From an email John Burton sent, I have to wonder what year it is, 2008 or 1968?

The party should also provide the materials for a program to soften up Republican incumbents long before the election, such as draft letters to the editor around current issues, phone scripts for volunteer phone banks, and suggestions for radio call-in shows.

Uh, not to go all Jetsons or anything, but how about starting with a website? Which, ironically is the most efficient way for letters to the editor, volunteer phone calls (beyond banks even) and radio talk shows messaging. However, once you build a website you get into a “post-broadcast” potential where you find there are for more effective arrows in your quiver. Yet the overall return of investment is why for a few cycles now starting with a targeted website has been the most effective method to “soften up” incumbents. An online strategy helps in the following three key areas:

Fundraising

While the CDP can’t start raising money for Democratic challengers prior to the Party endorsement or nomination, it can raise money for local central committees and clubs in a targeted district through a “dump-so-and-so” or such website. Better yet, for federal races, the CDP can use ActBlue’s Democratic Nominee funds to turn candidate recruitment on it’s head. Multiply that by re-occurring monthly donations and nominees can leave the primary with more COH than they had going into the final push. I predict this will be the biggest game-changer in the 2010 cycle, but you need an internet organizing program to make it happen. And building this infrastructure in the off year will allow the fundraising for the candidate to be far greater once the Party can leverage the investment early.

Communication

For years it has made no sense to focus on the internet as an ATM, so let’s look communication. Unfortunately, the CDP went from a leader in online message dissemination in the 2004 cycle to junk in 2006, to constant but not that aggressive against Republicans in 2008. And now we have the expected next Party Chair not even mentioning the internet as a way to soften up Republicans. In short, communication is the biggest potential for setting up 2010 in 2009 and should be used to a degree against all Republicans (especially leadership and marginal districts). Plus, if you want you can easily do letters to the editor and calls to radio shows, but there is so much more to do it only makes sense once you are already using the more effective tactics.

Organizing

In 2008, Barack Obama took organizing to a new level while the CDP utterly failed to take advantage of it for campaigns in California. Yet the tool kit is out there (including bankless phone banks), a great number of people of been trained, and the budget mess is the perfect vehicle to translate that energy into organization — with again the most efficient mechanism being to begin online.

While I totally agree with the goal of softening up Republicans, can we please remember which millennium this is when looking at the tactics to accomplish that goal? And I agree there is a strong role for the party, but it isn’t materials, it is organizing and communication infrastructure.  

From Boxer’s office:

The resolution that passed today did not reflect Senator Boxer’s belief that Senator Lieberman should remain in the Democratic caucus but not retain his full Committee Chairmanship- she voted accordingly.

Good vote by Boxer, you can find her online at Barbara Boxer dot com.

Over 1,000 people joined together in Albuquerque, NM this morning for Join The Impact.

On the drive there, I figured there might be a few dozen people, but really had no idea what to expect. I’ve been to plenty of marriage equality events in San Francisco over the years, but this was after the election about an initiative two states away.

When I arrived, there were hundreds of people. But it was eerily quiet, more like a funeral than a protest. As people stood around in the crisp winter sun, the loudest sound was a nearby repairman’s socket-wrench.

Then, there was a bullhorn and the mood rapidly became festive.

Following some speeches, there was a march and by that time the crowd was over 1,000.

“Gonna beat, back, the Mormon attack. Gonna beat beat back, the Mormon attack”

Also, there was the local angle with the protest of the famous Blake’s Lotaburger getting attention.

Chuck DeVore discussed his senate campaign with Erick Erickson of RedState prior to his announcement. If you read between the lines, DeVore’s plan (loosely based on the plot of the movie Superman) is to have the left half of the state fall into the ocean. But instead of nuking the San Andreas, DeVore’s scheme is to drill enough offshore and throw enough red meat to the base inland to create an unnatural imbalance in California that results in a devastating earthquake.

“A plurality also favor offshore drilling,” he tells me, again pointing out Barbara Boxer disagrees. Boxer, he emphasizes, “is an unreconstructed extremist liberal.” That’s red meat rhetoric that will play well to the Republican base.

Devore is committed to picking off Boxer. In 2010, an political earthquake is coming to California. He is taking advantage of it.

Actually, DeVore as an evil mastermind is far more Dr. Evil than Lex Luthor, thinking he can win with minorities.

Devore and the conservatives in California are much more in line with Latino voters and black voters than Barbara Boxer and the urban white elites whose policies have made it even more difficult for poorer families to survive.

Clearly, DeVore resonates with the right-wing bloggers to the point they make even less sense than normal. He is their type of candidate and I fully expect them to Palinate DeVore through the primary and bring him to within 20 pts of Boxer when all of the voters are counted.

Barbara Boxer

Ouch:

Utah’s growing tourism industry and the star-studded Sundance Film Festival are being targeted for a boycott by bloggers, gay rights activists and others seeking to punish the Mormon church for its aggressive promotion of California’s ban on gay marriage.

It could be a heavy price to pay. Tourism brings in $6 billion a year to Utah, with world-class skiing, a spectacular red rock country and the film festival founded by Robert Redford, among other popular tourist draws.

“At a fundamental level, the Utah Mormons crossed the line on this one,” said gay rights activist John Aravosis, an influential blogger in Washington, D.C.

“They just took marriage away from 20,000 couples and made their children bastards,” he said. “You don’t do that and get away with it.”

[…]

The backlash against the church – and by extension Utah – has been immediate. Protests erupted outside Mormon temples, Facebook groups formed telling people to boycott Utah, and Web sites such as mormonsstoleourrights.com began popping up, calling for an end to the church’s tax-exempt status.

In my mind, John Aravosis and AmericaBlog are far more effective than the Human Rights Campaign. John Aravosis has more scalps on his lodgepole than most people have nails. Americablog doesn’t just blog, it gets stuff done. And an A.P. story is just the beginning, if history is any indication. Because Avarosis is known for fighting on something until he wins — and he isn’t known for losing.