Impeachment talks revving up Democratic base: DCCC

The head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said Tuesday that the House GOP’s threats of suing or impeaching President Obama have been a fundraising boon for Democrats — putting them on stronger footing financially as they gear up for the homestretch of the 2014 election.

Rep. Steve Israel of New York told reporters at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor that the House GOP’s moves might play well with its base, but warned that it also is firing up Democrats and turning off swing voters across the nation.

“I think the Republican strategy of lawsuits and impeachment is fundamentally misfiring,” Mr. Israel said. “That just ignites our base in the form of donations, and of calls wanting to volunteer, and in the form of signing pledge cards wanting to vote.”

Mr. Israel pointed out that Democrats have raised $23 million more than Republicans this election cycle and said that this week the DCCC raised $1 million in single day on the back of fundraising pitches tied to the possibly that House Republicans could push forward with plans to impeach Mr. Obama.

The remarks served as a rebuttal to National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Greg Walden’s prediction this week that, despite being financially outgunned, the House GOP is poised to pick up 11 seats in the midterm elections, increasing their majority in the lower chamber to 245 members.

“We believe a lot that the drive for 245 is more than just a rhyming number,” Mr. Walden told Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call. “We know there’s going to be some puts-and-takes there, but I think you can get to 245 [seats] this cycle.”

The latest fundraising reports showed that the DCCC pulled in more than $25 million over the third quarter of the fundraising calendar, compared to the NRCC, which raised $19.7 million over that same period of time.

The DCCC has nearly $50.9 million cash on hand and the NRCC has more than $42.5 million.