By now, most journalists and opinion elite understand enough about political media buying to know that super PACs and other non-candidate, non-party-what we at CMAG refer to as "outside"-groups often pay significantly more than candidates pay to advertise on TV. Certain laws, as well as just plain good business sense, ensure that candidates get access to the airwaves at relatively reasonable rates. No such laws or practices protect outside groups, who might as well have "gouge me" signs taped to their backs as they fork over-depending on the day, time and programming-anywhere from three to nine or even 10 times as much as presidential candidates for the same ad time. As a result, the concept is gradually sinking in that when it comes to advertising, an outside group dollar does not stretch as far as a candidate dollar. But the GOP has embraced outside groups to such a degree in the 2016 race that we're arguably at the point of being able to say a Republican dollar does not stretch as far as a Democratic dollar. Republican presidential advertisers have
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