In this morning's Pioneer Press, which we get here at work (my dad remarked on a visit this weekend that it seems pretty thin, because it is), there was a Politico article entitled "GOP dead set against 59th Dem."
In it, and I'll excerpt a bit below, there are several instances of various Republicans' PACs giving oodles of money to Norm Coleman to continue his losing battle against Al Franken. As much as I detest not having representation in congress, and as much as I wish ol' Al was my Senator, I can't help but smile when I think of tens or hundreds of thousands (or, MILLIONS!) of dollars being thrown in to the wind like TARP funds at banks rather than buying ad time for Republicans in races in 2010.
In other words, the Republicans are being penny wise and pound foolish, or robbing Peter to pay Paul, or any number of aphorisms. I like it.
[The election] shows no signs of ending soon.
Which is exactly how Senate Republicans want it. The National Republican Senatorial Committee held a ritzy fundraiser for Coleman in Washington this week, helping him raise the money he needs to keep his legal challenges alive through a trial and then a lengthy legal process if he loses.
How long should Coleman hold out?
"However long it takes," says Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who chairs the NRSC.
Oh, Big John, you make me smile. Instead of building your war chest for 2010, and remember, you lost big in the last cycle, you are spending money for a seat which you have maybe a 3% chance of holding, at best.
The Dems know they are fighting just to keep the seat empty, and surely it would be a shame if we had to hold back health care a few months because of their antics. However, every day that Norm fights on, he needs money, and the Republicans are happy to raise it:
At this week’s NRSC fundraiser, PAC hosts paid $5,000 each; individual hosts had to pony up $2,300 apiece, and attendees paid between $500 and $1,000 to attend.
...
Other Republican senators who contributed the $10,000 maximum limit include Mike Crapo of Idaho, Johnny Isakson of Georgia and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, the third-highest ranking Republican in the Senate. Republican Sens. James Inhofe of Oklahoma and Charles Grassley of Iowa each contributed $5,000, while Collins chipped in another $2,000 and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska donated $1,000, the person said.
Cornyn said Coleman said Coleman has raised $5 million since election day – and that even that isn’t enough.
(emphasis mine)
$5 mil would go a long way in competitive Senate races in two years. If they instead want to blow it on this, I guess I am okay with that.
So, my first preference is Senator Al Franken. But if Norm is going to keep pushing a string, at least he is sucking dry funds which the Republicans may need in a couple of years.