http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/125861-hatch-make-no-mistake-about-it-we-are-being-outspentSen. Hatch: 'Make no mistake about it, we are being outspent'
By Michael O'Brien - 10/26/10 12:41 PM ET
In a fundraising appeal, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on Tuesday claimed the GOP is being outspent by outside groups that are allies of the Democratic party.
"For all the handwringing by Democrats about outside money in these races it's notable that last week it was reported that labor has outspent the combination of American Crossroads and the Chamber of Commerce this cycle. $171.5 million to $140 million, per the
," Hatch wrote in a fundraising e-mail for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
"Make no mistake about it, we are being outspent," the veteran lawmaker added.
Hatch is seeking to rebut Democrats' contention that outside spending is overwhelmingly helping Republicans. He asserted that labor groups, which have worked to elect Democrats, are outspending the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Crossroads, two of the groups targeted by the White House and other Democrats for their spending to elect Republicans.
President Obama and Democrats have made a major issue of the outside spending in the elections, pressuring GOP-leaning groups to disclose their donors. Democrats have also quietly started to link the outside spending to their own political difficulties, chalking it up as a potential reason why they might not keep control of the House.
"I've never seen this before, so the only caveat I'd put in terms of the House is how much impact this $200 {million is} going to mean," Vice President Joe Biden told Bloomberg Television over the weekend.