NRCC to Candidates: Prove Yourselves Worthy!

Actual, given the likelihood that donations next year will be less because of the economy, this isn't the most outrageous news the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) could come out with.  Less money means they'll have to be picky with who they help out in General Election contests.  Candidates should be able to show they are worth the

Candidates hoping for financial help from the National Republican Congressional Committee will have to prove they’re worth the investment.

The NRCC will only spend money on independent expenditure ads hitting Democrats if the Republican in the race has qualified as a top-tier member of the "Young Guns" program, a party spokesman tells The Hill.

Young Guns is a three-tiered program aimed at recruiting and improving top-notch candidates, the GOP's answer to Democrats' successful "Red to Blue" program. Candidates begin as "On the Radar" prospects before advancing to "Contenders." If they meet certain benchmarks laid out by the NRCC, they become Young Guns.

So far, nine candidates have made it to the Contender tier. Thirty-eight candidates have achieved On the Radar status. None have made it to Young Guns level.

Paul Lindsay, an NRCC spokesman, declined to specify what the benchmarks for achieving the top status are, citing a policy against discussing internal strategy. But members of the different tiers will be judged on fundraising, grassroots and communications bars they have to meet.

Membership in the Young Guns does not guarantee the NRCC will spend money in the race, but the party will not spend money for members who do not reach the highest tier. Typically, the NRCC begins its financial relationship with a candidate by spending up to $87,300 in coordinated funds before moving on to independent expenditures.

In Wisconsin, the only members who so far have qualified made it into the lowest tier of the "Young Guns" programs are Sean Duffy in WI-07, Dan Kapanke in WI-03, and Reid Ribble in WI-08.  Given the primary field line-ups, expect to see the NRCC involved in Kapanke's race more at this level since he's the only declared Republican in WI-03 against Ron Kind; the other candidates have primaries.

What will be interesting to see is who else -- especially in WI-08 -- is added to the "Young Guns" programs.  With the possibility of a 6 or 7-way primary fight, the edge is going to go to the self-financing candidates and established political entities because much of the money will be on the sidelines until the general election.  Another factor will be who drops out as other candidates jump in.  One question I wonder is will Kerry Thomas, who still spends his time thinking John Gard tried to destroy Terri McCormick on multiple levels in 2006, get out if McCormick does get in as is rumored.

Time will tell; we're just at the part of the game where pieces are being put on the chess board.  No one's made any opening moves; though some press releases trashing Kagen's votes on multiple fronts would be nice to see.

The lack of them is making me wonder how much of an amateur hour are we going to see next year.