October 20, 2008 07:42 PM UTC

Desperate, Indecisive NRSC Harms Own Candidates

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• by: Colorado Pols

We want to follow up a story we broke last week that provoked a great deal of celebration, confusion, and ultimately angry denials from the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), who insists despite multiple reports to the contrary that they are not pulling out of the Colorado Senate race.

As we and others have said, the NRSC’s decision to stand by or cut loose a candidate late in the game is a clear indicator of whether the national party considers a race winnable, an indicator of internal polling and research–a measure of how well a candidate is really doing, absent the bluster and gamesmanship. As a result, their decisions are closely watched.

This is the reason why reports that the NRSC is preparing to abandon Senate candidate Bob Schaffer provoked such heated debate: if true, it means the national GOP kingmakers are writing Schaffer off, that there really is nothing out there to contradict polls showing Democratic front-runner Mark Udall running away with the victory.

We want to 100% clear on this point: when we heard Tuesday evening from one of our most reliable Republican sources that the NRSC was set to bail out of the race, we had no reason to believe otherwise. When it was confirmed two days later by a writer for The Atlantic via entirely separate GOP sources, that was all the confirmation we needed that the story is accurate. And on Wednesday and Thursday, no reporter we are aware of was able to get anything other than “no comment” from the NRSC when asked if they were sticking with Schaffer.

We stand by the veracity of what we reported Wednesday, which is that the NRSC prepared last week to exit the Colorado Senate race, “citing dwindling cash reserves, candidate Bob Schaffer’s plummeting poll numbers, and unexpectedly strong threats to incumbent GOP Senators around the country.” The implications of that decision are what they are, however painful they may be for those with a vested interest in the race. And whether or not the NRSC spends a few hundred thousand more dollars on a TV buy this week is irrelevant — if they aren’t “all in,” then for all practical purposes, they’re out.

As you know, since Friday the NRSC has steadfastly denied that they ever intended to pull out of the race. A new TV spot started running Friday, and we’re told media buys for the week that began yesterday have not been reduced.

So what happened between Wednesday and Friday? The story we heard involves a telephone, Schaffer campaign manager Dick Wadhams, and an amount of profanity described to us as “truly impressive, even for Dick.”

We’ve also seen the NRSC vacillate on decisions about races in other states in the last week. Which is horrible strategy–to announce that you’re basically conceding the race, then change your mind? Based on what? Were those also cases of damaging leaks circulated that the NRSC needed to squelch, if only with a token “reconsideration,” since rumors of their ‘impending pullout’ take on a life of their own? Or are they really just that sloppy at this point?

When you take all of this together, a picture emerges of a disorganized party leadership trying to plug too many holes with too few resources. It reminds us of the Germans falling back in the spring of 1945, or General Lee’s last desperate defense of Richmond. The front lines are collapsing everywhere and they’re trying to save what can be saved–while getting verbally abused by every Dick Wadhams in the country when they call to demand their candidate not be cut loose. A growing sense of hopelessness colors their every move, but still they must fight.

We do not need to correct any of our reporting, and find the situation pitiable more than anything else. It’s almost over, guys.