Structurally Unsound
The Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act (BCRA) ushered in a new era and dramatically altered the landscape of the 2004 election cycle, particularly as it related to the Presidential ticket.
BCRA "banned" the soft money donations that the Democratic Party had relied so heavily upon for fundraising. Despite this, the effort to elect a Democratic candidate transitioned remarkably smoothly into this new era. The smooth transition is owed to the shadow Democratic Party, which included various 527 organizations, all of whom had specific tasks for the 2004 election. America Votes served as an umbrella organization of progressive entities determined to defeat George W. Bush. America Coming Together (ACT) was formed to focus on Get Out The Vote efforts. The Media Fund focused on broadcasting advertisements in support of the Democrat effort. The Thunder Road Group was a "rapid response organization" engaged in supporting the Democratic candidate. Finally, the Joint Victory Campaign served as a combined fundraising committee supporting the Democratic candidate.
While many other 527 organizations from across the political spectrum threw their weight behind each candidate in 2004, the efforts of the shadow Democratic party are the most important to dissect when conducting a post-mortem of the 2004 election.
It was assumed that any Democrat challenger would be at a financial disadvantage against the incumbent president. This financial gap would have to be bridged, and it was widely accepted that hard money donations to the candidate and the Democratic Party could not achieve that. That was where the shadow party stepped forward, filling the gap by virtue of 527 organizations' ability to raise unlimited amounts of soft money. As a result, many of the traditional Party functions dedicated to the election of a Democratic candidate were ceded to 527 organizations. ACT in particular served as the primary engine behind Democratic GOTV efforts in key battleground states such as Ohio.
It can be argued (and disputed) that the involvement of groups such as ACT was absolutely necessary in order for the Democratic candidate to compete on even ground with the Bush/Cheney campaign, but Democratic reliance on outside organizations to turn out the vote was a striking structural deficiency in the effort to elect John Kerry.
Because BCRA prohibited coordination between the official Kerry campaign and the DNC on one side, and ACT and the other 527s on the other, there was an inherent disconnect between the official campaign organizations and their ground operations. This disconnect was more profound when compared to the fully integrated, "centralized localization" strategy implemented by the Bush campaign that culminated in the 72 hour project.
In fact, it is a wonder (and a bit curious) that ACT and the Kerry campaign were able to function as seamlessly as they did.
Synergy is so important to electoral success. But this concept of synergy should not be restricted to merely online and offline strategies, but should encompass all efforts that serve to elect a candidate. For Kerry, true synergy was, by law, unachievable based on the structure of the Democratic campaign and its reliance on 527 organizations to GOTV.
BCRA "banned" the soft money donations that the Democratic Party had relied so heavily upon for fundraising. Despite this, the effort to elect a Democratic candidate transitioned remarkably smoothly into this new era. The smooth transition is owed to the shadow Democratic Party, which included various 527 organizations, all of whom had specific tasks for the 2004 election. America Votes served as an umbrella organization of progressive entities determined to defeat George W. Bush. America Coming Together (ACT) was formed to focus on Get Out The Vote efforts. The Media Fund focused on broadcasting advertisements in support of the Democrat effort. The Thunder Road Group was a "rapid response organization" engaged in supporting the Democratic candidate. Finally, the Joint Victory Campaign served as a combined fundraising committee supporting the Democratic candidate.
While many other 527 organizations from across the political spectrum threw their weight behind each candidate in 2004, the efforts of the shadow Democratic party are the most important to dissect when conducting a post-mortem of the 2004 election.
It was assumed that any Democrat challenger would be at a financial disadvantage against the incumbent president. This financial gap would have to be bridged, and it was widely accepted that hard money donations to the candidate and the Democratic Party could not achieve that. That was where the shadow party stepped forward, filling the gap by virtue of 527 organizations' ability to raise unlimited amounts of soft money. As a result, many of the traditional Party functions dedicated to the election of a Democratic candidate were ceded to 527 organizations. ACT in particular served as the primary engine behind Democratic GOTV efforts in key battleground states such as Ohio.
It can be argued (and disputed) that the involvement of groups such as ACT was absolutely necessary in order for the Democratic candidate to compete on even ground with the Bush/Cheney campaign, but Democratic reliance on outside organizations to turn out the vote was a striking structural deficiency in the effort to elect John Kerry.
Because BCRA prohibited coordination between the official Kerry campaign and the DNC on one side, and ACT and the other 527s on the other, there was an inherent disconnect between the official campaign organizations and their ground operations. This disconnect was more profound when compared to the fully integrated, "centralized localization" strategy implemented by the Bush campaign that culminated in the 72 hour project.
In fact, it is a wonder (and a bit curious) that ACT and the Kerry campaign were able to function as seamlessly as they did.
Synergy is so important to electoral success. But this concept of synergy should not be restricted to merely online and offline strategies, but should encompass all efforts that serve to elect a candidate. For Kerry, true synergy was, by law, unachievable based on the structure of the Democratic campaign and its reliance on 527 organizations to GOTV.
posted by Capitol Hill Rentals @ 3:42 PM
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