If You Got the Money, Honey, I've Got the Time......

The latest rash of money reports highlight numerous glaring points that need to be discussed. Regrettably, the mainstream media probably won't delve into where NC stands in the "pay to play" governor's race. However, I'll try to make a few observations and see if anybody cares.

Point 1: As most political observors already know, it is not a good year for Republicans generally to raise money - nationally or here in NC. The fact that Moore and Perdue have raised millions each, compared to all of the GOP candidates (not counting McCrory since his money comes from the Mayor's race) who in the aggregate don't even hit the 1 million mark, should give us all pause. Add to that the money raised for the Lt. Governor's race on the Democratic side as well as Treasurer and you get the drift.

Point 2: Perdue and Moore, having been raising money and pointing toward this governor's race since Jim Martin was governor, have a huge institutional advantage as evidenced by the PAC's and "professional" givers coughing up the big checks. It points out the one sided nature of state government and how all the special interest are betting on the predictable outcome by stuffing the loot into the Moore/Perdue treasury.

Point 3: It appears that Graham didn't try very hard to raise money which leads one to wonder whether he's just riding it out or is going to try and match Smith with the personal fortune. As for Smith's "successful" fundraising, it's really misleading. I always try and look at net fundraising results since it's easy to raise money but if you spend twice as much as you raise in the fundraisng effort, it really isn't such a plus.

Point 4: These totals are relative to the primary but we may see a vastly different scenario in the general. Perdue and Moore are going to drive economic development by spending millions and will end up on May 6th with virtually empty accounts. Now the winner will have plenty of money eventually but there won't be the kind of disparity you see now.

Point 5: The GOP primary will not be determined by money. The dynamics of a low turnout primary means that smaller amounts of money can be more effectively used and most voters will have a pretty good idea as to which candidate to vote for, regardless of all the mindless commercials run.

Point 6: The GOP winner will be able to raise competitive amounts of money for the general election as voters and contributors start to realize that electing a Republican governor in NC in 2008 is a distinct possibility. It will be an interesting fall campaign and anything can happen.