It might not be a majority view, but I do think that in the long-term, Citizens United will not be a benefit to the Republican Party. Right now, everyone is focusing on the dazzling money totals, but what comes up less often is just how repellent the politics of the people bankrolling the money are to the general electorate. All the money in the world isn’t going to make Joe Sixpack hate Social Security as much as David Koch. But it can make GOP politicians hate it just as much, which will in turn make the public hate them. That process is only 2/3 complete on the national level because the GOP is not in full control and the economy is still lousy, so it hasn’t sunk in just how non-mainstream the Koch-lovers are. But a lot of states have gotten a full taste of Koch-based politics, and it hasn’t gone down well. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee has compiled some generic ballot numbers for state legislatures, which I figured I’d pass on:

• Colorado: D 47% – R 40%
• Iowa: D 44% – R 39%
• Maine: D 51% – R 37%
• Michigan: D 50% – R 35%
• Minnesota: D 48% – R 36%
• New Hampshire: D 47% – R 41%
• New York: D 54% – R 37%
• North Carolina: D 46% – R 41%
• Pennsylvania: D 47% – R 42%
• Wisconsin: D 48% – R 41%

The caveat is that they don’t include specific information on who did all the polls, only some, so some might be partisan-aligned pollsters that shade things. But they do identify Michigan, Minnesota and New York with pretty reputable pollsters (PPP and Siena), so we can tentatively conclude a few things.

First thing, the states where Republicans have acted in just about the most autocratic, brazen fashion tend unsurprisingly to have been where they suffered enormous blowback. Michigan is probably number one on the Republicans Gone Wild meter, and this allegedly swing state is eager to change its representation on a state level more than all but one state. (I’m sure that sweeping statewide abortion ban is going to fix all this, right?) Tea Partying Minnesotans shut down the state government for weeks, and now the state’s voters want to shut them down. Wisconsin speaks for itself, and Maine seems to be eager to see an end of abrasive Tea Party rule too. The Democrats’ leads in the other states tends to be modest, presumably because Republicans don’t wield total power there and haven’t been able to show their true nature. Then there’s New York, which just seems like normal partisan tendencies asserting themselves.

Now, of course, it is early, and the money will come. But it will at least have to overcome an enormous deficit in certain states. The more power the Teabaggers have, the more the public winds up hating them. And wiping out Teabaggers in these states only depletes the other side’s farm system, so they don’t have players ready to be called up.

If you are interested, the DLCC’s donation page is here. I’m a monthly contributor myself. It’s a great way of making your money count more in politics.