Posted by
NOTLEGALROADKILLYET on Thursday, February 15, 2007 1:11:16 AM
Yesterday, Politico published a Tom Delay piece that should give Republicans pause when thinking about the national money situation in the out years. We pick up as he is giving a history lesson on money politics:
Things started to change as President Bill Clinton's administration ended in 2001. Thousands of well-connected, battle-hardened, experienced and talented political operatives were out on their ears in the wake of the Republican Party's sweep of the 2000 elections. The Clintonistas lacked influence and jobs. Around that time a handful of smart and extremely wealthy liberals decided it was time to close the gap on the Republicans' enormous advantage in grass-roots politicking. It worked.
Yes, the Republican Party under Karl Rove, Ed Gillespie and Ken Mehlman broke new ground on the precision of their voter identification and mobilization technologies, but what the Clinton administration-in-exile has put together in the last six years is nothing short of incredible -- admirable from the perspective of pure politics and terrifying from the perspective of a conservative hoping to reverse the outcomes of the 2006 elections next time around.
Delay mentions a David Horowitz website, discoverthenetwork.org that lists the major national sources of Democratic funds. The scary thing is that I couldn't find Tim Gill or Pat Stryker on the list.
After you read Delay's comments, the really valuable item is in the comments. The campaign manager of the Democratic Candidate who beat Congressman Pombo lays out how it was done (in a Republican District). The guy has two posts, and posts under the name ajsuited. If you read nothing else, read ajsuited's comments.