Chuck Todd says Howard Dean's web guru is now working for McCain

[acmejack]

His only Republiclown client. I guess these guys really aren't motivated by ideology despite their claims or if they once were, the money, oh the money...

Heard on C-span

[Eurobabe]

1. who dat?

[flpoljunkie]

2. Here's the story from Hotline's blog. Nicco Mele has joined McCain's team

http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2006/08/post_57.html

August 23, 2006

Exclusive: McCain's Web Team. And Nicco Mele.

Over the past several months, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has quietly recruited for his presidential campaign some of the most influential online strategists in the country, including one of the main architects of Howard Dean's pioneering website.

John Weaver, McCain's chief political strategist, confirmed today that Nicco Mele, the webmaster of Dean for America, is among those who have committed to help. Mele's work on Dean's campaign, which including , led Esquire to name him as one of the country's "best and brightest." His firm, EchoDitto, lists more than twenty major Democratic and liberal firms and candidates as clients. Mele did not respond to an e-mail seeking immediate comment.

<>The range of experiences brought by these consultants suggests that McCain's web strategy will be integrated with the campaign's message, donation and political operations -- just like Dean's was in the primary, -- and certainly hewing to example set by the Bush campaign in 2004. Bush raised more money from the ‘Net than any candidate in history and campaign used its website to track thousands of volunteers and motivate Bush supporters.

Mele is considered an expert in web community building and networking. His recruitment suggests that McCain's campaign recognizes the dynamic nature of online campaigning. Online activists on the left and increasingly on the right now demand access and feedback from candidates and top political officials. Elite bloggers, in particular, wish to be treated as fledged members of a campaign, rather than as parts of a restive constituency waiting to be coddled.

more...

[DeepModem Mom]

3. That's very curious -- and unfortunate. nt

[madfloridian]

4. Let's not get carried away. Nicco said he likes McCain, personal decision

I don't agree but that is most certainly his right. I don't like that he is doing it, but it is his company. He will get grief for it from some there imagine. But trying to make it sound like Dean has done something wrong is how they do it.

But let's spread the love and joy around a little bit with the 10 Most Corporate Democrats, and their ties to Murdoch et al.

http://www.alternet.org/story/40482/

"Want Clinton? Over at a "strategic communications" company founded in 2001, you've got enough Friends of Bubba to fill a VW bug. There's McCurry's successor as Clinton spokesman Joe Lockhart, and Al Gore's top strategists Carter Eskew and Michael Feldman. There's Howard Wolfson, former spokesman for Hillary Clinton and executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. And Joel Johnson, senior adviser for policy and communications to President Clinton.

When an election pops up, nearly the entire top brass rush to work on it. Lockhart and Wolfson, for example, took leaves in 2004 to work on the Kerry campaign and at the DNC. Johnson went from another firm to the Kerry campaign, then joined Glover Park.This mixture of politics and business seems to be working, because in 2005, the firm was ranked the fastest-growing private company in the District of Columbia.

What business, you ask? Even before Glover Park, Eskew, who has done media work for Sens. Chris Dodd, Joe Lieberman, and Tom Harkin, and is close to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, was criticized for his work providing media advice to the tobacco industry. This time around, Eskew has been working again for Lieberman.

Among Glover Park's clients: Rupert Murdoch, who paid Glover Park about $200,000 for work to block TV ratings changes that could harm ad revenues at his Fox Broadcasting (the attempt was unsuccessful). Glover also got a large retainer for PR work and organizing groups against the plan (including the Don't Count Us Out coalition, which initially gave the impression it was an independent group representing the interests of people of color but turns out to represent mostly one Australian media buccaneer by the initials R.M.) Is it a coincidence that Murdoch's New York Post went from gleefully pillorying Hillary to praising her and attacking her critics and opponents?"

See, look...we can smear everyone if we try hard enough.