When studying political money, it’s often instructive to look at independent expenditures. That’s money spent by outside groups to promote or oppose candidates. When the White House recently pointed out that organized labor had “flushed $10 million down the toilet” in support of Bill Halter, independent expenditures played a large role.

It’s interesting to look back at how much money labor and others have spent on lost causes so far in this cycle. Republicans had a rough time with 2009 special elections, and much of their wreckage appears in the current top-ten list. But for Democrats, the numbers have become discouraging more recently, and demonstrate the lack of clout that some organizations have when working against the voters’ sentiments.