Rick Klein: “Which is more surprising – that Bernie Sanders is within financial striking distance of Hillary Clinton, or that he’s within polling striking distance without spending any of that cash on ads? What’s clear is that one avenue for Clinton to beat Sanders – for Sanders to beat himself by running out of cash after the first round of early states – is now closed. Sanders has his war chest, and an ability to replenish it via small-dollar donors that the Clinton apparatus can’t match.”
“What’s becoming clear is that any strategy that depends on outside money to boost a candidate is basing that strategy on hope, not history. If anything, this election cycle has shown the limits of Super PACs – think Rick Perry and Scott Walker. The Clinton campaign has weapons left to deploy, including, of course, Bill Clinton. But the point is that it’s increasingly likely those weapons will have to come out during the primary season.”
