What's Another $20 million?

The Hill reports that Dems are buying up airtime now, while it's cheap:

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has reserved $51.5 million of television advertising in 32 congressional districts.

The allocation reveals an aggressive posture toward the midterm elections, with 27 Republican-held districts targeted and only five Democratic districts identified as needing the defense of DCCC cash.

By reserving the ad space early, the DCCC has tipped its hand as the August recess begins; the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is circulating the list of targets.

The $51.5 million total exceeds previously reported figures by $20 million and confirms that Democrats will be on offense for much of the fall in states such as Connecticut, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio as Republicans circle the wagons to protect their majority in the House.

Analysis? Well, it sure doesn't take a genius to figure out that when you're targeting 27 of theirs and only defending 5 of your own, you're on the offensive. And that's good. Voters can feel the party that has the momentum. People don't like to vote for candidates they know are going to lose. This is great if your party has initiative. In what could be a close race, voters for the perceived loser stay home figuring that their guy is going to lose anyway. That's one more net vote for us.

NRCC spokesman Carl Forti said his committee, which had nearly $29.5 million on hand at the end of June, had not yet reserved airtime for the fall.

With $32 million on hand at the end of June, the DCCC had a slight fundraising advantage over its GOP rival, and much of that money should be used to pay for television advertising in the final weeks before the Nov. 7 election.

This doesn't suck either. And by reserving early, Dems avoid the premiums that come as fall approaches. On top of that, most of the agreements are non-binding. If the money would be better spent elsewhere, the DCCC is free to move it around, though the money would buy less airtime.

After spending decades as the perpetually under-funded, slightly disorganized, slightly neurotic party that couldn't quite shoot straight, I'm hoping this election will be the first in a string of elections to prove that meme wrong.

The targeted Republicans are mostly in the North East, an area that should be especially fertile for Democrats this cycle. Two of the five 'defensive' buys are for open seats.

DCCC Advertising 2006 Election