The Washington Post says that experts are surprised at how much of an advantage that new campaign finance law gives Republicans. I guess they weren't paying attention while the bill was being debated. I distinctly remember lots of analysis that said that some Republicans were supporting the bill because they realized what an advantage it would give them. Also, that some Democrats wanted to oppose the bill because they realized the same thing, but thought the PR of opposing the bill would be too damaging. Once again, the truth of the adage "Be careful what you wish for" is proved applicable.

Instead of focusing on the money, some of these analysts should focus on what it means that more small donors give to the Republicans and the large donors support the Democrats.

A report released yesterday by the Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group, found that, contrary to common perceptions, Republicans have a big advantage over Democrats in donations from small donors, while Democrats are king among only the biggest.


The study, analyzing donations during the 2002 campaign cycle, found that those little guys giving less than $200 to federal candidates, parties or leadership political action committees contributed 64 percent of their money to Republicans. By contrast, those fat cats giving $1 million or more contributed a lopsided 92 percent to Democrats. The only group favoring Democrats, in fact, were contributors giving more than $100,000.


"The findings illustrate the Republicans' strong advantage over Democrats in the current system," the center concluded. That's for sure. With the McCain-Feingold law capping total contributions at $95,000 per person, the Democrats are plain out of luck.

"Common perceptions" indeed!