Good for the DNC. They respond to The Nation's misleading article.

[madfloridian]

Recently Ari Berman at The Nation really was critical of things that Howard Dean and the DNC were doing. I am so glad to see them respond to this. A few snips.

http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2006/07/dnc_to_nation_d_1.html

DNC To Nation: Don't Count Us Out
DNC exec. dir. Tom McMahon, sent a sharply worded letter to the editor of The Nation, takes reporter Ari Berman to task for his story about the DNC's GOTV plans.

We've obtained the letter, which you read in full after the jump.

The news: the DNC's budget for GOTV efforts exceeds $11 million.

From the letter:

Contrary to the implication of the Berman article, the DNC has a sound political plan for 2006 that contemplates the investment of unprecedented resources. For the 2006 races, the DNC will spend upwards of $11 million in hard money, (we can no longer raise soft money) helping to elect Democrats at every level, across America. Under this plan, we will spend roughly 10 times what the DNC was able to do with hard money four years ago, when the DNC spent $1.6 million for coordinated campaigns.

Berman cites blind quotes about hopes that the DNC would take the lead in a field organization. What Berman failed to tell your readers is that, in fact, we have always intended to play this role and are doing so partly out of concern that the 2006 Democratic efforts not repeat the mistakes of 2002, when too great an emphasis was placed solely on television advertising. In 1998 and 2002, millions were spent almost exclusively on television advertising. Looking at the results, most would conclude that the strategy didn’t work. We agree that we cannot make those same mistakes again, and we will not do so.

And more in the letter from Tom McMahon to The Nation. I am glad they are doing it. Too many sites having condemning what they really know nothing about. This part is very pertinent below. Be sure to read all of it.

What Berman did not tell you is that he requested to see our 2006 political plan. We declined his request to review our 2006 plan or share extensive details about it with him. As we explained to Berman, we won't allow any reporter the opportunity to review and publish our 2006 campaign strategy five months before Election Day, freely sharing our playbook with Karl Rove and the Republican Party. That’s not because we don’t have a plan; its because we want to win.

And Tom also calls out Randy Button of TN who said Dean was refusing to help TN win. Many of us knew that was not true, that the article was skewed against Dean and the DNC because they did not want to reveal everything they were doing. We contacted them, glad they are responding.

Finally, former Tennessee State Party Chair Randy Button is simply incorrect. The DNC has been and will continue to be supportive of efforts in Tennessee, just as the DNC will continue its work to unify the entire Democratic Party and ensure that Democrats have the resources needed to present our alternative agenda to the American people.

I have griped here when Radio Nation misrepresents the Democrats at this crucial time. I was irritated at Ari's article that I emailed them...never heard back. We don't need them working against us right now by saying things that are misleading.

[OzarkDem]

1. Good for the DNC

I like their rapid response. No doubt they're going to get a lot of this malarkey in the coming months. Surprised to see this kind of snarky, slanted article in the Nation.

[madfloridian]

2. There has been a lot of it lately.

Something is going on there at The Nation, changes in tone, changes in posting things that mislead. I have posted about Laura Flanders doing this several times on Radio Nation.

Progressive radio and progressive media....why are they misleading? For a 3rd party possibility? Or is it other?

[acmejack]

4. An interesting question, several agendas at play.

Best not to forget the Nation is old line too. The people are "legacy" players who have some investment in the inside the beltway status quo. As much as I hate to say it, many people are making a very comfortable living with things just as they are and are likely not all that keen at us rocking the their boat too much.

[madfloridian]

5. You are right..

There is a lot of what you call "inside the beltway" mentality. I think we are going to see more of it.

Dean is making the people who elected him very satisfied, so the others need to stop worrying.

[madfloridian]

3. And this part about the issue groups from Ari's article at The Nation....

is most misleading. Actually in Florida the Sierra Club is endorsing Republicans as often as Democrats, Emily's List is endorsing in primaries against the more progressive candidate, NARAL is saying it is ok for Lieberman to agree withholding contraception from rape victims is ok.

This was from The Nation, and Ari seems to totally dismiss the DNC. I think we are seeing a change in the fairness of our left leaning media more and more often.

http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20060717&s=berman

"No matter what the party does, left-leaning groups aligned with the Democrats seem equipped to pick up some of the slack. Even with the loss of ACT, the progressive groups remain active--and they're preparing for '06. Labor plans to spend more money than in any off-year election, targeting millions of its members at the door, on the phone and at work in key battleground states. EMILY's List will add $45 million, courting 2.5 million prochoice women in eight swing states. MoveOn.org's 3 million members will make GOTV phone calls in fifteen to twenty competitive House districts. The Sierra Club is courting environmentally conscious voters in the exurbs of key swing cities like Philadelphia, Columbus and Cincinnati. And the coalition that holds roughly thirty of these groups together, America Votes, has grown from a staff of five to eighty and from a budget of $2 million to $13 million, with offices in nine battleground states."

[madfloridian]

6. Very important also: DNC must win statehouses....redistricting reasons.

"Beyond the focus on House and Senate races contemplated by our 2006 plan, the DNC is also investing to win critical governors and state legislative races. We need look no further than last weeks Supreme Court decision in the Texas redistricting case, upholding the bulk of Tom Delay’s redistricting plan that shifted six Texas seats to Republicans, to explain why these investments are indispensable: We must ensure Democratic majorities in statehouses across the country to prevent future efforts by Republicans to redraw lines in ways that increase their congressional representation. Not to mention the many state and local issues that are decided by state legislatures that have a direct impact on Americans daily lives."

http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2006/07/dnc_to_nation_d_1.html

This letter tells a lot about the DNC strategy. The redistricting issues will only be solved by winning at state level.