by the president's policy direction in a number of areas. And some Democrats in Congress are threatening to vote against any plan that doesn't include a government run option. Writing at Politics Daily, David Corn argues that the setback is in large part a reflection on the president's once formidable grassroots operation...

Obama did not come roaring into Washington with millions of e-mailing supporters prepped for battle. In fact, in the first months of his presidency, Obama mounted mainly an inside game, working with Congress on the stimulus bill and other initiatives. At the time, some political observers opined that the Obama camp was not calling in the outside troops because it did not need them to achieve these early victories and that the White House could keep this massive firepower in reserve for the tough health care reform struggle to come.

But troops need practice. It would have been a smart move to have called them into action for the stimulus debate -- if only to gain experience and to test what could be done. Also, success breeds success, and if millions of activists had been given a role in the early wins, these people would perhaps have more eagerly ridden into the health care reform storm.

There's no telling if Obama can pull meaningful reform out of the current morass. It's even possible that nonprofit co-ops, the alternative to a public insurance plan, can provide the necessary competition to force private insurance companies to perform better (though I wouldn't bet on it). But what's certain is that Obama finds himself in fierce combat without many of the folks who carried him to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Nate Silver argues that the White House doesn't have the votes to pass a plan with a public option anyway. And Time's Karen Tumulty suggests that despite all of the media focus on the White House's apparent shift, substantively, not much has changed. 

A new Washington Post poll out Monday suggests President Obama's endorsement of Virginia gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds might have been a negative for the candidate, at least among independents. Overall, 34 percent of respondents said the president's endorsement made them more likely to support Deeds--the same percentage said Obama's backing made them less likely to support him. But among independent voters in Virginia, 37 percent said it made them less likely to support Deeds in November, while only 23 percent of independents said it made them more likely to back Deeds.

In Iowa, rumors of a potential challenge to Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley in 2010 are swirling. Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley took on Grassley after he suggested at a recent healthcare townhall that the president's plan would "pull the plug on grandma." At the least, Braley would have significantly more name recognition and fundraising ability than any of Grassley's other potential Democratic challengers. But it would still be a political feat to knock off Grassley next year--he hasn't had a real challenge for nearly 30 years. 

And, in a story that deserves to be last on your Monday must-read list, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay will headline this fall's line up on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars." Over at the Daily Beast, Lloyd Grove trolls DeLay's memoir for some clues on how he'll approach the competition.

Shane D'Aprile is senior editor at Politics magazine. sdaprile@politicsmagazine.com.