Whether or not this is a beneficial development is yet to be seen. And conclusions will most likely be largely based on political ideologies. If your party and its candidates are raising more funds, then it is a good development. However, if those parties and candidates that oppose your view are raking in the contributions instead- well, it always boils down to whose financial ox is being gored. While individuals within the parties themselves may support such developments, the party as a whole may be threatened.
Political parties exist for the purpose of unity.
What the mainstream parties may confidentially acknowledge but could never admit on record is that they soon may become obsolete. The unexpected support and viability of rogue candidates Bill Bradley and John McCain in the recent American primary race were the harbingers of the threat to party-anointed candidates. It may not be long that with the power of the internet, the George W. Bush's and Albert Gore's of the next campaign will be supplanted by independent candidates whose effective use of the Internet has significantly leveled the playing field. However, as discontent with organized parties becomes more prevalent, more and more people seem willing to lean toward independent candidates who don't owe a lifetime of favors to political supporters. As information reaches levels of distribution and speed never dreamed of just five years ago, it appears that the most prominent reason for political parties to exist is being rapidly chipped away.