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Republicans To Make Moveon.org Clone For Conservatives
Veteran Republicans say they have quietly raised millions of dollars for a pair of nonprofit organizations that will launch this fall with the ambitious aim of providing a conservative counterweight to the liberal MoveOn.org, Politico.com has learned.The issues and education group, which has a plan to enlist hundreds of thousands of small donors, aims to be active in the 2008 presidential election, according to Republicans involved in the effort. Organizers, who include veterans of the last three Republican White Houses, would not give specifics on how much money the group has raised so far or who its donor base is. The president and chairman of the board will be Bradley A. Blakeman, a lawyer who appears frequently on television as a Republican analyst and was a member of President Bushs senior staff during his first term. Were in the formative stages of creating a new group that will give voice and hope to conservatives everywhere who believe in peace through strength and limited government, Blakeman said. We expect to have more to announce sometime down the road. One supporter is Sig Rogich of Las Vegas, an image expert and ad agency founder who was known as the events czar for President George H.W. Bush when he was assistant to the president for public events and initiatives. Neither Blakeman nor Rogich are household names -- but both were influential, behind-the-scenes White House players who boast extensive Rolodexes. The groups will face a daunting task in trying to match the fundraising power and cultural and political echo of MoveOn. It has successfully tapped into the opposition to the war in Iraq, as well as concern within the Democratic left that the national party was not pushing their most important issues. The eight-year-old MoveOn family of organizations -- which boast a deep fundraising base, including major support from liberal financier George Soros -- has become synonymous with the lefts ability to influence elections outside the party structure. MoveOn.org Political Action says it raised $31.9 million in 2004. It spent much of that to try to defeat President Bush. Republicans have loved painting MoveOn as a special-interests bogeyman, but have also been jealous and admiring of the groups effectiveness. Ironically, the creation of MoveOn was sparked, in part, by liberal envy of the fundraising and media skills of conservative activists in the late 90s. The new GOP plan brings the cycle of influence and imitation full circle. This will only work if it is "far right", and independent of the party apparatus. Otherwise it will just be a hack cheerleader for the pragmatic decision of the day, and ignored by the rank and file. Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-06-29 |
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