Kerry readies PAC and Grassroots effort: BG 3/20/05

[TayTay]

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/03/20/kerry_seeking_to_build_support_for_democrats/

Wow!

I will have more to say on this later. This is great news! Way to go!

[Pirate Smile]

1. Here is some of the text of the article.

WASHINGTON -- Senator John F. Kerry has begun building a nationwide grass-roots movement, with plans for a multimillion-dollar political action committee and a tax-exempt advocacy group, and a network of 3 million supporters he hopes to deploy to help on local races across the country.

The Massachusetts Democrat declared last week that the grass-roots organization he's putting together will help his party rival the one by Republicans for last year's elections. Kerry said that while he believes his campaign had the ''largest grass-roots organization in the history of the country," he was hurt by the fact that Republicans had a head start of several years in building a fervent base.

''What we didn't have was enough local people in some places who were engaged in that effort," Kerry said in a question-and-answer session that followed a speech to the Center for National Policy. ''And you don't begin 4½ to five months out . You begin now. That's when Karl Rove began last time. That's when we have to begin: Now. And that's what we're going to do."

Kerry next month will begin raising money in earnest for his new political action committee, which will help recruit and finance Democratic candidates at the local level, and provide seed grants to people with new and innovative ideas for how to reach voters. He has already tapped some of the war chest of nearly $16 million to make $1 million donations to both the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic National Committee, where his money was earmarked for hiring more local organizers.

more at the link - a two page article.

[ginnyinWI]

3. He's right about starting early

I hope more in the Dem's leadership get on board in this effort. I wonder if it is coordinated with Dean and the DNC or not?

[TayTay]

4. Than you for posting this.

I think this is wonderful news. I was wondering what John Kerry was up to with the leftover campaign money. Now I know; he is going to spend it on helping the Democratic Party to reinvent itself. This is very smart. And it looks like he is looking at the problem with outsourcing the GOTV effort that happened last year and trying to come up with a solution. Also good.

So much of the criticism of last year's race seems wrong to me. The Democrats hit all their targets. They pulled six million more voters than in 2000. This is phenomenal. Unfortunately, the REthugs have moved the goal posts a considerable distance down the field. The Dems have to recognize that and recognize that the old ways of GOTV are not enough. We need to greatly increase our pull to other parts of the Dem base. I think this is a very intelligent move on Kerry's part and I respect him for doing it.

That this is being ignored on DU and DKos because of the Schiavo case is not a bad thing. I kind of hope this goes in under the radar until April. There is still a strong faction that considers grassroots campaigning the prerogative of Gov. Dean. (This is silly beyond words, but that's how turf wars go.) I bet Gov Dean himself will have a role in this and will welcome the help (not to mention the money LOL!) Kerry's entry into politics was as a grassroots activist back in the day and I am glad to see him returning to his own roots.

[cestpaspossible]

2. Kerry keeps fighting.

Everytime I hear about stuff like this, it is like a beacon of hope.