GOP Super-PACs Give Up On Michigan

There is new and convincing evidence that the state of Michigan is going to remain as blue as it is in the above picture this November on election day. Some had thought Michigan could be in play, especially since Willard Mitt Romney (aka Wall Street Willie) was born in that state -- and his father was a respected governor of Michigan. But Romney has been unable to get any traction there.

The super-PACs and other conservative groups have spent $10.9 million in Michigan, and gotten nothing for it at all. The polls still show an advantage of between 5.5 and 7.0 points for President Obama, and that's the same thing they have been showing for quite a while. Now two of the biggest super-PACs are pulling out of Michigan, and putting their money into other states where they have a better chance of winning.

The groups pulling out are American Crossroads (Karl Rove's group) and Americans for Prosperity (the Koch brothers group). It's not that these groups don't have enough money -- they have plenty, and they can always go back to the well for more (since donations to these groups are unlimited). They simply don't see the point in wasting money on what looks to be a lost cause. And it looks like Romney may agree with them, since the Romney campaign is also not spending any money in Michigan.

In fact, no one is spending any advertising dollars in Michigan right now, for either candidate, according to information provided to the Associated Press. Rich Robinson, director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, put it succinctly when he said, "You don't spend money if you know you're going to win or you know you're going to lose."

------------------------------

NOTE -- It seems that neither campaign is spending any money in Pennsylvania either, where polls are showing President Obama with a good lead. This was another state the GOP had initially thought they could flip in this election, and even passed a very restrictive Voter ID law to help in that effort. It now also is beginning to look like a lost cause for Romney. Romney had better do exceptionally well in the upcoming debates (or do something to inspire voter trust), because the number of states offering him a possible route to victory are shrinking.