Price Tag for Taking Back the Country

Bill Clinton’s “arithmetic” lesson at their 2012 convention should be on the front burner again as Democrats parse the price of wresting Congress—-and the nation—-from Tea Party control.

A new report by the Campaign Finance Institute shows that winning a House seat last year cost the victor twice as much as it did a quarter of a century ago: $1.6 million, compared with $753,000 in 1986.

Such an increase comes when most races are not as competitive as they once were. The heavy spending was in a small number of battlegrounds that allowed the GOP to retain its majority and offers a road map for Democrats who want to win back the House next year.

This month backers of immigration reform are spending $1 million dollars in the districts of John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Darrell Issa and eight other Republicans to blast them for refusing to deal on the issue. What would it take to get Democrats on offense again in the 2014 contests to raise and spend whatever it takes to retake full control of the House?

As Cantor announces new obstruction for next month, it should be a wakeup call for those who really want to get the country unstuck. How much would it cost to yank Tea Party naysayers out of enough seats to end their stranglehold on the American future?

Fifty million? A hundred? More? There must be millions of frustrated Americans willing to pay the price.

If someone will organize the means for letting them put their money where their minds and mouths are, they can make the difference.