Are they cheap, broke, or understaffed?

We know that the GOP has been incapable of and uninterested in governing for about half a century now. We know they have run on personality, not issues since at least 1980, since they have no issues that are palatable to the public.
But they used to be fantastic at campaigning and parades and symbolism and organization, unmatched even by famous shows put up by Mao and Kim Il Sung when they celebrated arrival of important guests or national holidays. What happened?
How did they manage to get upstaged and outshined by Democrats? They could not hide their hall was half-empty. They could not hide how white their delegates are – where were the token minorities? They built a stage for McCain’s speech that looked like a phallic symbol (OK, this may have been on purpose to energize the femiphobic males filling the hall).
They used $1 stock images for their slideshow.
The scene of a military funeral was an acted stock footage.
They are not paying for rights for use of any songs, getting cease&desist notices from the musicians ranging from ABBA to, most recently, Wilson Sisters of the band ‘Heart’ for “Barracuda”.
Not just that they foolishly projected enormous images behind the speakers so only a small piece of the bottom was seen on TV, leading to green screen and blue screen backgrounds (ideal for photoshopping), but they messed up the images themselves: they wanted to show the Walter Reed Veteran’s Hospital. Instead, they showed a picture of Walter Reed Middle School in California (most viewers probably thought it was one of McCain’s seven, or is it eight houses?). And the school has now also sent a cease & desist notice.
The 2000 and 2004 conventions were masteries of pomp and ceremony. This one was an amateurish effort at best. Why?
Are they so disheartened, nobody really cared to make an effort?
Are they penny-pinching?
Are they really so far behind in funding that they cannot afford professionals?
Or is it that they cannot find professionals to do it as they have all left the party over the past four years?
After all, McCain said something about offering positions in his Administration to independents and Democrats – is it because there are no qualified Republicans left? Are they all abandoning ship and saying No to McCain (including for VP, so he had to go with Choice #2,345.600) in order to steer clear of the sinking ship in hope to retain clean-enough names for next time, four years from now?