So it looks as though while most people are looking to the airwaves for the million dollar ad buys from the Koch brothers, they've decided to compete on the ground as well. Splitting their resources so to speak. They sure want republican puppets in Washington!
Their ground team will be training Romney s meager forces to knock on doors, drum up excitement and counter the Obama ground game. According to reports, they tried out their model in Wisconsin and it worked. Now they are putting big bucks in their ground game in key swing states.
Koch is now financing more than 200 organizers and paid political staff in thirty-one states. Its likely much of the money Koch now donates to the NRA and groups like the Faith and Freedom Coalition (run by Tim Phillip’s longtime business partner, Ralph Reed), will also be spent on organizers on the ground. Using the Wisconsin model, Koch hopes to partner with local conservative groups to build a rapid mobilization system that can compete on Election Day, in every critical state.
Too much attention is given to the television ads. The Koch network, which is actively training Tea Partiers, via a partnership with True the Vote, to harass and intimidate voters, may tip the scales in this election. And you won’t see their work on television, or through FEC disclosures (they refuse to register their grassroots electioneering as independent expenditures). Like Wisconsin, liberals might see the ground shifting beneath them, and wonder what happened.
Oh, oh... we better watch out, the Koch roaches are coming!!!
The Koch brothers were in awe of the Obama ground game in 2008 and decided to amp things up a bit. Kind of, if he could do it so can we. Although, in my opinion, this whole set-up smacks of men who intend to rule this country vicariously through puppetry and layers of deception. Why set up this up if you don’t plan to interfere in future races to make sure your candidates win?
Jim Messina, Obama campaign manager, claims that the Obama ground game is ready to make up the difference that big dollar Republican donors have made air time purchases.
According to Messina, the campaign will knock on 150 percent more doors than it did in 2008, in addition to registering roughly that many more voters than four years ago. They are also planning a multiplatform digital operation to engage voters during the convention, as well as a "dashboard" that would allow people to organize unregistered voters or those not yet supporting a candidate by using the campaign's own voter lists.
In North Carolina, he added, the campaign had 50 field offices, while the Romney campaign has yet to open its 20th. In Ohio, Messina said, those numbers were 100 and 30, respectively.
"They are doing more than the McCain campaign, so I want to give them credit for that. But they are nowhere near where we are on the ground," he said. "We are going to be the only campaign that can both persuade voters and turn out our voters because of what we are building on the ground. They just don't have what we have."
While that may be a true statement, it does not address the Koch brother’s strategy of sending in bus loads of conservatives armed with new electronic equipment hitting the streets to augment the Romney workers. This article spelled out a part of their strategy.
But the work the AFP machine is doing is no laughing matter for liberals. The Koch network has a sophisticated targeting system, as well as an army of experienced Republican campaign hands to guide the effort. The volunteers even receive Samsung Galaxy tablets to quickly log information and move on to the next potential Romney voter. It’s the beginning of an extremely well-planned get-out-the-vote effort that duplicates what an entire national party would attempt. And it’s been four years in the making.
Two hundred plus to our thousands. I’m one of the Obama GOTV volunteers. I remember during the last campaign my son and I were going door to door, registering voters and talking about President Obama to anyone who would listen, there were paid canvassers walking the streets as well. Whereas, I went to every door on m printout and left door hangers and additional information, the other canvassers barely knocked on doors or left information. When I asked them who they were campaigning for they made it clear they were paid to place door hangers and leave information.
It was a job, not a passion. When Obama supporters come together, there is a tangible aura of excitement. We believe it is imperative to re-elect this man. Our children, family and friends demand that he complete the job he started. With that conviction, we host parties, hit the streets, invite out of state campaigners into our home and pray for the safety of our President and country.
I’m not saying that the Koch brothers and their paid team don’t care for this country, I’m sure they do. And they will probably fire up a portion of the Republican base. Good for them.
But I am confident that as the Obama ground game continues to swell, we’ve been on the ground for months now, we will be the hammer that the campaign needs to nail the job and win this election!
Yes, I am still Fired up and Ready to go!