Liberal Outside Interest Groups Can't Fight Back Because Obama Blocked Big Donors

[KoKo]

September 24, 2010 02:00 PM
Mike Lux: Liberal Outside Interest Groups Can't Fight Back Because Obama Blocked Big Donor Contributions
By Susie Madrak


See that picture up there, of all the front groups the insurance industry used to erode health care reform? Mike Lux has an interesting piece up at Open Left, where he talks about how much more effective it is when outside groups deliver your message -- and how Obama discouraged big donors from supporting them, funneling the money to OFA instead. Ah yes, I remember it well:

Independent group messages have far more credibility and clout than those from party and candidate committees- even groups with generic-sounding names no one has heard of. Republican strategists like Rove got this early, and went about methodically organizing a network of corporate money to get involved in independent expenditure ads in swing races all over the country. But the Obama White House, sure of its fundraising ability and organizing genius, has consistently sent the signal to Democratic donors to not support outside efforts. They did it after they won the primary in 2008; they did it when they set up OFA to operate solely inside the DNC in 2009; they did it during the health care fight when they felt HCAN was being a little too independent in pushing for a public option, sending a clear signal to donors not to give to them at crucial times during the fight; they did it when ACORN had some bad publicity, very quickly making the decision to distance themselves and let them die even though no group has registered more voters or turned out more people in the last 10 years than ACORN.

I have been fighting this battle inside Democratic strategy circles for 15 years now, but the problem is worse with the current team at the White House. The folks running the Obama political operation have always believed they could control the message and the resources of the party better than anyone else, and that they didn't need or want to empower outside progressive groups. Now embattled House and Senate candidates are paying the price, and it is a bitter price to have to pay. The groups that do have resources that are pro-Democratic- labor, MoveOn, Emily's List, the trial lawyers- are doing their best to stem the tide. But corporate money in the post-Citizens United era is swamping us, and unlike in some cycles in the past (2004, 2006), wealthy progressive donors were sent signals not to engage, or just not cultivated at all, and the result is that we are being badly outspent.

One final note on all this: the irony of outside progressive groups being blamed for not doing enough to help the Democrats when the White House has been complaining about the "left of the left" and the "professional left" for many months- and de-motivating donors the whole time- should not be lost on anyone. You can't attack progressives for being too strident and then wonder why they aren't doing more and still have much credibility.
http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/mike-lux-why-democrats-dont-have-effe

About Mike Lux:
-------------------------------------------
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Lux
Mike Lux
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

Mike Lux (Born May 13, 1960 in Lincoln, NE) is the co-founder and President of Progressive Strategies, L.L.C., a political consulting firm founded in 1999, focused on strategic political consulting for non-profits, labor unions, PACs and progressive donors.

Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Political Action at People For the American Way (PFAW), and the PFAW Foundation, and served in the Clinton White House from January 1993 to mid-1995 as a Special Assistant to the President for Public Liaison. He also played a role in five different presidential campaign teams.

In recent years, he co-founded the influential progressive blog OpenLeft.com, and served in a key liaison role to the progressive community upon being named to the transition team for Barack Obama.

Mike serves on the boards of several important organizations, including the Arca Foundation. In addition to serving on the board, Mike was also a co-founder of Americans United for Change, Center for Progressive Leadership, Grassroots Democrats, PoliticsTV, Progressive Majority, and Women's Voices Women Vote. He also played a role in helping launch the Center for American Progress and Air America.<1>

In January 2009, Lux released his first book, The Progressive Revolution:How the Best in America Came to Be.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Lux

[Gman]

1. It's just more of the progressive/teabagger coalition at work.

I don't think this article has a shred of credibility.

[KoKo]

2. About Mike Lux and what he said: Here's some of his Bio:

Mike Lux
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

Mike Lux (Born May 13, 1960 in Lincoln, NE) is the co-founder and President of Progressive Strategies, L.L.C., a political consulting firm founded in 1999, focused on strategic political consulting for non-profits, labor unions, PACs and progressive donors.

Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Political Action at People For the American Way (PFAW), and the PFAW Foundation, and served in the Clinton White House from January 1993 to mid-1995 as a Special Assistant to the President for Public Liaison. He also played a role in five different presidential campaign teams.

In recent years, he co-founded the influential progressive blog OpenLeft.com, and served in a key liaison role to the progressive community upon being named to the transition team for Barack Obama.

Mike serves on the boards of several important organizations, including the Arca Foundation. In addition to serving on the board, Mike was also a co-founder of Americans United for Change, Center for Progressive Leadership, Grassroots Democrats, PoliticsTV, Progressive Majority, and Women's Voices Women Vote. He also played a role in helping launch the Center for American Progress and Air America.<1>

In January 2009, Lux released his first book, The Progressive Revolution:How the Best in America Came to Be.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Lux

[bluestateguy]

3. So there were no ads in favor of HCR?

I seem to remember seeing quite a few being aired by unions and even PhArma.

[KoKo]

4. Read the article. Unions and Pharma were okay with final bill...but other Groups wanted Stronger

Bill with a Public Option and provisions for Insurance Companies to contain their rising costs. Didn't happen because those Progressive Donors were told to "hold back."

[Demeter]

5. And that's why we are where we are

With a message that has been strangled to death, it's so controlled.

With regular small donors telling DLC, House and Senate Committees phone solicitations N-F-W-.

With open contempt running like a river through the Left Bank over the lame-brain stupidities perpetrated on a daily basis by all members of the administration, who must have been chosen by the same committee that decided that "control" was much more important than Progress, Justice, redressing wrongs and prosecuting war criminals.

AND the economic fraud continues unabated.

[KoKo]

6. I worried (at the time) about Obama Campaign turning over it's Donor List

to the Obama for America. It took it away from the Dem Party (sad that it is..but Dean was running it) and by FIAT saying that all would have to go through the "DFA"

There were many posters on DU who questioned this strategy...it seemed very "controlling" given what many of us who had been here fighting since "Stolen Election 2000" saw as making the Dem Party a "POWER PARTY" and "OPEN." We felt that Obama Team was cutting off valuable allies and concentrating on the Biggest Donors. We blamed Rahm for it. I don't know who is to blame...but it's obviously still in force.

[yurbud]

7. yes, leave it to stumblefuck Rahm, who knows how to bow & scrape to corporations, but not

how to get votes from actual Democrats.

[Tutankhamun]

8. The piece does a great job in pointing out one of the many ironies progressives now face.

We are blamed for "not doing enough" to support liberal causes, yet we're simultaneously told (sometimes by the administration we worked so hard to elect) to shut up. We're on drugs. We're delusional. We want a "pony." We won't stop until we get "Canadian style health care."