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The Colorado Model & The Left’s Stratagem For Turning Red States to Blue

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” Sun Tzu

Although it’s being deployed in several states like Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and others, there are still many who have never heard of the Colorado Model. What’s worse, despite all the Left’s bemoaning of the “vast right wing conspiracy,” Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, or whatever enemy they can dream up, there is still nothing like the Colorado Model on the Right.


In sum, the Colorado Model is one of the Left’s most effective stratagems that was “built” to turn “red states” into “blue states” in a very short period (with the exception, perhaps, of the 2010 election cycle). When combined with the tactics of Saul Alinsky and his disciples, the Colorado Model is akin to a Soviet platoon armed with AK-47s mowing down a militia armed with slingshots.

According to a 2008 expose in the Weekly Standard, in 2004 and 2006 “routed Republicans, capturing the governorship, both houses of the state legislature, a U.S. Senate seat, and two U.S. House seats.

Conceived by four rich liberals, the Colorado Model is a fairly simple strategy:

Eric O’Keefe, chairman of the conservative Sam Adams Alliance in Chicago, says there are seven “capacities” that are required to drive a successful political strategy and keep it on offense: [1] the capacity to generate intellectual ammunition, [2] to pursue investigations, [3] to mobilize for elections, [4] to fight media bias, [5] to pursue strategic litigation, [6] to train new leaders, and [7] to sustain a presence in the new media. Colorado liberals have now created institutions that possess all seven capacities. By working together, they generate political noise and attract press coverage. Explains Caldara, “Build an echo chamber and the media laps it up.”

Unfortunately, the Right still doesn’t seem to embrace or, more importantly, understand the Colorado Model. What’s worse, because the Colorado Model requires cooperation, it is unlikely the Right will ever be successful in creating a model similar to that which the Left is deploying across the country.

Unlike Barack Obama’s OFA, which coordinates with the institutional Left, the Moveon.orgs of the world, hundreds of 527s, think tanks, unions, and the like, the Right largely consists of groups who work disparately, in disagreement with, and, often, openly fighting with one another. On the Right, we have the Keystone Cops facing the Red Army on the Left.

As opposed to disarray on the Right, the Left is largely unified in their vision, their messaging, and their tactics. As such, the Colorado Model is a prime example of the Left putting their ideas into action and, in so doing, turning America from a country of individuals into a country of collectivists.

Again, from 2008:

The Democratic surge in Colorado reflects the national trend, but it involves a great deal more. There’s something unique going on in Colorado that, if copied in other states, has the potential to produce sweeping Democratic gains nationwide. That something is the “Colorado Model,” and it’s certain to be a major topic of discussion when Democrats convene in Denver in the last week of August for their national convention.

While the Colorado Model isn’t a secret, it hasn’t drawn much national attention either. Democrats, for now anyway, seem wary of touting it. One reason for their reticence is that it depends partly on wealthy liberals’ spending tons of money not only on “independent expenditures” to attack Republican office-seekers but also to create a vast infrastructure of liberal organizations that produces an anti-Republican, anti-conservative echo chamber in politics and the media.

Colorado is where this model is being tested and refined. And Republicans, even more than Democrats, say that it’s working impressively. (For Republicans, it offers an excuse for their tailspin.) Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute, a conservative think tank based in Denver, says Republicans around the country should be alarmed by the success of the Colorado Model. “Watch out,” he says, “it’s coming to a state near you.”

On the Right, after nearly three years of being engaged in the battle to save America from tax and spend collectivists, there is still a large knowledge vacuum in the nature of the battle, the groups and strategies involved, as well as the tactics used. America is nearing the end of a century-old ideological war waged by Marxists of varying degree—an ideological war that will determine the future of America. Until such time as the Right understands that fact and begins to work together, any “victories” at the ballot box will be fleeting and, in the long run, futile.

Related:

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“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

Cross-posted on LaborUnionReport.com

COMMENTS

  • heraklios

    We understand where we want to go and how to get there. the problem is, we have no vehicle. The Republican Party has been hijacked by big government statists like John Boehner, Mitch McConnell and Mitt Romney. They steer our party to the left so that there is little difference between us and the Democrats on fiscal and tax policy. If conservatives controlled the GOP, we could draw a clear contrast between our method of governance and their’s.

    Unfortunately, since the GOP Establishment shows no signs of weakening its hold on power in the party, the method conservatives may have to use to get into the game is to BURN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY DOWN IN 2012. Show as many RINOs as we can the exits in 2012 and then we can begin to rebuild the party our way.

    • circlegranch

      written by Adam Schrager, is an excellent compliment to this post.

      HOWEVER,

      heraklio is correct, in that states such as CO are allowing the progressive, Marxist movement to gain a stronghold because the GOP leadership so often allows it. At the risk of repeating myself in a post written yesterday, Colorado did not send Republican Ken Buck to the U.S. Senate in 2010 because the elitist, ruling class of the national and Colorado Republican Party prevented it. They preferred seeing Obama’s hand-picked man, Michael Bennet, who went to Washington on ONE vote (that of Gov. Bill Ritter, who had the authority to appoint him after the senatorial absence created when Ken Salazar resigned to become Secy of the Interior). Ken Buck was the hands-down people’s choice–the grassroots candidate, the tea party favorite and the elites in the GOP were ticked off beyond the pale. THEIR hand-picked candidate, Jane Norton, was soundly defeated in the primary by Buck. To retaliate, the GOP, including national leaders such as John Coryn and John McCain, refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of Buck’s campaign and they idly stood by and allowed Bennet to keep his job. It wasn’t just the elite in the GOP–Buck got very little press time and never got air time with Hannity, Rush or Levine. He was ignored and there was an unspoken resignation that Colorado was simply lost; better luck next time. A state’s attorney, Buck would have been a true asset to the U.S. Senate; a man of great character and personal integrity and the father of a West Point cadet.

      Whether we talk about the “Colorado Model” or study the well-written “Blueprint..” noted above, it comes down to the grassroots being able to first defeat the insider Beltway Republican Establishment, resplendent with their admirers in the Right media.

      The problem is clear: there is little daylight between the ruling class of the GOP/career politicians in DC and the Left. Far too little daylight. Nothing will change and the advancement of European-style socialism will march on in this country until enough conservatives see that the path the RNC and country club GOP’ers are taking us down is the road to defeat, after miserable defeat.

      We would be wise to study Colorado and yet, its back to basics if we truly want to defeat liberalism. It’s really not that complicated.

    • http://www.theprecinctproject.wordpress.com ColdWarrior

      Half of the precinct committeeman slots in the Party vacant. One third of the precincts have no precinct committeeman at all. If we conservatives would unite in our respective locales at our respective local committee meetings, and fill up all the vacant voting seats — the precinct committeeman seats — we’d be on our way to taking our Party back. The Neighborhood Precinct Committeeman Strategy works — but only if enough conservatives get into the real ball game of politics — party politics — and become voting members of the Party.

      Here’s the situation and how to change it in a nutshell:

      http://www.redstate.com/coldwarrior/2011/04/10/what-we-need-to-do-as-soon-as-possible-why-we-need-to-do-it-why-it-will-work-if-we-unite-now/

      Here’s an example in Utah when enough conservatives get involved in party politics:

      http://www.redstate.com/coldwarrior/2010/05/08/2101-of-3500-of-75000-denied-bob-bennett/

      Here’s another example in my county and state, Arizona:

      http://www.redstate.com/coldwarrior/2011/01/24/mission-accomplished-new-conservative-precinct-committeemen-elect-conservative-republican-leaders-including-the-state-chairman/

      It may be much, much harder to achieve these kinds of gains in states such as Illinois, New York, and Virginia, but the numbers are about the same — about half of the precinct committeeman slots, on average, across those states, are vacant.

      The “powers that be” in those parties don’t want the “little people” to know that and they sure as hell aren’t going to help them find out how to become voting members of their party committees.

      We have to learn how to do that ourselves.

      Thank you.

      ColdWarrior

      • http://www.nighttwister.com NightTwister

        Comment spamming gets free advertising for your former diaries too! Do you keep this in your buffer at all times, or is it in an easily-accessible text file on the desktop?

        • http://www.examiner.com/x-1597-Charlotte-Law--Politics-Examiner Mike gamecock DeVine

          Emphasis on fundamental. The whole Iowa, NH and Va debacles have caused me to see the light on just how so months after I went out and became a PC almost out of spite. Manning the PC slots is not a panacea. There is no panacea and Pcs don’t ensure that Reagan clones will run or that we have more 2010 tea partier landslides or that elected tea partiers don’t get Beltway Fever, but it could, over time make us tea partiers the establishment and that would be THE paradigm shift in terms of on the ground electoral war with the Dems who play the power game naturally.

          more later

      • jakeofalltrades

        Your comment was not off-topic. Let the haters hate and ride the free ride provided by the volunteered work and sweat of their betters.

  • heraklios

    We understand where we want to go and how to get there. the problem is, we have no vehicle. The Republican Party has been hijacked by big government statists like John Boehner, Mitch McConnell and Mitt Romney. They steer our party to the left so that there is little difference between us and the Democrats on fiscal and tax policy. If conservatives controlled the GOP, we could draw a clear contrast between our method of governance and their’s.

    Unfortunately, since the GOP Establishment shows no signs of weakening its hold on power in the party, the method conservatives may have to use to get into the game is to BURN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY DOWN IN 2012. Show as many RINOs as we can the exits in 2012 and then we can begin to rebuild the party our way.

    • rbdwiggins

      of our republic into a socialist welfare state because the progressives are already well organized, and they are poised to fill the power vacuum your scorched earth policy is certain to leave behind.

      You may understand where conservatives want to go, but you are sorely mistaken about how to get there. Attacking the Republican establishment from the top down is certain to create that power vacuum.

      First of all, the conservative movement must concede that the Republican Party has not been hijacked, because it has never been conservative, nor has it ever been willing to defend conservatism against overwhelming opposition from the left.

      Second, the conservative movement must start from scratch beginning at the precinct level, educating family, friends, neighbors and coworkers and building strength from the ground up. Having accomplished that task, the movement can proceed to the city level, then to the county level, and finally, the state level.

      Third, this “grassroots” conservative movement must be duplicated in all fifty states with the full knowledge that it will necessarily enjoy varying degrees of success because of the diverse demographics inherent to each state.

      Finally, the conservative movement can never become a national power until it successfully builds a coalition of like-minded states that enjoys the ability to consistently control the electoral college.

      The Tea Party is the proper vehicle for conservative change. The motivation is already there, but clearly, leadership and organization are missing.

      • rbdwiggins

        I may have been just a wee bit dismissive.

        The conservative Tea Party Express, which had named Nelson as one of its top targets for defeat in 2012, hailed news of his impending retirement as a victory.

        “There is no doubt that he felt our heat of the Tea Party and decided that he was not up for the fight,” the organization said in a fundraising letter.

        Apparently, Nelson’s burns have been confirmed.

        Nelson apologized to his aides during a conference call that word of his retirement had leaked to POLITICO before he had a chance to personally inform them of his decision. Nelson began calling top Senate Democrats early Tuesday to tell them he was not running for reelection.

        Nelson wavered in whether to retire, according to sources close to the Nebraska Democrat, telling aides that

  • naraht

    In California it wouldn’t be trying for a move from Red to Blue, but rather a move from Bluish Purple to Bright Blue.

    Also, Oregon is in the list, but not on the map…And trying to turn Texas and Nebraska from Red to Blue is a waste of money.

    • http://www.laborunionreport.com LaborUnionReport

      Thanks, for pointing that out. [Should have been Ohio.]

  • Wes_W

    this book is an excellent detailed story on how the left took over Colorado. This book describes how the left is planning on using the Colorado model in the rest of the nation. You can find it on Amazon, and the authors are Adam Shrager and Rob Witwer.

  • quill67

    Who fled the high taxes and anti-business regs–only to recreate the same liberal nightmare in Colorado.

    Am I wrong?

    • civildebate

      The price of housing and transportation in California is what’s been driving them to Colorado and Nevada, those costs drawf the difference in taxes and business regulations.

    • circlegranch

      More and more news reports show Californians leaving for Texas, finding jobs and being able to buy big houses at much lower prices. The first response is that Texas is great—low cost of living, tax breaks, affordable housing and jobs but thats how it starts. Before long, they start influence by becoming school board members, volunteers in churches, etc.

  • http://www.nighttwister.com NightTwister

    It requires continual massive funding, which dried up after the 2008 elections. Media Matters left and went national, and you can see today how relevant they are. People’s Press Collective has been pretty effective at countering some of it.

    We still have the problem of conservative groups working against each other, most notably the CRTL. They’re planning to get the personhood issue back on the ballot which will ensure lots of democrats and pro-abortion libertarians get to the polls to defeat it (and vote for Democrat candidates while they’re there).

    Still, in 2010 we took back the state House, and two of the House Districts (CO-3 & CO-4). With redistricting those are pretty much solidified now, CO-6 (Mike Coffman) is now in play, and there’s a chance we might get more competitive in CO-2 (where I am now) against Jared Polis (I hope to have a diary about that in the near future). State redistricting is where the big problem is. The democrats snuck in a map at that last moment that the State Supremes upheld. Too bad we didn’t get more people to vote down those judges when we had a chance.

    In any case, while it’s true that the Colorado Model works, it only works if they pour large amounts of cash into it permanently, which they of course cannot do.

    • YnotNOW

      in that the libs have the default support of (most) mainstream media outlets and (most) education establishments. The first makes the “echo chamber” effect much more cost effective and widespread, the second makes inroads on the next generation of collectivists. We have to work (and spend) twice as hard to counter this advantage.

      That’s the difficulty in sustaining we are facing.

      • http://www.nighttwister.com NightTwister

        A bunch of center-right bloggers got together and started The People’s Press Collective and were able to counter much of what Media Matters was doing. It all started back at the 2008 DNC convention in Denver and just hung on from there. More and more people are getting their news from non-traditional sources, and efforts like PPC can help there.

        I will say they’ve been pretty effective with lawsuits, and that’s not going to change until enough people realize they can vote out the liberals in the state Supreme Court.

        Really, the rest of the problem here has nothing to do with The Colorado Model. It has to do with too much Stupid Party™ crap that never seems to end. Just look at the 2010 gubernatorial race to see what I mean.

        • YnotNOW

          Much as I like PeoplesPressCollective, ColoradoPeakPolitics, Complete Colorado, WhoSaidYouSaid, etc., I’m not sure they have the readership to influence the population directly – they need the media echo-chamber to pick up their stories. Occasionally happens, but MoveOn and such liberal bastions have a more willing audience in the network news, so it is easier for them to push the stories on to the front page of the Denver Post (who is still influential, even as they head toward bankruptcy).

          Sure, the “Stupid Party” will still shoot themselves in the foot (like governor race), but notice how much the media picked up on Ken Buck’s “insensitivity to rape victim” much more quickly than the counter-media could get their response noted.

          Not saying we shouldn’t still fight with expectation to win. Just that the expectation should not be an even playing field.

          • http://www.nighttwister.com NightTwister

            He’s the one that brought up the woman issue in the primary, and then the Democrats ran with it and used it against him. You live by the sword, you die by the sword.

          • YnotNOW

            with the understanding that it was better to get it out front proactively, since it would come out anyway. Try to present his perspective. But the media machine ran with the other side, and saturated the public perception.

            This was not Ken’s only weakness, but it highlighted them in the minds of many voters. And the media pushed it, because it fit with their pre-conceived perception of social conservatives.

            That is the up-hill battle we must always fight. Can be done, but not easy.

          • http://www.nighttwister.com NightTwister

            He would’ve been better off to just leave it alone. He made it an issue and the Democrats used it against him. I agree he had other issues as well.

    • http://www.laborunionreport.com LaborUnionReport

      It is sustainable when the dues money from unions are used to prop up a bunch of these faux groups, then there is less burden on the rich libs.

      Besides, it really doesn’t take that much money.

      Note the amount of messaging coordinated by the unions on #Occupy. While the hard dollars the unions are “giving” is minimal, the press releases, the coordination, the use of union attorneys, etc., shows that there doesn’t need to be a lot of money, just a lot of coordination. That’s where the Right fails…in the coordination.

      • YnotNOW

        The amount of press (and mostly positive press) that OWS has garnered is a perfect example of how the sympathetic media can quickly pick up a story-line (and a slanted and easily refuted story line at that), when they agree with the message.

        Compare that to the media’s coverage of the Tea Party.

        The Conservative message can break through, but it is harder.

      • lineholder

        about the lack of coordination on our side. It’s almost painful to watch sometimes. Much as I despise the left, they are far more focused on specific objectives and have a much stronger organization in place than we do.

        When it comes to actually being competitive, until such time as we can begin to present a coordinated force in opposition to their own, we’re leaving ourselves wide open for defeat.

      • http://www.nighttwister.com NightTwister

        Not beyond the teachers union, that is. Unions just don’t have a lot of money or influence in Colorado. That can sure work elsewhere where they do have more money and influence, but if they already have both of those I doubt the “Colorado Model” will do a whole lot more.

        #Occupy was very disjointed here, and as you read at RedState, they got their hat handed to them by Moe & the gang.

        Our problems in Colorado are more the other issue you noted, and that is the Republicans are like the Keystone Kops. The CRTL has never found a candidate that is pro-life enough, and they still have the ear of quite a few Republicans so it plays. They destroyed Bob Shaffer, a solid, consistent conservative.

        There’s also a strong libertarian/anarchy influence too, which actually has quite a bit of influence. So much so, that I quit writing at PPC. We socons would carefully follow the rules, but the libertarians broke them time and time again. I finally had had enough and said I didn’t want my name associated with them anymore.

  • giatny

    The core of the strategy is nothing more than
    maximizing propaganda which clearly Obama’s
    machine has mastered. The best defense would be
    good policies which the Republicans have failed
    to formulate. Gaining control of the House only to
    concentrate on defunding NPR, Planned Parenthood
    etc. was a degree of stupidity that the Dems could
    only have dreamed of. Obama has managed to tie
    up the Repubs in spending squabbles all year. Even worse, the Repubs don’t seem to recognize what he has done. They are ready to come back after the holidays and have the same arguments all over again! There would be no way Obama and
    Pelosi would be successful in 2012 if not for the
    unimaginable incompetence of the House. I have
    watched in horror as they snatch defeat from the
    jaws of victory time and again.

  • doncorleone

    The colorado model works mainly because, these blue statists leave the states they’ve decimated and move into red states. How many hollywood limosine libs have 2nd, 3rd, homes in colorado? Michigananders migrated into ohio, because the welfare’s better, thats been going on for awhile, @ least 20 yrs. before the auto industry tanked. They operate like viruses, that tricks cells into allowing them in.

    • uselogic

      Paraphrasing President Whitmore (Bill Pullman)

      “I saw… their thoughts. I saw what they’re planning to do. They’re like locusts. They’re moving from state to state… their whole civilization. After they’ve consumed every natural resource they move on… and we’re next. Nuke ‘em. Let’s nuke the bastards.”

    • acat

      All those Californians and others flocking to the new golden state…

      Mew

      • texashistorian

        is what I’ve seen happen elsewhere- you get lots of folks move into a place because they are getting away from something, namely high taxes, unemployment, crime whatever. Then, though, they start missing all those government “services” that require tax hikes to fund, and they start voting in the liberals who promise that stuff.

        Example: my Uncle lives in a small town in Arizona (by small, I mean tiny) but where a lot of city people began to buy property because it was quiet, affordable etc. The area my uncle lives in had no streetlights (just dirt roads) and no sidewalks. The “new” folks decided they needed pavement, sidewalks, lights, etc. and began working the county government to provide, which came at a property tax increase. They are slowly changing it into the very thing that they wanted to escape from, and are too blind to see it.

      • Melody Warbington (rwm52)

        Sorry. That one was just sitting there waiting to be said.

        • acat

          So .. you move in, you can vote in the Fed and Statewide elections, but not the county and city .. for a decade.

          The alternative would be to find a way to buy enough land so you don’t *have* neighbors near enough to change things … met a restaurant owner in northern CA who took this approach, she’d bought a couple hundred acres on both sides of the state highway we were on and essentially owned the small town. Good food, too.

          Mew

          • jakeofalltrades

            unfortunately

          • acat

            Federal elections, no problem. Just register per normal.
            Statewide elections, no problem.

            Just city and county and whatnot require 10 years of residency.

            If a family with an 8-year-old moves to said town, they can all start voting locally at the same time.

            Mew

          • jakeofalltrades

            Held that new residents in a state have the same rights as old residents (except with respect to portable benefits like education). The right to travel means the right to be instantly treated as an equal citizen in your new state of residence.

            The right to travel is implicated here because newcomers to the state are denied the right to participate in elections held under state authority, merely because they are new.

            It also violates the due process clause of the 14th amendment.

            Your proposed law would discriminate in voting rights based on length of residency. Voting rights discrimination is subject to strict scrutiny in all cases. You have to prove:

            1. The government has a compelling governmental interest in restricting voting rights
            2. The restriction is narrowly tailored to achieve that goal
            3. The law uses the least restrictive means to achieve its goal

            What exactly is the compelling government interest? It’s obviously to save Texas from the demonrats – but you need to convince the court that that the law is necessary for government or society to function. I don’t think there’s any way to do so. Since I can’t figure out what your compelling interest is, I can’t even move on to elements 2 and 3.

          • adair

            allows the person who registers to vote at the time he obtains his driver’s license to vote “only” for Federal offices: President, V.P., Senator and U.S. Representative.

            I do not know whether that voting privilege expands to State Reps and Senators, County, Township, City, School District, etc. slots the following year. If he retains his voting status as “motor voter” he might not be allowed to vote in these lower brackets.

            This being Illinois, though, whatever outcome is most fraudulent is likely the end desire.

  • avgjo

    Please accept my heartfelt thanks for actually delving into specific tactics and strategies. ColdWarrior does the same; aside from that, I don’t see much of that being done on our side.

    You made an excellent point about disparate conservative groups fighting each other. Why do you suppose this is? Answering this question correctly is important; if we can break the back of such stupidity, we can take America back.

    As an example of how uninvolved (in a serious way) many conservative ‘activists’ are, I seem to recall you saying that you have received less than $100 total donations for all your work. I will do my best this year to start donating regularly, and to start encouraging others I know to do the same. Please keep the good work up and God Bless. May you have a great and productive New Year.

    • http://www.laborunionreport.com LaborUnionReport

      The comment I made in a post regarding donations was specifically made to make a point…especially to the union folks who think that LUR is a “corporate” funded site, or that I am paid to write.

  • angryguy77

    and you will see what’s wrong with the conservative movement.

    Any past sin is brought up and used to kill the chances of good conservatives running all across the country. If you were not 100,000% conservative throughout your entire life, we will make sure you don’t have a snowballs chance in hell at getting a fair shake.

    If you cannot knock our socks off with a great speech(doesn’t matter if it has substance) you will not get elected. The goals and platform of the candidate don’t matter, its how they tickle our ears is what matters most……..even though we make fun of Obama supporters for essentially doing the same thing.

    One person has an affair who’s running for local, state, or fed office are burned at the stake, despite the fact said candidate would do a good job advancing conservatism.

    I’m not for electing gutter rats or rino’s, what I’m for is our base to realize that:

    A)Nobody is perfect and Jesus will never announce his candidacy. Waiting for that special someone will leave us hanging like a girl by the phone after a one night stand.

    B)Reagan’s policies do work and should be followed and used as the base for any candidate, but the man himself is dead and cannot be cloned.

    C)Principles are very important but can change over time. Looking at why and how long ago they changed are equally important things to consider.

    D)Falling for every negative attack by candidate A on candidate B without doing our own research or coming to our own conclusion makes us no different that the brain dead libs.

    Don’t tell me this isn’t a problem. If it wasn’t. we wouldn’t be sitting here hoping that mitt isn’t the nominee.

    • heraklios

      How can you blame conservatives for what you have written about? Conservatives have been the victims of the attacks while Romney has skated. Santorum was never attacked because people deemed him irrelevant. Speaking for myself, I’m not looking for a perfect candidate or perfect conservative at all. I do, however, demand a candidate who shares at least one iota, one shread, of common views with me. I also want a candidate who is not personally repulsive or possibly eligible for the insane assylum.

      As you can see, my criterea for an acceptable conservative candidate are pretty minimal. Consequently, all but two of the Republican candidates meet these, and I could probably even hold my nose and vote for Paul. As you can see, we really aren’t asking for much here; a long way from eating our own.

    • heraklios

      How can you blame conservatives for what you have written about? Conservatives have been the victims of the attacks while Romney has skated. Santorum was never attacked because people deemed him irrelevant. Speaking for myself, I’m not looking for a perfect candidate or perfect conservative at all. I do, however, demand a candidate who shares at least one iota, one shread, of common views with me. I also want a candidate who is not personally repulsive or possibly eligible for the insane assylum.

      As you can see, my criterea for an acceptable conservative candidate are pretty minimal. Consequently, all but two of the Republican candidates meet these, and I could probably even hold my nose and vote for Paul. As you can see, we really aren’t asking for much here; a long way from eating our own.

      • Wubbies World

        .. just a friendly posting tip to avoid double posting.

        Click the post button once and wait a full minute at least for the page lag to catch up. The web page does have a terrible lag problem. As we get closer to the election in the general, it is going to get worse as traffic increases.

        I know some others have the problem not due to page lag. If that is your situation, I apologize for assuming it is. I am only trying to help.

        • heraklios

          Sorry about the double posts.

        • mikefrey

          I assume this happens for others as well.

          Win7 64b, IE8 8.0.7600.16385 64b version.

          Mike

    • Bill S

      You have captured my feelings as well, especially with this:

      Any past sin is brought up and used to kill the chances of good conservatives running all across the country. If you were not 100,000% conservative throughout your entire life, we will make sure you don

  • http://boldcolor.blogspot.com/ Paula

    One segment of this we will never be able to duplicate is the union network, which infuses the campaigns with millions of dollars through forced union dues and has the ability to contact/influence/mobilize millions of members at the drop of a hat.

    We saw this in Ohio this past fall when the unions successfully repealed the union reform law through a state-wide referendum. Boatloads of money were dumped into this effort, much of it coming from the national unions. They sent their members out in droves to collect the 200K signatures required to get it on the ballot. The spending disparity between the two sides was enormous and it was over before it began.

    • Ausonius

      Specifically, unions and other leftist groups spent $40 million dollars, roughly 8 times more than those supporting this limit on public-union power known as Issue 2/Ohio Senate Bill 5.

      See:
      http://www.redstate.com/ausonius/2011/10/09/ohio-republicans-show-america-how-to-lose-in-2012/

      I will not repeat what is in my “diary” detailing their methods, but will simply say the Left won by old-fashioned lying propaganda screamed for months and months through the media…with NO effective response from Republican or Conservative groups.

      They are now reaping the reward…layoffs of unionized policemen, firefighters, teachers, and assorted bureaucrats have begun throughout the state, which the Leftists said would be prevented by voting down Issue 2!!!

      In either case, the Colorado Model does indeed work on our videoized idiotariat oblivious to logic economic or otherwise.

  • renl57

    …on demographics.

    It’s named after Colorado because Obama went after the upscale white suburban and professional voters there. He prefers going after the college educated to the blue-collar workers who were the Dems’ traditional strength. In fact, he’s virtually written off blue-collar workers.

    The Colorado Model is just a rehash of McGovern’s coalition and Eugene McCarthy’s coalition and even Adlai Stevenson’s coalition: Hollywood liberals, academia, suburban women.

    But: Notice that all those coalitions were created in times when the unemployment rate was lower than it is now. When college graduates could expect to get good job offers. When upscale voters had enough affluence that they could spend their time worrying about war and gay marriage and global warming and “Saving The World(tm).”

    That’s not true right now.

    I’m not convinced the Colorado Model can survive the major economic slump we’re in. It’s never been tested in that environment before.

    It doesn’t matter whether you’re white or black, gay or straight, male or feminist. If you’re unemployed for more than 6 months and your home has crashed in value, that is going to be the issue you care about most. And in that you’ll have a lot in common with laid-off blue-collar workers.

    The only model that matters is Carville’s famous line: “It’s the economy, stupid.”

    • trevorb

      Colorado will be going for Obama this time around. We’ll also have Virginia, North Carolina, and Indiana which he won the last time around as well. It’ll come down to two states: Florida and Ohio.

    • http://www.laborunionreport.com LaborUnionReport

      It’s the echo chamber that is created by bunches of groups.

      Think of it as The Big Lie repeated over and over; not by one megaphone, but many.

      A perfect example (one of many) is what occurred from 2003 forward to Bush & Cheney….and their refusal to fight back against unfounded claims.

  • http://pocketchangeproductions.net/ anotherindyfilmguy

    It boils down not so much to the plan, but rather to the fact that one side has an effective plan to implement it’s desire on the the other does not?

    The Left is all about winning at politics no matter what it takes and has a plan to do so while the Right has no coherent national takeover strategy and everyone is mostly on their own against an organized aggressive national Left movement.

    If the Right wants to counter the best thing to do, in my opinion, is these four things:

    1. Put a generation of it’s own into journalism/media etc. That could take a long time and otherwise productive people would have to sacrifice doing something useful* and rewarding to pursue that track.
    2. Put real pressure on media outlets to cut their bias: Sue them into the ground for slander/libel over and over again and again until people start getting fired. Withdraw some of the big money advertising and shove it to “less” biased outlets.
    3. Whenever possible investigate and prosecute the .orgs for fraud and shut them down. Might not be as hard as it sounds considering that some of the .orgs look like they’re piggy banks for the organizers.
    4. Get the conservative vote out as much as possible and watchdog/prosecute the election fraud.

    In my opinion Journalism has become a tool that is exploited for propaganda purposes instead of the unbiased information source it has hoodwinked many into believing it is. Give journalism the big tobacco treatment starting with massive lawsuits that include the listserv coordination efforts to prove the intent of the bias, the driving of a group to shape the bias of the lie put forward and nail them under RICO a well for added benefit. While there would be a big scream/meme that this would trample first amendment rights etc I disagree in that free speech is protected until it becomes harmful in unlawful ways such as libel/defamation and sedition/treason whether individually or as a group.

    If the Right lacks the will to prosecute because it’s distasteful/bad publicity etc what happens when #4 is no longer enough? The options remaining are “become the enemy by adopting the same tactics/strategems” or “hope for the best and get destroyed”**.

    *by something useful I mean a long prosperous life doing things that help benefit their families, others and themselves.

    **it’s possible the possible the problem will fix itself through such massive rejection at the voting booth that even the best election fraud cannot deal with the landslide. Hopefully that will occur since I see the above options as unlikely to occur for some change people might want.
    /2c

    • adair

      by adopting the same tactics/strategems of the Democrats is their having been there-done that.

      It’s a problem that Republican lawmakers who take bribes or use coercion, whether for good or bad policy, run into: They ALWAYS get caught, because the Democrats, having done that stuff for so long, recognize it immediately and bring down the wrath of the press (and most Republicans) upon the perp.

      How many times have those of the Stupid Party been kicked out of office while those of the Evil Party are still waiting for a “hearing?” (see Maxine Waters (D) Ca)

  • katiesilverspring

    “to create a vast infrastructure of liberal organizations that produces an anti-Republican, anti-conservative echo chamber in politics and the media” – this only leaves out a more insidious development from the Colorado Model, that is, the breach within churches that has allowed the same echo chamber to promote a blue-state equivalent. It isn’t just the political and media organizations contributing to the harangue.

  • fortcollins

    Colorado flipped from red to blue on a dime. The reality of the flip was a bit simpler than the so-called “Colorado Model” suggests.

    Colorado has a large and influential block of independent voters. It is essentially a three-party state, and has been for quite some time.

    Under GOP leadership, Colorado amended the state constitution to restrict tax increases, reduced spending, and reduced taxes. Most voters accepted these changes.

    The touchstone for the change was the increasing conservatism of the state judiciary. Under Colorado’s system, judges are appointed by the Governor after being recommended by a judicial nominating commission. Control of the commission is split, but long-term control by one party allows the commission to reflect party values. The GOP control under Governor Owen allowed more conservative judges to be placed on the bench. That control also pushed for tort reform legislation, which precipitated the backlash.

    One organization – the trial lawyers – engineered a campaign to repeal the tax cap amendment and “free” the state from the “shackles” of an “overly restrictive tax policy.” Their real agenda was the judicial branch. They ran an exceptionally successful media campaign and succeeded in gaining control of both houses of the state Legislature. (The GOP narrowly recaptured the House in 2010.) They repealed the tax restrictions, went on a spending spree, raised taxes, and stuffed the judicial branch with pro-tort-plaintiff judges. They also recruited and ran Bill Ritter for Governor, appealing to moderates by touting his supposed “conservative” social issue credentials. Ritter paved the way for Hickenlooper, who is significantly more liberal.

    The actual “model” was really quite simple: hide the real agenda, develop a public agenda that appeals to independent voters, and use that as a vehicle to gain power; once in power, implement the real agenda. There was no grand alliance of liberal organizations. There was one darned effective and well funded campaign by the trial lawyers.

    The Colorado GOP shot itself in the foot several times in 2010, as well, most notably in the horribly botched Gubernatorial campaign.

    The reality of the tax burden is becoming more evident each passing month. Businesses are fleeing Colorado for neighboring states with more favorable tax laws, such as Wyoming and Utah. Government spending is out of control. Economic independents are becoming dissatisfied with the current state of affairs.

    It may take a couple elections, but Colorado will return to the GOP fold. Here’s what that will require. First, quality candidates who can articulate the economic concerns faced by small business owners and families. Second, a viable plan to reduce government spending and taxes, without allowing the state’s deteriorating infrastructure to collapse. Third, more openness in the GOP to hearing the concerns of real people, rather than cuddling with country club insiders. Fourth, an effective media campaign. Fifth, a willingness to challenge even the most entrenched Democrats in their strongholds.

    Just my 2 cents worth.

  • travis690

    Another factor to consider, that was only hinted at in the article, is that people on the right are harder to organize into groups. The leftists, with high connections to unionization, always operate with group-think. And as such, many on the right tend to be single-issue types that will reject others because of disparate views on off-point issues. We see this happening in the Presidential polling, whereby many people say they will NOT support a certain candidate because of one (typically) view that is different from their own. Examples:

    1. “I won’t support Mitt Romney (or Jon Huntsman) because he’s a Mormon.”
    2. “I won’t support Ron Paul, even though he has the best ideas about our economy; his foreign policy is insane.”
    3. “Newt Gingrich has too much baggage (a word only used in attacks against Gingrich, but not against anyone else).”

    This is how many on the right view things. But on the left, they will say things like, “I’ll vote for the Democrat.” Their objections are usually placated by the time of the election.

    • texashistorian

      though perhaps less so. Keep in mind Ralph Nader probably got GW Bush elected in 2000 with the Florida vote.

      I submit that primaries are this way: most of the folks here, whoever they are shilling for as a candidate will vote for the Republican. If ever there was a time not to vote for the Republican is was 08, and yet I voted for McCain. I will vote for whomever it is, even Luap Nor versus having another four years of Obama. I don’t believe we will see fracturing on the right by November. All of the hurt feelings and bruised sensibilities will be largely healed by then, and we have the advantage that every single one of our potential nominees is better than John McCain.

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  • centristdemocrat

    The Wisconsin Model promoted by the American Majority Organization for conservative candidates and the conservative coalition is the best way to counter the Democratic strategy. The website is www.americanmajority.org.

  • http://www.floridapoliticalpress.com/ tomtflorida

    I’ve watched this roll-out for the past couple of years and have written a lot about it. Folks don’t realize it yet, but progressives are in the latter stages of implementing the “Colorado Model” here in Florida and the state has more or less already been flipped. The 2014 gubernatorial election will prove me to be right on this.

    I believe the strategy has advanced since Colorado with a litany of non-profit groups adding to a strong coalition that is the essence of the Democratic grassroots movement. The very effort that left the GOP flatfooted in 2012. Groups such as ‘OUR Walmart’ and ‘Jobs for Justice’ that are front groups for Big Labor are now a huge part of this effort to reshape the face of politics in this country, with the union bankroll behind it.

    AFL-CIO’s Richard Trumka made his name by building coalitions and alliances with nonprofit advocacy groups to strengthen union causes and he made it clear recently that unions will “adapt” to falling rolls “by making the benefits of representation available to all workers.” The fast food workers protest we saw this week in New York City was not spontaneous, folks.

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