Phantom GOP 527s

Jonathon Martin:

In a web video emailed to supporters Thursday, Barack Obama explained that he was opting out of the public financing system because John McCain is “not going to stop the smears and attacks from his allies running so-called 527 groups who will spend millions and millions of dollars in unlimited donations.”

Republicans can only wish that were the case.

Obama’s alarmist prophecy — a bit of typical campaign rhetoric meant to scare his own donors into reaching for their credit cards — is wildly at odds with the flatlined state of conservative third-party efforts.

The truth is that, less than five months before Election Day, there are no serious anti-Obama 527s in existence nor are there any immediate plans to create such a group.

Conversations with more than a dozen Republican strategists find near unanimity in the belief that, at some point, there will be a real third-party effort aimed at Obama.

But not one knows who will run it, who will pay for it, what shape it will eventually take or when such a group may form.

More worrisome for Republicans who believe such an outside attack apparatus is essential to defeating Obama, some key individuals and groups who were being looked to for help say they won’t be involved.

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Obama has to know this. His campaign has to know this. I can only conclude he was being deliberately deceitful to cover his real reasons for going back on a commitment. One of those reasons is revealed by his horrible performance in the late stages of the primary campaign despite out spending Hillary Clinton three to one. That suggest that if the spending were even he would have done even worse.

The other reason is that he perceives an advantage in fund raising and wants to use it to crush his opponent rather than have a straight up debate on the issues.