If you’re a Republican political professional who wants to work on a presidential campaign, there are a lot of options right now.

If you’re a Democrat, not so much. Sure, theoretically, you can sign on with Jim Webb or Martin O’Malley, but it’s going to be a small operation, with limited budget, and limited long-term prospects.

The presence of only one big fish in the entire Democratic field is creating some serious tension for the Democratic political professional class, as there’s really only one trough that’s going to be around for a while:

Priorities USA Action, is trying to secure 30 or more pledges of at least $1 million apiece to be unveiled publicly when the former secretary of state officially enters the race, sources say. But, so far, it has received only about 10 firm commitments, and it is encountering resistance from top donors who have given to other Clinton-linked vehicles, including ostensibly aligned super PACs and even the apolitical Clinton Foundation.

As Politico noted when David Brock resigned from Priorities USA Action:

The groups [Priorities USA Action, American Bridge and Media Matters] — as well as Ready for Hillary — do to some extent compete with one another for big checks from wealthy Clinton backers. At one point, Priorities’ allies tried to force Ready for Hillary to shut down. But the groups — along with Brock’s — eventually entered into a sometimes uneasy alliance to lay the groundwork for the former secretary of state to run for president in 2016.

There are a lot of professional consultants, professional fundraisers, pollsters, ad guys, and other hangers-on whose livelihood depends upon being perceived as “close to the Clintons.”