The DSCC can kiss my ass.

[Are_grits_groceries]

I understand the need to prioritize where their funds go. However, to PUBLICLY announce they are out of the Kentucky Senate race at this crucial moment isn't smart politics nor good for the party. If they want to cut ad buys and slide more money elsewhere, then do it on the down low. This move is short-sighted to say the least.

The Kentucky race is still winnable. It is a volatile race with many moving parts. While ALG has had some bad moments, The Mertle hasn't exactly been pulling away. ANY move can have significant ramifications and the DSCC declaring their move away does not help.

If I am a candidate with considerable support and name recognition in an area, this would make me think twice about running. If I did, I probably would try to line up other sources in case they got cold feet and wanted to throw me under the bus. The money matters but this negative move now is much worse.

One rumor is that they don't like the way she has run her campaign. Guess what? She has run for office there for years and knows what will fly. If it is about running against Obama, then they need to look at the incumbents they are touting. A lot of them haven't exactly been rushing to tout his policies, his name or have him campaign for them.

The DSCC can go to hell.

[still_one]

1. I agree. When they call me I hang up on them. I will give directly to candidates I support, not

what the "star chamber" believes where the money is best allocated

[JI7]

2. maybe it's a strategy to help Grimes by making her seem like someone who is

more independent and apart from the dems they view in a negative way.

[MADem]

3. A lot of the DSCC money is earned by people like Elizabeth Warren going out and shaking the

trees at these Big Money dinners. There's a lot of bundling going on.

You're of course welcome to put your money where you choose (and appreciated too) but they make these decisions based on numbers. Apparently the race they're throwing that money at has a real shot and is trending. Their loyalty will be towards retaining the Senate.

It certainly wouldn't hurt if you wanted to write a check for Kentucky and send it direct. That was probably the inclination of a lot of people when they heard that the DSCC reallocated.

[Are_grits_groceries]

5. And Warren campaigned a lot with Grimes.

I have sent money to Grimes before this.

As I tried to indicate in my post, my biggest gripe is their very public pulling out their support. It wouldn't have hurt them to keep a small buy there without dumping the race all together.

[MADem]

6. I think that was as much about focusing on GA as pulling back on KY.

But, like I said, it got your attention, didn't it? And many people will be inclined to "make up the diff" and throw money that way.

As for Clinton, she will be there tonight and at a BIG venue, too.

Sometimes, what seems like "Big Meanie" politics is a game of plausible deniability. It's a large, cumbersome, but well-coordinated dance.

We'll see how it plays out.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/10/alison-lundergan-grimes-hillary-clinton-111779.html

The event, which is open to the public, is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville. Tickets are being made available at county Democratic headquarters throughout the state.

“Alison is honored to have Hillary Rodham Clinton on the campaign trail with her less than one month before this important election,” Grimes campaign manager Jonathan Hurst said in a statement. “Alison has been a long-time supporter and admirer of Clinton’s leadership and independence, and is humbled that she will be in Kentucky to endorse her campaign and her plan to get Washington working for Kentucky.”

Grimes has described herself as a “Clinton Democrat” — a necessity in a state Bill Clinton won twice but which gave Mitt Romney 61 percent of the vote in 2012. Grimes demurred repeatedly this week when asked by the Louisville Courier-Journal’s editorial board if she voted for President Barack Obama in 2008 or 2012 — though she said she was a delegate for Hillary Clinton at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

And HRC isn't the only Clinton that has helped out in that state....



They're playing to the crowd that likes that wing of the party. Whatever it takes to keep the majority.

[Are_grits_groceries]

7. Oh the Clintons have always been welcome there.

Bill especially is a great campaigner in the smaller towns and there are a brazillion in Kentucky. He has had connections all over the state for years.

It may be a calculated move that may actually help. However, it doesn't send a great message to Dems who work on the ground.

[MADem]

19. Here's the truth.

The Obama wing of the party polls at 39 percent in KY on a good day. The fact that DSCC portentously "announced" they were pulling out (what does that mean, really? All media buys have probably already been made already) probably has done the candidate more good than harm. "See, Myrtle, see? Them Obama folks don't like her much!!!!" The workers may be a bit nonplussed but it may provide some (faux) clarity and enthusiasm for Clinton wing voters. And it's all about the voters.

I hope she can pull this out--it's neck and neck.

[Are_grits_groceries]

22. I understand in a way.

There can be blowback about outside money.
Hopefully, it goes over well in Kentucky and helps.
On another level, it doesn't. It can be seen by others as the Dems not supporting their own in other places.
Damned if they do. Damned if they don't.
Sigh.....

[MADem]

23. I know. Politics is messy, hardscrabble, cruel, and it plays on the emotions of constituents.

I repeat it often, the worst Dem is better than the best Republican.

It's all about the SCOTUS. The "money people" are stepping back and looking at the big picture. A lot of races are neck-and-neck. It'll all be about GOTV.

From my own POV, I could be selfish and say "Well, since I am not personally affected by (insert critical human rights issue), it really doesn't matter to MEEEE..." but I was raised to believe that if everyone around me was miserable, then I needed to step up and work for a fix. That old "rising tide lifts all boats" attitude!

[Warpy]

4. It's a fucking boneheaded move only a conservative could make

and that is why I will never contribute to them.

In previous years, I've targeted money to specific candidates.

I have been under the weather this year and unable to contribute as much.

In 2016, if I'm still around, I will be targeting money to specific candidates.

I told the DCCC to kiss my flabby old ass many years ago.

[Recursion]

8. Do you have a link for that announcement?

It's odd that in the multiple stories I've read about DSCC pulling out of Kentucky, I haven't seen any reference to a public announcement. I've seen a DSCC official responding truthfully to a direct question from Roll Call. Is that what you're talking about? And if so, should he have gone with "no comment" in your mind? Really?

[Are_grits_groceries]

9. This is one link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/10/14/democrats-are-pulling-out-of-the-kentucky-senate-race-heres-why-thats-important/

There are many more including ones in local Kentucky papers. Once it's made known, that's as good as shouting it from the mountaintops. It was picked up and blated everywhere.

As I said, keep a small buy there instead of abandoning it unless they have info that this move may help.

Seriously! Deny and fudge. These are not unknown political techniques.

[Recursion]

10. Right, so, should the guy Roll Call asked have said "no comment"?

He was asked a direct question by the reporter and answered it truthfully, if spinfully. What would the right course of action have been?

The one DSCC quote in the WaPo piece is the same one as in Roll Call, to wit:

The DSCC has now spent more than two million in Kentucky and continues to make targeted investments in the ground game while monitoring the race for future investments, but is currently not on the air in the state.

Every other quote is from "operatives" outside the DSCC.

So, again, what should the DSCC have done differently here?

[joshcryer]

11. Oh man, if it was a "no comment"?

That would've been worse than what they said, because it would've made all the conspiracy theory people run around mad about how the DSCC was throwing people under the bus, etc.

[Warren DeMontague]

12. ALL HOPE IS LOST FOR THE DSCC KISSING YOUR ASS UNLESS YOU SEND A TRIPLE MATCHED CONTRIBUTION

***Are_grits_groceries, we keep emailing you! Nancy Pelosi has emailed you. Hillary Clinton has emailed you. Barack Obama has emailed you. Abraham Lincoln has emailed you, and he's a dead Republican, for fuck's sake!

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD IF 200 EMAILS A DAY DON'T GET YOU TO OPEN YOUR WALLET, WHAT WILL???????

[davidpdx]

17. OMG

Hilarious

[RBInMaine]

13. The DSCC has NOT pulled out and you are the one fueling this for the corporate media.

They are STILL there helping with the ground game. They already invested two MILLION dollars.

Would you rather not have had that TWO MILLION DOLLAR investment?

Grimes still have over FOUR MILLION DOLLARS on hand. There are OTHER races to fund as well.

YOU are the one feeding the corporate media meme on this, not the DSCC.

Enough of your circular firing squading.

[Are_grits_groceries]

15. They stopped airing ads.

This is the most visible means of support. The voters read about their 'abandoning' the race. That's the headline in the papers and that matters. What you know and I know are different than what voters process.

This is another example of not being aware or not caring how an issue is framed.

As far as a circular firing squad, the party apparatus long ago circled their wagons and took aim on a lot of Dems who didn't support their line. So don't lecture me about who's shooting at who.

[riqster]

14. Damn straight. The only people we can count on are voters.

Time to dump in the last lot of Dilithium crystals and kick some GOTV ass!

[Scuba]

16. I only donate directly to candidates whose values represent my own. Bundlers seem to give ...

... most of their dough to candidates who don't.

[FSogol]

18. The reason to publicily announce their action is to cause others to step up and contribute funds

to make up the difference. I'm sure Grimes had a huge surge in donations yesterday. Did you donate to her? If their actions outrage you, make a donation.

[Are_grits_groceries]

21. I have since the race started.

I have sent what I can so stop lecturing me about that.

[hrmjustin]

20. They are not abandoning her.

https://mobile.twitter.com/guycecil

Just signed a $300,000 wire for the KY Get Out The Vote operation for @AlisonForKY. That's an interesting view of "pulling out of the race"