Sunday, December 29, 2013

OBAMACARE FALLOUT: The GOP is looking for a 2014 Fundraising Boost

The partial government shutdown this fall proved to be a fundraising bonanza for Democrats. Now Republicans are hoping the rocky launch of the Affordable Care Act will deliver a similar boost for them. 
So far, problems with the health law's implementation have yet to deliver a surge in donations for the GOP. But party strategists see an opportunity entering the 2014 midterm election cycle as the spotlight shifts from the embattled legislation's launch to the coverage it provides.
"As people experience the confusion and frustration and cost of the Affordable Care Act, it will be both politically powerful and powerful as a fundraising tool," said Terry Holt, a former aide to House Republican leadership and to President George W. Bush. 
In the weeks before and after the October shutdown, donations to Democratic campaign groups surged, fueled by ire over the impasse that closed agencies and furloughed many federal workers. Polls showed the public largely blamed Republicans for refusing to reopen the government unless the health law was gutted, a demand perceived as unrealistic under a Democratic administration.
With fundraising totals for all but the final month of 2013 reported, the Democratic political committee focused on House races outraised its GOP counterpart, pulling in $70.2 million through November, compared to Republicans' $56.5 million. On the Senate side, the Democratic political committee for that chamber raised $48.6 million, also topping the Senate GOP committee's $32.7 million in the year to date.
But the Republican National Committee, which works to elect GOP gubernatorial, congressional and presidential candidates, raised $73.2 million through November, topping the Democratic National Committee's $58.2 million so far this year. Democrats, however, had a slight edge in the month of November, raising $6 million even with public attention focused on the numerous technical flops and blown deadlines bedeviling the health law, while the Republicans raised $5.2 million.
Read the rest of the story HERE.

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm not excited about ObamaCare as a "tool" for fundraising. The House had a landslide election, yet we are facing ObamaCare tyranny anyway.