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RNC Chairman Candidate Mike Duncan: ‘There Is Not Enough Money’ In Politics

The Republican National Committee will soon hold elections to potentially replace its gaffe-prone chairman Michael Steele, and today, FreedomWorks held a forum for those vying for the job. All the candidates present — Steele was conspicuously absent — touted their fundraising ability, but Mike Duncan, a former chairman running for another term, took the opportunity to wax poetic about campaign finance. Despite the recent troubling and unprecedented explosion of money in politics, Duncan called money “the mother’s milk of politics,” and argued, “there is not enough money” in politics:

DUNCAN: Money is the mother’s milk of politics. There is not too much money in politics, there is not enough money. When you consider that we spend $7 billion in this county a year on potato chips. We spend $4 billion, a little over $4 billion, according to the National Retailer Association on Halloween — on costumes and candies.

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Thanks to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, this year’s election saw a flood of money into politics, with corporations, special interests, and wealthy individuals spending like never before. Nearly $4 billion was spent on the 2010 cycle, making it the most expensive midterm in history, with more spent by outside groups this year than during all the midterms since 1990 combined. A disturbingly large portion of this was secret money spent by front groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Karl Rove’s American Crossroads, which do not have to disclose their donors. This system allows a tiny group of individuals to have an outsize impact on American democracy. For example, in August, an astonishing 91 percent of the millions American Crossroads raised came from just three billionaires. And while the Chamber claims to represent hundreds of thousands of businesses large and small, the vast majority of their funding comes from just 45 mega-corporations.

But it’s not surprising that Duncan would support this flood of special interest money in politics, as Republicans benefited most from secret money, and spent more than Democrats overall. According to a New York Times analysis, eight of the top ten outside political groups were GOP-aligned, including the top four.

However, the American people do not agree with Duncan that there should be more money in politics, especially when it comes to corporate money. A PCCC poll from last week showed that by a double-digit margin, voters would support a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and once again restrict corporations from directly spending on elections. Meanwhile, a People for the American Way poll from June found that 85 percent believe that there is too much corporate money in politics. And a poll from the 2008 presidential campaign found that “Americans by 3-1 think too much money is” spent on politics.

In a lengthy interview with The Daily Beast this week, Wagner said she didn't want to "cast aspersions" on Steele's chairmanship, but still managed to make subtle and not-so-subtle digs at his bumpy tenure.

"There needs to be accountability," she said. "The chairman needs to be full-time," she added, noting the needs for "checks and balances and controls." Beyond that, what the RNC needs, is "strong management and leadership from the very top."

From the beginning, Steele has been a public-relations headache for the Republican Party, picking a fight with Rush Limbaugh, offering "slum love" to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and describing civil unions as "crazy"—all in the first 30 days after taking office.

But whereas Steele is the "off-the-hook" kind guy, who said he wanted to polish the GOP's image with everyone "including one-armed midgets," Wagner is less showy—even her most high-level official appointment spoke restraint. (She served for three-and-a-half years as ambassador to Luxemborg, appointed by George W. Bush.)

As chairwoman of the Missouri Republican Party, she is credited with turning the state legislature from blue to red, winning statewide races and crucial votes to George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. Coming off those victories, she became the RNC co-chairwoman before Bush appointed her to the Luxembourg diplomatic post. Coming back, though, she worried that "perhaps socialism had followed me across the pond," she said, and so she decided that she "needed to reengage," successfully chairing Roy Blunt's Senate campaign.

Ann Wagner of the Republican National Committee pumps up the crowd on day one of the Republican National Convention in New York on Aug. 30, 2004. (Photo: Bill Greenblatt, UPI / Newscom)

The night before Wagner announced her desire to run for the chairmanship, she called Steele, someone she described as "a friend," telling him her intentions. The conversation was "cordial," she said, adding that she intends to focus on bringing back GOP donors who left the fold during the last cycle.

“With independent expenditures, there’s no coordination so you don’t know if the organization or the group will be there for you.” With outside groups, “you are flying blind a little bit.”

"It's not just restoring a certain level of credibility in being good stewards of our donors' investments," she said, "but frankly just going out and making the ask."

In many ways, Steele's biggest problems have been related to money. There was, of course, notoriously, the almost $2,000 that RNC staffers blew at a "bondage-themed nightclub featuring topless women dancers imitating lesbian sex." (The RNC denied that Steele himself visited the Hollywood club.) More seriously, Democrats have been more effective in raising money, and last month, former RNC political director Gentry Collins wrote a scathing letter, saying Steele had maxed out on the $15 million credit line approved by the committe. And some have criticized Steele for being upstaged financially by GOP operatives such as Karl Rove, who pulled in much-needed cash for the Republican Party during last month's midterm elections. (An RNC spokesperson declined an interview with Steele.)

Wagner, for her part, clearly doesn't want to be beholden to Rove.

"The key is to make sure that, in a presidential year, we are not so dependent upon so many outside groups to assist in this," she said. "With independent expenditures, there's no coordination so you don't know if the organization or the group will be there for you." She added, with outside groups, "you are flying blind a little bit."

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Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Making Money Job

RNC Chairman Candidate Mike Duncan: ‘There Is Not Enough Money’ In Politics

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