If You Want to Change Congress, Fund Challengers’ Staff Early

By Colin Delany, Founder and chief editor of epolitics.com

February 6th, 2009

Here’s an observation I’ve been meaning to write up since Netroots Nation this summer, but that seems particularly relevant now as both Democrats and Republicans are getting their first views of their current legislators in action: if you want to change the direction of your party in Congress, or of Congress as a whole, fund challengers’ staff early. And by “early,” I’m talking about a year in advance of the relevant primary or general election.

I’m not sure who said it at NN (possibly Matt Stoller), but the idea stuck with me because it goes to a core problem insurgents face when they’re taking on an incumbent or an establishment candidate: lack of resources when they really matter. As elections get close, blogs and activist groups can shift significant amounts of money to a “netroots” candidate on the Left (or a “rightroots” candidate on the Right?), but by then it’s often too late to make much of a difference. Since so much of creating a campaign organization is incremental — built up one volunteer, supporter or donor at a time — the really valuable time to have staff is many months BEFORE the actual vote. In effect, one hour of an organizers’s time a year before the election yields much more benefit than that same hour of work a week before the election.

Early funding also has a snowball effect — since people usually don’t want to throw their money away, they’ll generally only support a candidate who seems to have a chance to win. Before insurgent candidates can get much outside attention, they have to hit a threshold of support that indicates that they’re a serious contender. They have to have enough of SOMETHING — money, polling numbers or on-the-ground organization — to convince outsiders to get involved. And without resources and expertise available early, many candidates who might actually have a shot if given a chance never quite hit the mark. A handful of paid staff, or even just ONE paid staffer, can create the relationships and the organization that a campaign needs to prove viability, while also getting the structure in place to actually take real advantage of any money that floods in at the last minute.

Campaigns are by nature chaotic, particularly in their last weeks, when people are working frantically to get attention for their guy, counter the other guy and to take care of the thousands of details involved in getting voters motivated and to the polls. A year out, that chaos has yet to hit, and candidates and staff can make decisions based on the campaign’s long-term goals rather than based on what crisis exploded that day. If you really want to make a difference in Congress, either by changing your own party or pushing out a member of the opposition, think well in advance — identify challengers in key districts who might have a chance and get them money and staff when it matters. Otherwise, well, there are very good reasons that incumbents in Congress get re-elected at a rate well over 90%

Charlie Crist, taxpayers and the next hurricane

From the Wall Street Journal

Who needs Mother Nature to cause a catastrophe? Florida's politicians are busy creating an unnatural disaster in their state insurance market that will blow away taxpayers when the next big hurricane hits. And we mean taxpayers across America.

Last month State Farm pulled the plug on its 1.2 million homeowner policies in Florida, citing the state's punishing price controls. The state's largest insurer joins a raft of competitors that have already reduced or dumped their property and casualty business in the Sunshine State, including Prudential, Allstate, Nationwide and USAA. This is the inevitable result of Governor Charlie Crist's drive to control property-insurance premiums. The Republican also lobbied his GOP legislature to make the state government a giant competitor in the market, undercutting private insurers.

State Farm's local subsidiary recently requested an increase of 47%, but state regulators refused. State Farm says that since 2000 it has paid $1.21 in claims and expenses for every $1 of premium income received. Since January 2008 alone, the company's surplus has fallen to $621 million from $820 million. Every month in Florida, State Farm loses $20 million. So it finally said, No mas.

Meanwhile, Floridians have been signing up with Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state-run insurer that Mr. Crist unleashed in 2007. Because it has an implicit taxpayer guarantee, and because its actuarial assumptions are, well, loose, Citizens can offer lower premiums than private competitors can. Citizens has become the largest insurer in the state, with 1.1 million policies.

Mr. Crist has thus guaranteed that Floridians, rather than the global insurance industry, will be on the hook for property damage when the next Katrina hits. Citizens is facing more than $400 billion in potential exposure, yet Citizens Chief Financial Officer Sharon Binnun was recently cited in the South Florida Sun Sentinel as saying it had only $3.4 billion in net assets. Anxious to keep voters happy, legislators have frozen Citizens premiums the past three years.

Some 25% of the coastal property in U.S. hurricane zones is located in Florida, and another storm is inevitable. To pay for those claims when they come, Mr. Crist will either have to raise taxes on Floridians, or beg Congress for a rescue. Mr. Crist tried the latter in 2007 when he pushed federal legislation to distribute below-market loans to state insurance programs and create a federal reinsurance body to backstop undercapitalized states.

Even the Governor may be catching onto his folly. While dismissing State Farm's exit -- "Floridians will be much better off without them" -- he is pushing for a law barring the company from dropping more than 2% of its customers in a single year. So, having publicly brutalized State Farm, undercut its business and set its prices, Mr. Crist now wants to require it to keep losing money.

Mr. Crist's behavior stands in contrast to that of Louisiana, of all places. Baton Rouge also established a Citizens insurer after Katrina but only as a "last resort." Louisiana has a thriving private insurance market, in part because regulators have let companies adjust their rates. By law, Louisiana Citizens cannot offer competitive prices, save in a few high-risk coastal areas. From a peak of about 170,000 policies in 2007, it now holds about 130,000 (about what it had before Katrina) and is aiming to get below 100,000.

It's scary to imagine the bill taxpayers will get when the next big hurricane hits Florida. It's even scarier to think Mr. Crist is being touted as a potential GOP candidate for the White House.

Gov. Palin Continues to Express Serious Concern with President’s Stimulus Package

February 3, 2009, Juneau, Alaska - Governor Sarah Palin again today expressed her serious concerns with President Obama’s proposed stimulus package. In a joint letter sent to Alaska’s congressional delegation, Governor Palin, House Speaker Mike Chenault and Senate President Gary Stevens cautioned that unrestrained spending, initiation of new programs that the states may be asked to continue after the federal stimulus is gone, and the borrowing of hundreds of billions of dollars to pay for it may result in serious economic problems in the future.

Governor Palin recently traveled to the nation’s capital to personally express her concerns with the stimulus package with business, economic and political leaders. The trip was not an effort to endorse or lobby for the current stimulus package now before Congress.

“I agree with the decision of Senator Murkowski and Congressman Young to vote NO on the package,” Governor Palin said.

The governor has strongly supported funding for infrastructure that creates good American jobs and will have a positive effect on the nation for generations to come.

“It's a given that a stimulus package is needed and will happen,” Palin said. “With guaranteed spending on the table, I am arguing for needed construction projects and tax breaks that will truly stimulate the economy and create jobs, and against increased federal programs that will become a state's unfunded mandate to continue funding for generations.”

Senate President Gary Stevens agreed. “We need the funding but not more federal programs to maintain,” he said. “We need to make wise use of limited state funds.”

House Speaker Mike Chenault added, “The letter addressed to members of Congress and the Alaska Delegation basically tells those members where Alaska sits on the issues of the stimulus package and how it will affect Alaska as far as a funding formula goes. So it just gives them a little bit clearer picture on what the needs are for the state of Alaska in comparison with the rest of the nation.”

Governor Palin and the legislative leadership also highlighted the conventional fuels that Alaska has to offer and the need to find ways the federal government can help bring the state’s clean burning natural gas through a pipeline to the midwest.

Crist joins 18 other Governors in Supporting Stimulus Bill

from Media General

Tue, February 03, 2009 - 2:13 PM
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist today joined 18 fellow governors, Republican and Democratic, in sending a letter to President Barack Obama signaling support for the stimulus bill, which passed last week in the U.S. House and is currently under consideration in the U.S. Senate.

Along with Crist, Republicans Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, James Douglas of Vermont, Jodi Rell of Connecticut were among the 18 governors who signed the letter.

"We are writing to express our support for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which passed last week in the House and is under consideration currently in the Senate," the letter states.

The letter adds: "As stewards of the economies of our respective states and regions, we urge the Congress to reach prompt resolution of all outstanding differences and you to sign the bill when it reaches your desk."

"We support the objectives of ARRA and welcome the partnership it offers us as governors," said Crist.

Join Sen. Jim DeMint on a conference call Wednesday

Join special guest Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) for a telephone town hall meeting hosted by Americans for Prosperity to learn more about the Big Government "stimulus" scheme that will hurt, not help, American taxpayers.

When: Wednesday, February 4th
8:00pm EST

Participant #: 1-877-229-8493
Pin #: 13896

This message is urgent. Only days remain until the U.S. Senate votes on an astonishing trillion-dollar plus borrow-and-spend plan that will dramatically expand the size of government. With all 58 Democrats in the U.S. Senate likely to vote in favor of the bill, and 60 votes needed for it to pass, liberal politicians and special interests are trying to chip away at conservative resolve, and heave this trillion-dollar debt and spending scheme on the backs of American taxpayers.

Can I count on you to stand firm with us? You’ve already joined tens of thousands of American taxpayers in opposition to the so-called stimulus package, and together we have come so far in changing the nature of this spending beast. Now, let’s shape the outcome. We have a good chance to beat the special interests and politicians who are bankrupting our nation. But only if folks like you support our efforts

to keep the pressure on the Senators who will decide this issue.

If you can't make the telephone town hall, please make sure to visit www.NoStimulus.com

and tell your friends and family to join the growing army of taxpayers saying NO by signing Americans for Prosperity’s petition

to stop this disastrous trillion-dollar debt scheme, known as the “Stimulus Package.”

Sincerely,


Tim Phillips
President, Americans for Prosperity