Karl Rove’s political hero, Mark Hanna, once said, “There are two things that are important in politics. The first is money, and I can’t remember what the second one is.”

While most people have a dislike for the amount of money that is pumped into political campaigns, money is key in any race. I’d be generous toward a politicians experience and capabilities if I said that the success of a campaign is 50% experience/capabilities and 50% money. It’s said, true, and it makes people who likely will never see $1 million in their lifetimes angry to see tens or hundreds of millions pass through the management of campaigns to win over the populace and get them to the polls.

How much is experience worth? How much is a politician’s capabilities and potential worth? Are those we should be eyeing for elections drowned out by their inability to raise money? How about when someone steps on from left field with a bundle of cash to drown out opponents who are more experience and likely more capable in office? How should voters feel about such a candidate who is leaning on his money and fundraising ability is persuade them to vote for him, but who has shown no ability in elected office?

I was led to this article from the Washington Post via a post on Bearing Drift where Terry McAuliffe’s fundraising abilities are extolled and both Brian Moran and Creigh Deeds are marginalized. All three are running for Governor of Virginia, but only two have serve this state in political office for any period of time; and McAuliffe isn’t one of them. Yeah, McAuliffe has a home in northern Virginia where he has raised a family and launched many businesses there. Does that make him a better candidate? Is he some sort of blend of the regular Joe next door who just so happens to have millions of dollars, and is tied to nationally recognized politicians, and has been a regular talking head on the evening news? Will this blend actually appeal to voters?

Can Terry McAuliffe buy Virginia?

State politics is different from national politics. Few people remember the names of those who have run for state office, or even those who have won. Ask the people who surround you who Brian Moran is or who Terry McAuliffe is and you’ll likely get some blank stares. Terry’s name might ring a bell, and that might be a problem. It’s not that the average voter will pick Terry because he’s served the people of Virginia, it’s because his name will ring a bell. When he finishes his mega-millions media blitz throughout the state, that bell will ring even louder.

Don’t get me wrong. I like Terry McAuliffe, and would love to see how he would succeed in office; just not as Governor of Virginia right now. If he wants to enter Virginia politics, he should run for his district’s House seat when available. I’ll even support him running for state Senate. Maybe even national office from Virginia. At least I know he’s familiar with national politics. Why governor, and why now? I find it difficult to support a candidate who runs for office in or from an area because it’s politically expedient. Clinton did this in New York and Romney did this in Michigan. I feel as though McAuliffe is doing this here in Virginia, but this is worse. He doesn’t just want to represent Virginia, he wants to run it as its chief executive.

I’m not the only one who hasn’t been sold on Terry McAuliffe for governor. Vivian Paige, Eileen Levandoski at VBDems, RenaRF at Blue Commonwealth and Daily Kos, and Todd Smith at Blue Commonwealth and Daily Kos, in addition to many others, have all either express their dismay over McAuliffe’s campaign or have endorsed other candidates. The general feeling I’m getting from the netroots is that while McAulliffe can bring in the money, and that his personality and enthusiasm can win people over, support is leaning elsewhere. If this is an indication of how activists respond to the calls to support McAuliffe in the primary, and perhaps in the general, there is going to be a problem drumming up the people needed to contact voters and get them out to the polls.

And just to throw one more thing into this mix, there is the problem of Bob McDonnell who’ll crack open a bottle of champagne if McAuliffe wins gain the Democratic nomination. McDonnell is already making the argument that he’s best suited to be governor due to his experience in statewide office. What is he going to do to a candidate who’s never held any office in Virginia at all? Combine this will a possible lack of support from the netroots, grassroots, other activists, and the surge of funds that will come in once conservatives realize the financial powerhouse they’re facing, and we might have a serious problem holding on to the executive mansion.

Related posts:

1. Latest PPP: Deeds leads, McAuliffe and Moran stagnant
2. Thoughts heading into tomorrow’s primary
3. Terry McAuliffe: Sleeping with the enemy
4. For Virginia Partisans, there really wasn’t a choice
5. The Netroots Debate: Hitting McAuliffe