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America Votes Plans GOTV Effort in Battlegrounds

Seeking to jump-start a largely moribund third-party political operation in the progressive community, America Votes announced today it has begun its grassroots mobilization efforts in 14 states expected to be presidential battlegrounds in the fall.

The group, which is led by former Texas Congressman Martin Frost, is the last remnant of a massive outside organization -- known collectively as the shadow Democratic Party -- that spent nearly $200 million in an attempt to elect John Kerry in 2004.

America Votes's bigger brothers -- America Coming Together and the Media Fund -- collapsed in the aftermath of that loss, plagued by campaign finance strictures and donor weariness.

"We're all that's left," Frost said of the dissolution of the once-mighty machine funded in large part by a handful of extremely wealthy donors.

Despite that collapse, Frost insisted that AV is well positioned to influence the election. Unlike the more high-profile 527 organizations that operated in 2004, America Votes has a simpler mission -- organize the variant interest groups on the left and coordinate their voter identification and voter turnout efforts to maximize their influence and minimize duplication.

The group announced today it was moving ahead with its plan to enact "grassroots voter mobilization" plans in 14 states -- Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin. The group has a state director in each state and several other staffers on the ground, according to Frost.

"We've produced very good state plans," said Frost. "We are now passed the planning stage. We are now in the implementation stage."

Frost insisted that his group will we a "significant force" and a "significant presence" in the fall election, but much depends on whether major donors are willing to break with Barack Obama, who has sent clear signals that he prefers they not fund outside groups.

Obama's declaration essentially put Progressive Media USA, which was meant to fund ads attacking John McCain's record, out of business and has had a significant chilling effect on others outside groups dependent on the largess of a few affluent donors for their existence.

Frost argued that America Votes will not run into the financial problems that have plagued other similar efforts because "we have a track record and we have very serious people who know what they're doing."

Early returns this year, however, are not particularly encouraging. In its most recent filing with the Internal Revenue Service, America Votes showed it has raised $1.5 million in the first three months of 2008 while spending nearly $1 million more during that time.

By far the largest contributor to America Votes was the Fund for America, an organization established with the stated goal of taking donations from well-heeled contributors and channeling them to worthy progressive organizations. The Fund donated $1 million to America Votes in the first three months of the year -- two-thirds of all contributions it took in during that time.

Since last July, America Votes has raised $5 million -- a decent sum but not nearly enough to fund the sort of vast state-based grassroots operation that Frost and others would like to put into place.

There seems little doubt among Democrats and progressives that the goals of America Votes -- coordination of efforts of the variant liberal groups active in the 2008 election -- are worthy. But, to date, there seems little energy in the donor community -- on either side of the aisle -- for any sort of giving other than to the nominees and congressional campaign committees.

Can Frost and company convince these big donors otherwise?

By Chris Cillizza |  June 18, 2008; 5:03 PM ET  | Category:  Eye on 2008
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It appears that many voters are not well versed on Political issues. This would be a good time for voters to learn about what is and what isn't legit with candidates but they just rattle on&on negatively about them. Obama is presumed to be the 1st Afro/American candidate to come this far.Therefore, we can't compare him to any one of the Past. We need to take notes and if we find any things that appears similar, we need to analyze that.This does not make him a liar. The battlegrounds are an issue right now because of the race cards. We need to size up if we want more of the same, that will get worst with McC, or If we want to change the page from all of this broken down approaches to how we do run our govt by going with Obama. We need to learn how to grow, by our growth stimulants. To Sit down and do nothing, yields nothing. Stand up for something, we stand to prosper. To prosper means we bring our troops home, We get to keep the jobs we have, and the laid off, get new ones, we get to keep our homes, we may get Healthcare that will cover the family's needs. Yes,We need a new way of thinking about our political situations that's good for the american people of all ages.

Posted by: Mamamay | June 22, 2008 4:40 PM

Jerry:


The DNC went after Cindy McCain so now Michele Obama is in bounds.

sorry.

.

Posted by: Anonymous | June 19, 2008 2:30 PM

Opting out of the Campaign Finance System - a system designed to limit the influence of Washington lobbyists - is the first big COMMITMENT TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHICH OBAMA HAS BROKEN - CLEARLY THE AMERICAN PEOPLE CAN NOT TRUST OBAMA TO DO WHAT HE SAYS.


Obama is a disgrace.


Obama committed to take public funds - now Obama is going against his word. That makes Obama a LIAR AGAIN.


Sorry if the obamatrolls are unhappy.


With such little experience, the Empty Suit Obama has shown the American People again that he simply can not be trusted. Michele Obama made a slip the other day when she called Obama "pathetic" - I think she calls him pathetic all the time and she just repeated it on national television by course of habit.

.

Posted by: Anonymous | June 19, 2008 2:29 PM

Opting out of the Campaign Finance System - a system designed to limit the influence of Washington lobbyists - is the first big COMMITMENT TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHICH OBAMA HAS BROKEN - CLEARLY THE AMERICAN PEOPLE CAN NOT TRUST OBAMA TO DO WHAT HE SAYS.


Obama is a disgrace.


Obama committed to take public funds - now Obama is going against his word. That makes Obama a LIAR AGAIN.


Sorry if the obamatrolls are unhappy.


With such little experience, the Empty Suit Obama has shown the American People again that he simply can not be trusted. Michele Obama made a slip the other day when she called Obama "pathetic" - I think she calls him pathetic all the time and she just repeated it on national television by course of habit.

.

Posted by: Anonymous | June 19, 2008 2:29 PM

Vote for McCain !

Posted by: Rob | June 19, 2008 5:14 AM

HELLO, WHEN THE DNC WAS ATTACKING CINDY MCCAIN IS WAS BECAUSE OF HER TAX RECORDS WHICH IS A LEGITIMATE ARGUMENT WHICH IS DIFFERENT FROM SMEARING MICHELLE OBAMA REGARDLESS OF HER EXPLAINATION. CINDY MCCAIN ISN'T A SAINT YOU KNOW, AS A MATTER OF FACT SHE HAS A HISTORY OF DRUG ADDICTION. SHE EVEN STOLE DRUGS FROM HER OWN CHARITY. THIS IS WHY THE WIVES OF CANDIDATES SHOULD NOT BE ATTACKED.

Posted by: JERRY | June 19, 2008 3:04 AM

Talk about hypocrisy! Rudy was for the law before he was against it:

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/06/flashback_rudy_said_the_law_wa.php

Posted by: Isn't the internet a wonderful thing | June 19, 2008 2:40 AM

The hypocracy, anonymous poster of Posted by: | June 19, 2008 1:26 AM", is that you are allowed out without a leash. ou are the sort of unthinking attack dog, a mindless robot, that has enabled Bush and the genuinely evil men and woman surrounding him to wreck so much damage on this country. If we are to survive as a nation, you and people like you will be set aside as embarrassing mistakes, twisted little gnomes that have NOTHING worthwhile to contribute to society.

Posted by: mibrooks27 | June 19, 2008 1:46 AM

Obama is such a deceptive liar. Period. When the DNC was attacking Cindy McCain over the tax returns, Obama's allies at the DNC backed the attacks.


However NOW Obama is full of it - he now says spouses are out of bounds.

The truth is Obama wants one rule for McCain and one rule for Obama - affirmative action for spouses now - it is OK to attack McCain's wife but not Obama's


Can anyone else here see the hypocrisy???

Obama is a joke. The American people are slowly realizing that. Obama is thin-skinned, an empty suit, he couldn't get a job at a big corporation and he has maxed out every affirmative action program he can find. It is sickening.


.

Posted by: Anonymous | June 19, 2008 1:26 AM

It's a sad commentary, but America Votes is necessary. I was one of those poor deluded fools who actually considered voting for McCain until he started to sound like Bush. KOZ, I like you and I respect you, but you need to realize just ow much this country loathes George Bush and Dick Cheney all all of their policies. The economy is a mess, we are sinking into a really nasty downturn. A lot of the European press and their experts expects our economy to collapse, the credit, banking, inflation, and unemployment to be worse than anything we have ever seen, including the Great Depression. I think they just might be right. With that, the only chance McCain has is for this evil campaign that is being run on his behalf by some of the most twisted monsters lurking about the net - Michelle and the "whitely" comment, Obama is a secret Muslim, Obama doesn't know anything about foreign policy or he wants to dump Israel or will invade Pakistan or Iran, etc. etc. It doesn't much matter that there isn't a shred of evidence for an of this, that most of it is an outright lie, but there are enough small minded racists, soap opera moms, and bed wetting beta males out there to buy this garbage and that gives McCain a few votes. It's enough to me physically ill. I refuse to even acknowledge that these animals even come from the same species. Knowing that, America Votes has to come forward and throw dirt right back at McCain. I hope to god they take on Fox Noise and personally investigate and smear the thick immoral gasbags there. Did you know, a couple of weeks back one Fox morning host compared Madonna's adopting a black child to his HAVING JUST BOUGHT A PET MONKEY? Really! I heard it personally! Sickening. The entire netwok needs to be wiped off the air. The same with Limbaugh and his left wing counterparts. We need to bring back the equal time laws and get these crap stopped. In the meantime, what we need to do to even survive as a nation is to get rid of George Bush and any remaining legacy. Undo every piece of legislation, remove his Supreme Court appointments, wipe the slate clean. This man, everyone associated with him, are monsters, a national embarrassment, dangerous liars and traitors. Their attacks on the Constitution are serious dangers. Their "free trade" policies are nothing short of insane. And their association with the most corrupt businesses and delussional neocon philosophers are a public threat worse than anything this country has ever faced. For these reasons alone, John McCain and anyone even remotely associated with him, needs to be consigned to the ash heap of this country's history.

Posted by: mibooks27 | June 19, 2008 1:26 AM

Obama is such a deceptive liar. Period. When the DNC was attacking Cindy McCain over the tax returns, Obama's allies at the DNC backed the attacks.


However NOW Obama is full of it - he now says spouses are out of bounds.

The truth is Obama wants one rule for McCain and one rule for Obama - affirmative action for spouses now - it is OK to attack McCain's wife but not Obama's


Can anyone else here see the hypocrisy???

Obama is a joke. The American people are slowly realizing that. Obama is thin-skinned, an empty suit, he couldn't get a job at a big corporation and he has maxed out every affirmative action program he can find. It is sickening.


.

Posted by: Anonymous | June 19, 2008 1:21 AM

Obama is such a deceptive liar. Period. When the DNC was attacking Cindy McCain over the tax returns, Obama's allies at the DNC backed the attacks.


However NOW Obama is full of it - he now says spouses are out of bounds.

The truth is Obama wants one rule for McCain and one rule for Obama - affirmative action for spouses now - it is OK to attack McCain's wife but not Obama's


Can anyone else here see the hypocrisy???

Obama is a joke. The American people are slowly realizing that. Obama is thin-skinned, an empty suit, he couldn't get a job at a big corporation and he has maxed out every affirmative action program he can find. It is sickening.


.

Posted by: Anonymous | June 19, 2008 1:19 AM

Boutan, AlanInMissoula, and Blert:

pls eml

mark_in_austin@operamail.com

all will be explained.

Posted by: MarkInAustin | June 18, 2008 10:48 PM

zoukie 6:41p and you're still posting!! What happened? Was your ballet class canceled?

Posted by: fan of the zouk meister!!! | June 18, 2008 8:31 PM

Obama hasn't gotten any big bumps, but he's been creeping ahead. According to RCP, Obama is poised to flip Iowa, Colorado, Virginia, New Mexico, and Ohio (64 votes). McCain looks like he's going to flip New Hampshire and Michigan if the vote was held today (21)

Whee! this is fun!

Posted by: DDAWD | June 18, 2008 8:27 PM

"the Libs have already given up on OH and FL."

Seeing how the libs are winning in those states, perhaps McCain might want to start campaigning there.

Posted by: DDAWD | June 18, 2008 8:10 PM

the Libs have already given up on OH and FL. Instead the brilliant scream machine How Wierd Dean is going after VA, NC, GA, MI, WV, KY, TX, and AK.

Once Obamabi is elected, he will strive for victory in Iraq by invading Pakistan and deploying troops to Darfur.

Just like he represents a new kind of politics, he will bring a new kind of military, the kind that is man enough to admit defeat and go home and cry.

Even if they were winning.

Posted by: kingofzouk | June 18, 2008 6:41 PM

"its plan to enact 'grassroots voter mobilization plans in 14 states"

Why is it I expect to hear about massive voter fraud in these states next November, just like in the battleground states in 2000? Oh, and that it will be ignored by Big Media, again just like in the 2000 election. Unless, of course, the GOP responds in kind.

-Wm Tate,
http://www.atimelikethis.us/

Posted by: Wm Tate | June 18, 2008 5:57 PM

HOW ABOUT $$ TO ENSURE THAT ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES CAN'T THROW ELECTIONS?

What America Votes and the Dems ought to be doing is getting the Democratic-controlled Congress to pass a law requiring a voter-verified paper trail and greater checks on electronic voting machines and procedures.

While the pundits pontificate about the horse race, the stage has been set for elections that are not subject to recount but could be subject to electronic, even wireless, manipulation.

The Democrats in charge of Congress have been derelict. How many Floridas and Ohios does it take for them to realize that democracy can be stolen if proper procedures are not in place to prevent it?

The "Help America Vote Act" has led to recount-resistant elections in many districts. Electronic scanners provide that paper trail; most other types of electronic voting gear do not.

Once again, the Democratic leadership has been complicit in its own demise... and the Washington media has been derelict in not digging into the subject. Chris Matthews did a cameo in a Robin Williams movie, "Man of the Year," that explains more about the perils of electronic voting than the Washington Post has done thus far in this election cycle. And now it's too late to protect the integrity of the November balloting.

Nice work, Pelosi, Reid and the naive liberal press who think "it can't happen here."

Posted by: scrivener | June 18, 2008 5:56 PM

I don't really think that Obama needs to make a plea to his party. It's McCain that needs to make the plea. Obama has shown that he can raise money allot easier than McCain can. The 527's are still going to be important in fermenting public opinion, just like they were in 2004 with Kerry.

By the way as per Chris's question at the end of the post I made a market on Hubdub asking whether America Votes will go under prior to the election: http://www.hubdub.com/m9571/Will_the_fundraiser_America_Votes_collapse_prior_to_the_November_election

Posted by: Ryan | June 18, 2008 5:49 PM

What has been BHO's push for raising funds for the DNC? I received a McC letter today asking for $50 for the RNC. Is BHO going to make a similar plea for his party?

Posted by: MarkInAustin | June 18, 2008 5:19 PM

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