I have spent the past week observing the official Democratic Party and unofficial 527 field operations in the battleground states of Ohio and Florida. And I have found something I've never before seen in my 36 or so years as a progressive activist and later as a journalist: an effective, fully functioning American left.

 

Those liberal organizations that already knew how to do politics -- the AFL-CIO, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) and a few others -- are doing it better than they have before. Those liberal groups that stayed aloof from elections or phumphered ineffectually are now playing the game like seasoned pros. New organizations have arisen to mobilize sometime voters; the largest of them -- America Coming Together (ACT) -- will have 12,000 staffers in each of the three biggest battleground states (Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida) on Election Day.

 

And most amazingly, all the 527s -- ACT, the AFL-CIO, the LCV, the Sierra Club, the NAACP, Emily's List, MoveOn and 25 others -- are working together under the umbrella of a single coalition, America Votes. They meet together, plan together, divvy up turf, parcel out messages, coordinate their mailing and phone banking.

 

 

 

This doesnt end with this election either. Bush has created something Im sure he wishes he didnt.

 

 

http://www.laweekly.com/ink/04/49/powerlines-meyerson.php

If true, this is a perfect storm which finds it's roots in the 2000 election and Dean's early run.

 

If not true, just more pre-election drum banging.

DailyKos thinks this will have at the least, of massivley reshaping the democratic party into something different than a national party:

 

The 527s will be under assault regardless who wins. But the question remains -- can we maintain this energy in prusuit of a progressive electoral majority?

 

Jerome and I are writing a book about this very topic. Over the course of the last year, after observing the work of the party and the third-party groups first-hand, I am more convinced than ever that the national party's heydey is past. The third-party groups (527s, PACs, 501©(3)s, big money donors, think tanks, blogs, Air America, and our army of motivated ground soldiers), with their spirit of entrepreneurship, will lead the way to the promised land.

 

Exciting things are happening in our neck of the ideological spectrum. We may be playing catchup to the VRWC, but at least we're back in the game.

 

One thing is for sure, blogs like dailykos have officially changed this nation. Media will not be the same.

True about the media, although I think as blogs and the like start becoming mainstream that they will morph into much more traditional roles.

 

As for the 527's etc... I don't think they're going to have a long life span in current form. The backlash against unregulated 3rd party character asassins has already started.