The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee's fundraising and recruitment success over its Republican counterpart has been well documented, but not much has been said lately about the relative effectiveness of the two parties' House campaign committees, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).

While the NRCC has raised more money than its Democratic counterpart, anecdotal evidence seems to point out that the Democrats under new chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) are doing better than previously expected. The Hill's Jonathan E. Kaplan documents the degree to which NRCC chair Tom Reynolds (R-NY) -- who is unhappy with Emanuel's characterization of House Republican ethical improprieties -- is stooping in order to claim ethics problems on the part of his Democratic counterpart.

Reynolds inaccurately alleged in a press release last week that Emanuel accepted donations from William Tomasso, a partner in a major construction firm in Connecticut who is under federal indictment for paying bribes, rewards and gratuities for getting contracts from jailed former Gov. John Rowland (R). Tomasso never gave to the DCCC while Emanuel has been chairman, and he never contributed to Emanuel’s personal campaign funds.

Tomasso, however, has given donations to Connecticut Democrats, some of whom returned them, and to Reps. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) and Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.), who have not.

Reynolds also cited that Emanuel had accepted campaign money from Joe Cari, a former Democratic National Committee official, who was indicted last month along with Stuart Levine, a major GOP donor and former trustee of the Teachers’ Retirement System in Illinois.

Prosecutors allege Levine used his position with the system to arrange kickbacks from companies seeking to invest in the fund. Cari is expected to plead guilty this week; Levine has pleaded not guilty.

Cari donated $5,000 to Emanuel between 2001 and 2003 and $5,000 to the DCCC. Emanuel said he would return the money.

But Levine donated to both parties. He gave $3,250 to the House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s (R-Ill.) campaign committee and $5,000 to his political action committee (PAC) in 2003. Levine gave a total of $2,000 to Hastert in 2001 and 2002. He has also helped Rep. Mark Green (R-Wis.) and Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.), who returned Levine’s $1,000 donation this year.

If Reynolds is trying to peddle such junk, might that mean that he's at least a little concerned that Democratic attacks on the ethics (or lack thereof) of House Republicans is beginning to stick?

[Update 8:26 PM Pacific]: Apparently the Dems' fundraising isn't so bad after all...