Politicians and their money can tell you a lot.

Exactly how much they have is minor, but how they got it and from whom can be major.

So this month opens up something new on the pols and their money front.

First there is this alarm that makes you think an eviction is underway.

There is an emailed picture of U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz and his nice-looking family sitting on the front stoop under a glaring headline:

"Senator Schatz needs your help before midnight tonight."

Another urgent email about Schatz, this one from fundraiser Keith Amemiya, warns: "Cutting it close."

"Time is running out, (insert name of hoped-for campaign donor), any donation before midnight will make a critical difference."

Then Schatz’s finance director emails that he is "running the numbers every hour and reporting them directly to Senator Schatz."

As it turns out, the Schatz family is not destitute. They will have a roof over their collective heads and shoes on their feet, if they want them. What Sen. Schatz wants is money to run for the Senate again next year.

Last year against former Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa, Schatz did just fine with the campaign bucks. He raised almost $5.5 million. But, he eked out a win by just 1,782 votes in a race where Hanabusa raised just $2 million.

According to fundraiser Amemiya’s email, Schatz needs the money not due to any political weakness but because "the media, pundits and our opponents will scour this FEC report to determine Senator Schatz’s chance of re-election."

According to Schatz campaign insiders, there was no specific concern that someone was readying a political shock and awe campaign against him; the campaign rhetoric was just a new way to drum up support for someone who is actually sitting fairly pretty.

The reason for that pose is the second part of the fundraising news.

This weekend Schatz will be hosting a Lanikai fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who is turning 34 and about to get married and apparently running for re-election.

Special guests at the fundraiser in the home of Elizabeth Grossman will be House Democratic Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer and Massachusetts Rep. Joe Kennedy III.

Also, the campaigns of Schatz and Gabbard are formally joined at the checkbook. The Star-Advertiser’s Kevin Dayton reported last week that the pair filed with the Federal Elections Commission the Schatz-Gabbard Re-Election Fund.

The two campaigns would be able to raise money together for each candidate’s campaign.

The political gossip since Schatz’s narrow victory and Gabbard’s overwhelming win over former Mayor Mufi Hannemann in 2012 has been that Gabbard had Schatz in her sights.

Since then, Gabbard has been a constant presence on national news shows. She has become a CNN weekend staple, can find her way around "The Situation Room" blindfolded and also turns up on Fox News. In a competitive national TV news cycle always looking for new faces, Gabbard has easily fit in, so she is a recognizable commodity and should be able to raise money.

But as Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said, links such as the Schatz-Gabbard one are uncommon because "today’s ally can become tomorrow’s adversary."

The Michael Corleone quote from "The Godfather" about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer proves the truth that there is nothing as unsentimental as a political friendship.

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com