With their sights set on winning a filibuster-proof, 60-seat
majority, Senate Democrats are giving generously to the party's
fundraising arm. But it's Illinois' own Dick Durbin who set the
standard during this election cycle.
The Senate Majority Whip quietly transferred $1 million into the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) in September. Shortly thereafter, Sen. John Kerry followed his lead, Roll Call reports:
Kerry handed over his $1 million to the campaign committee on Sept. 24 but, unlike Durbin, made his contribution public in an e-mail to supporters [...]
Mike Daly, Durbin’s campaign manager, said his boss “thought the best use” of his resources “would be helping to get more Democrats elected in the Senate.”
But while Durbin has given generously to Democrats nationwide, he has also focused on building a better party apparatus here at home.
Campaign finance reports show that on October 9 the Senate Majority Whip gave $200,000 to Illinois Victory '08, a county party committee based in Waukegan. The organization is handling the Democrats' "coordinated campaign" in the state, spearheading field and organizational efforts with a great deal of financial support from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
In most states, the coordinated campaign is an extension of the state party, but not so in Illinois, where party chairman Michael Madigan has historically shown little interest in working to support Democratic congressional candidates. As we noted back in June, Durbin has also circumvented Madigan by working with the Democratic County Chairmen's Association to build their own voter file (known as the "VAN") for Illinois Democrats.
In previous election cycles, Democratic campaigns have made up for the state party's negligence by banding together and devising various work-arounds. This year, with Durbin's help, the Democrats appear to be creating something more permanent.
markg8 on Thu, 10/30/2008 - 14:41
Hat's off to Durbin for circumventing Madigan and getting us the VAN. If it hadn't been for his intervention a whole lot of Democratic candidates for office who don't pledge their loyalty to Madigan would have been left out in the cold.
ChicagoJimmy (not verified) on Thu, 10/30/2008 - 15:27
Good job Durbin. I just don't know why we can't get rid of Madigan. He seems only to care about himself or ideas that originate with him. I'm not saying I always think he's wrong, but his politics really suck.
MikeL (not verified) on Thu, 10/30/2008 - 17:21
What did Madigan do with the funds he did collect? What are his priorities? Why is he holding office?
Mike
Yellow Dog Democrat (not verified) on Fri, 10/31/2008 - 14:17
Good Lord, what hyperbole!
Since Madigan became party chairman, Democrats have created a majority in the State Senate, expanded their majority in the House and taken over every statewide office.
Moreover, in every race I'm aware of since 1999 where both the Illinois House Democrats and Congressional Democrats have run competitive races in overlapping geographies, they have cooperated on the ground as well.
As for county chairmen wanting the VAN/voterfile, I'll bet Madigan has provided it to any Democratic county chairman who has asked. But lets be honest...most county parties do not ID voters or run a targeted Get-Out-The-Vote operation, so what the heck do they need a voterfile for? A paperweight?
Josh Kalven on Fri, 10/31/2008 - 18:20
The problem with Madigan and the state party's control of the VAN in previous election cycles, as I understand it, has been their failure to maintain it. If no one is updating the file and weeding out bad or old information, then the dust collects and it loses its value. Unlike the state party, Durbin and the county chairs are committed to refining and growing the VAN in Illinois, which will be of great use to Democrats in future cycles.
You may be right about Madigan helping when races overlap geographically. But should that be the limit of the state party's involvement in congressional elections? In most other states, the party does A LOT more than that.
First, depending on the number of competitive races, state parties receives a great deal of money from the DCCC intended to help with field and mail in those districts. But once the money is transferred down to the party, the DCCC has no control. In the large majority of states, that's not a prob because the state party wants to help their congressional candidates and provide a centralized hub for those funds. In Illinois, that's not the case. Madigan has no interest in devoting serious energy to the congressional races, and so the national party obviously doesn't want to hand their cash over to him. That's where Illinois Victory '08 comes in. The DCCC knows that if it transfers the money down to them, it will be used for the right purposes.
Second, in most states, maxed out donors can further support their candidates by giving to the state party. For the reasons stated above, that's also not the case in the Prairie State.
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