Rubio Fundraising is Good. Hillary Fundraising is Bad

 Bush drops out and Rubio moves in.

It is the most natural thing in the world for Rubio to turn to disappointed Bush donors and to solicit funds from them.

Bush had been the archetypal Republican establishment candidate, and the voters don't seem to want him.   Rubio is the new 21st Century version of the GOP establishment.  Rubio is much more conservative than Bush, much more aligned with the Tea Party, much more confrontational, much more inclined to speak in absolutes of good and evil, a notch more absolute on abortion (not even for the product of rape) much less bi-partisan and open to compromise with Democrats on anything, and, of course, much younger. 

Rubio wants to be the face of the new, improved Republican establishment.  

Donors in Play

Rubio turning to billionaires is simply an update in a continuing process.  It isn't "news" and it certainly isn't shocking or controversial.   Of course he will look to Bush's big donors.  It is how campaigns work.  No minimizing it, no apologizing.  When Rubio lands a big donor supporter he announces it because it is another prize and another endorsement

Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, Hillary's search for big campaign dollars is news, because it is a matter of controversy.   In the Sanders frame of the campaign, it is a sign of her ties to the donor class, a sign of her being compromised, of her not being authentic or trustworthy.   

Sanders has put Hillary into a tight box, damned if she does and damned if she does not.   Either she cannot get support (proving her unpopularity) or she can get support (proving her corruption).   What is perceived as a sign of strength for Rubio is perceived as a sign of corruption for Hillary.  It is a bind in the primary.

I am not complaining about this or saying it is unfair.  There is no such thing as "fair" in these matters.  The Republican primary and the Democratic primary are sorting out very different things.   I am simply trying to describe what is happening in the campaign.  

Scramble for donors

The Republican contest is about who can pull together the fractured Republican coalition.

Bush could not, and Kasich is failing.  

Trump and Cruze do not want to pull it together; they want to re-shape the coalition.  

Rubio is the last plausible chance.   Rubio is trying to thread the needle, sounding like a Tea Party person and voicing Tea Party positions while simultaneously reuniting the establishment donors to the Tea Party politics through the vehicle of his personality and candidacy.  The donors can no longer be choosy.   It might be Rubio or someone way worse.

Bad Headline, Bad Photo.

Meanwhile, the Democratic campaign is a struggle between two definitions of the Democratic Party.  The Sanders one, which is about who has clean hands to break up the power of special interests, or the Hillary Clinton one, which is about who knows how to use the levers of power and money for progressive ends.

The primary election is doing deep damage to each of the eventual winners.   If the Republican nominee is Trump Republicans will have seen their traditional spokesmen (including Nikki Haley in the Republican response to the State of the Union) trash Trump for his message.  If the Republican nominee is Rubio the campaign will have forced him to be nearly as conservative as Cruz to win the election.  Rape victims must carry to term, millions must be deported, and we need more engagement in wars in the Middle East.  It may be tough for Rubio to sell that.

But there are big problems for Hillary, too.  Assuming Hillary is the eventual nominee, she will have had her greatest strength--her experience within the money and power structure of American politics--defined as a character flaw.   Many voters have firmed up their opinion on that subject.  Rubio raises money from billionaires because he is a fresh voice; Hillary raises it because she is corrupt.  It may be tough for Hillary to sell that.