Please let me know anything you know about these two organizations. The Western Majority Project aka the New West Project is supposed to be behind the Nevada debate but it's a hush-hush classified organization only harry Reid knows anything about. Something smells like rotting fish here and it's not my armpits.
Please help me ferret this out.
This whole thing started out last July in Denver innocuously enough to bring western issues to the forefront of American politics. Sort of one of those deals where the West-is-tired-of-the-East-running-things running melodramas. It's also a big part of Howard Dean's 50 state mantra.
Ostensibly, the New West Project " headquartered in Denver, will conduct research and develop strategies to secure and exploit recent Democratic gains in the Western states" (CoyoteGulch.com 12/6/06).
"From our perspective, it's really about raising the profile of Western issues," said Noah Kroloff, Napolitano's deputy chief of staff. Moreover, the NWP wants to study how immigration and social issues are affecting the makeup of the western electorate and exploit the new face of the west in the voting booth.
Landon Mascarenaz of the Westerndemocrat.com (12/6/06) dared go a little further:
"As an example of what the new organization may do, the Western Democrat said that political professionals would analyze such questions as ‘the difference between first- and second-generation Hispanic voters, ... what motivates them and how we communicate with them,’ as well as ‘why a recent transplant from California, who has voted Republican all her life, is now voting for Democrats‘."
"The message is moderation," said Jennifer Duffy, editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. "I don't think any one of those governors would get along particularly well with some of the liberals back East" (Arizona Republic 12/10/06)
Governor Bill Ritter (D-CO) and Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) are the co-chairs of the NWP (not to be confused with the WMP which is a whole different animal explained later). Doug Sosnik is the president, Colorado House Majority Leader Alice Madden is treasurer, and Project Director is Jill Hanauer (Ms. Hanauer founded The Interfaith Alliance as a mainstream alternative to Pat Robertson’s Christian Coalition). Other notables include Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, New Mexico Governor and presidential candidate Bill Richardson, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, and Colorado’s Senator Ken Salazar (Arizona Republic 12/10/06). Also on board are Montana Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester.
If there’s a brain behind this brass brawn, it’s got to be Doug Sosnik. Douglas Sosnik served for six years as senior advisor to President Clinton, playing a key role in policy, strategy, political and communications decisions for the Clinton White House (leading authorities.com). During the 1996 Presidential re-election campaign, Mr. Sosnik was the White House political director (ibid.). In the second Clinton term, Mr. Sosnik served as senior advisor for policy and strategy (ibid). Prior to working in the White House, Mr. Sosnik served as chief of staff to Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut (ibid.). Sosnik came on board as a late advisor to John Kerry’s campaign. Sosnik has also authored With Matthew J. Dowd and Ron Fournier, "Applebee's America. How Successful Political, Business, and Religious Leaders Connect with the New American Community", Simon & Schuster, September 2006 (Hardcover) .
To give some insight into Sosnik’s thinking, Ron Fournier of HotSoup adds
"Days after President Bush’s re-election victory in 2004, strategist Doug Sosnik told dispirited Democrats that their party was fatally out of touch with mainstream America, especially voters in the fastest-growing new suburbs and exurbs.
‘Our leaders — particularly Washington, D.C.-based — don’t really have the same life, day to day, as all those people out there in those red states,’ said the former adviser to President Clinton. ‘We don’t eat at the same restaurants. I don’t know how many politicians in town that are leaders of our party who voluntarily go to Applebee’s, unless it’s for work. You look at the swing voters out there, what their sporting events are, the music they listen to, the celebrities, the television programs, it’s just not what the East Coast leadership (watches) — it’s not quite where we are.’
Sosnik added: ‘We can’t figure out a better way to sell to those people — we’ve got to be more like them.’’ Two years later, it’s not clear that Democrats are any more in touch with mainstream America, but they have loosened the GOP’s grip on the politically potent exurbs‘." (HotSoup Dec 1,2006).
What is curious about Sosnik and a possible connection to Fox is that it was Fox that torpedoed Kerry with the swift boats as you remember. It would seem odd that a man of Sosnik's background and abilities would even consider Fox for this highly visible and important project. But remember - the New West Project and the Western Majority Project are not necessarily one in the same.
The New West Project never incorporated or registered as a PAC with the FEC although a bigg hoopla was made about it last December. But the Western Majority Project did register with the FEC on 2/16/07 - exactly the same day the Nevada State Democratic Party announced the deal with Fox. Coincidental? Not hardly.
When the Western Majority Project did get registered as a PAC, they hired Darryl Tattrie of Casa Grande, AZ, as a consultant. Tattrie's been around for awhile supposedly being hacked into back in Kentucky revealing some financial dealings of the party that all of a sudden got hushed up. In their filing with the SEC, they Western Majority Project mentions only Madden and Tattrie with no designated agent (i.e., not incorporated yet) and none of the big brass named, perhaps "to protect the innocent". What's curious about the application to the FEC (FEC image 27039390358) is that it specifically states it not affiliated or connected with any organization or political party. Truth or dare?
OK, so that's old news.
Q: What could possibly make such a distinguished and experienced person as harry Reid to completely lose his mind and throw the deal to Fox?
A1: Money?
A2: Sex?
A3: Drugs?
A4: Power?
A5: Any two of the above?
A6: All of the above?
If you think Nevadans aren't on the warpath about this you are wrong. We are more outraged over this than any single item that has ever occurred! But you must understand that this was a back room deal done completely by harry Reid and Tom Collins, the soon-to-be ex-chair of the state party. Collins has been accused, and rightly so, of hijacking the state party last year only to declare not to run again for the throne ostensibly so he could devote full time to the Nevada caucus. It seems more than a little bit coincidental that Collins announces he's leaving at almost the same time the Fox deal is inked.
I've been raising a helluva ruckus here on diffent webs about the contract between the Nevada State Democratic Party (harry and Collins essentially), the Western Majority Project (looks like Collins' baby now that the New West Project is an abortion), and Fox. Specifically I and a whole lot of others who are mad as hell want to see the contract between Fox and the other above-mentioned parties. That contract is more mysterious right now than Area 51. Nobody's ever seen it; nobody's ever read it; and harry started out saying he had no hand in it (flip flop flip flop).
I suspect, but can't prove it yet, that there is some financial hanky-panky going on here. For example, our local county party is being asked to come up with money to pay for the debate. Well, I guess that's OK since it's a Democratic cause and all. But you have to remember that the New West Project which started this whole thing includes Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Montana, and Wyoming (Utah and Wyoming have since backed out). There's quite a few of us little counties in that much area so you see the gross could be a substantial amount of money if we all chip into the kitty.
And there's the thought that Fox may have made a contribution or two to the Western Nevada Project to lock in the deal. And businesses, private contributions to get the Project going, etc. could also bring in a lot of money. So this is not your ordinary high school debate in the gym; it's big money if it's anything.
So Collins comes out after hours last Friday to explain to all us dipshits that everything is OK, they "got, in writing, a number of concessions to fix many of the issues that came up around that, including joint approval of moderators, sets, questioners, signage, etc." Good boy, Tom - you got it in writing as if Fox never reneged on a contract. But what are the specifics Collins is talking about? You might as well try to bust into Area 51 and steal a ufo.
That's where you come in. Help me fill in the blanks about the Western Majority Project, the New West Project, and the Nevada Debate on Fox. It's Nevadans that's screwed this up and it's up to Nevadans to fix it.