Cross posted from The Left Anchor

If you haven't already seen them, here are the May fundraising numbers along with the running totals for 2008:

         May $   May Spent   CoH

DNC        4.8      5.3      4.0
RNC       24.4     19.3     53.5

DCCC       6.1      4.2     47.2
NRCC       5.0      5.1      6.7

DSCC       5.9      5.0     38.5
NRSC       4.9      2.7     21.6

Total D:  16.8     14.4     89.7
Total R:  34.3     19.3     81.7

The extended primary season has really taken its toll on the DNC.  Obviously, as each candidates' supporters were seeking to secure victory, they donated largely to the individual campaigns, and not to the DNC.  The Washington Post examined this issue at the end of May.

Hassan Nemazee, a finance co-chair for the Clinton campaign and longtime DNC fundraiser, said that without a nominee, the party's ability to raise money is severely limited.

"People are not going to give until that candidate puts in place an apparatus that allows for people to feel as though there is an institutional memory in place, so they know someone will remember they gave the money," he said.

One longtime party strategist familiar with the inner workings of the DNC went further, acknowledging that although raising money is always "a difficult thing during a primary" for the DNC, "there is serious concern about their complete lack of fundraising success."

DNC spokeswoman Stacie Paxton acknowledged that the lengthy nomination battle has posed problems for the party's fundraising. "Our mission is to elect the president," she said. "Donors to both campaigns have understandably been focused on helping their candidate win the nomination, not giving to the DNC. . . . We're confident our fundraising will take off."

Already, she noted, the party has brokered agreements with Obama and Clinton to create joint fundraising committees that will allow the party to sock away money for the fall campaign. The DNC will also hold a major fundraiser featuring Al Gore and organized by top fundraisers for both candidates at the end of this month in Manhattan.

I certainly hope the DNC does pick up in fundraising over the course of the summer, but it seems unlikely that the DNC can recover.  Over the course of the 2004 cycle under Terry McAuliffe, the DNC raised a whopping $311 million dollars.  In contrast, during the 2008 cycle, the DNC has thus far only raised $77.5 million.  Moreover, in a change from previous policy, the DNC will no longer be accepting PAC money during the 2008 campaign, in accordance with Obama's decision to forgo such donations.  In the 2004 cycle, PACs and lobbyists accounted for 10% of total DNC receipts ($31 million).  While this is the principled call (and, in my opinion, obliterates McCain and the RNC's claim to purity on campaign finance), it also demands that Democratic supporters step up their small dollar donations.

I encourage every Democratic supporters to sign up for a Democracy Bond.  I've had one for about two years now.  It's a commitment to give a monthly donation to the DNC, which they will automatically charge to your credit or debit card.  I'm rather poor, so I can only give $20 a month, but given that the blogosphere is millions strong, even this small contribution would quickly add up to a DNC powerhouse.  Even if you can only give $5 or $10 a month, it's still very much worth it, because if all of us did the same, it would add up to $20 or $30 million a month the DNC could raise without even expending effort on it.  Howard Dean's taken a lot of flack for his "50 State Strategy" and the massive amount he's spend on building an enormous voter file, but he's pressed on because it's what he believes in, and it's why he was elected.  At a time when some Democrats are disillusioned by recent party actions, the DNC is still a place where you can find a principled operation continuing to fight even against the will of certain party leaders who would have us continue the swing-state, once-every-two-years strategy that so dramatically weakened the party of the course of the 1990s.

Here's a particularly odd fact: despite all the fuss over the 50 state strategy, according to that same Washington Post article mentioned above, it only costs $9 million a year to implement it.  Why anyone would find something objectionable about the DNC spending 10% of its average annual budget on building infrastructure is something I can't understand.  Especially in light of the recent string of Democratic victories in Republican strongholds.  I'm thankful that Obama looks poised to keep Dean on as party chairman, and I believe it is important to show our support for his winning strategy with regular financial contributions.  So go on, get a Democracy Bond today.  Every little bit helps.