CAF In The News

abcnews.go.com — To think we worried that this convention week would be dull.

To the pile of history-making events in this remarkable political year, we add another: There will be no Republican National Convention, essentially, on Monday. There might not be one on Tuesday, either -- not really, not as we've come to recognize one.

washingtontimes.com — Barack Obama had his work cut out for him coming into this week's Democratic National Convention. Democrats said after two years of running for president, Americans still did not know him well. Polls showed he had fallen behind John McCain on key issues. The Republicans had beaten him up pretty bad throughout the month of August.

Pollster John Zogby remarked the other day that "As the Democrats head into their convention, should they be singing the Eurythmics 1985 hit 'Here Comes That Sinking Feeling'?"

online.wsj.com — Walk into almost any hotel here this week and you can find an odd sight: Liberal Democrats starting their day by lobbying moderate and conservative Democrats.

The lobbyists are members of the Progressive Democrats of America, an activist group working to keep the party true to liberal priorities, and they have been assigned to every hotel housing Democratic convention delegates.
[Doubts on the Left]

"At breakfast, where they go to get their talking points [from the national party], we will be there," says Tim Carpenter, a veteran of Democratic campaigns and national director of the PDA.

features.csmonitor.com — Washington – As the 2008 Democratic National Convention kicks off in Denver, the party is bursting with optimism and a sense of possibility.

Come the Nov. 4 election, Democrats are likely to build on their slim majorities in both houses of Congress, and their new standard-bearer, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, has a serious chance of retaking the White House for his party after eight years in the wilderness. On most issues, from the economy and the Iraq war to healthcare and education, a majority of voters say they favor Democratic positions over Republican.

thehill.com — The liberal Campaign for America’s Future is launching an economic war room to help congressional challengers, state and local officials and activists navigate what is currently the top issue of the 2008 campaign.

The $440,000 project is set to deliver its message to about 50 congressional campaigns and thousands of officials, bloggers and activists, said Campaign for America’s Future co-director Robert Borosage.

Borosage said the war room approach is important because the economy is such a fast-changing issue.

“There is constant new information coming in; there’s a constant set of different hooks you can use to make the argument,” Borosage said.

The war room is working in concert with author Drew Westen and Democratic pollster Celinda Lake, and it will provide poll-tested talking points. The Economic Policy Institute will also be providing facts, figures and opinions.

The project will be detailed in a conference call Wednesday.

politico.com — A Democratic activist group is expected to announce the opening of an “economic war room” Wednesday.

The Campaign for America’s Future is planning to send daily dispatches to candidates, bloggers, talk show hosts and others to bulk up its party’s economic messages.

In addition to daily message alerts, the group also is considering parachuting additional resources into races where economic issues are most salient.

For instance, the group could dispatch a blogger, train local bloggers and organize events around the economy that could draw local publicity. They have no plans now for television advertising.

“The change in the economy has been abrupt, serious, and it’s a created a different kind of recession,” said Robert Borosage, co-director of Campaign for America’s Future.

voices.washingtonpost.com — AUSTIN -- The economy may be the top worry of most Americans, but a straw poll of attendees at Netroots Nation 2008 shows that liberal bloggers and Democratic activists are looking to the environment as much as their pocketbooks.

Asked their top concern, the bloggers in the informal survey cited "energy and global warming" (19 percent), "the growing gap between the rich and the poor" (17 percent) and "loss of constitutional rights" (15 percent). The straw poll was conducted July 17-20 at a conference booth by the Campaign for America's Future and Democracy Corps. Drawing 13 percent of the 2,000 registered conference goers, the poll is scheduled for formal release tomorrow.

latimes.com — Last week, consumers were worried about salmonella in their fresh tomatoes. Before that, it was E. coli in their spinach. Something is wrong. Eating a salad is not supposed to be a high-risk activity

But the problem isn't so much farmers. It's ideology. Historian Rick Perlstein, author of "Nixonland," calls it "E. coli conservatism" -- government shrinks and shrinks until people get sick.

Many conservatives have gone far beyond that. Their traditional embrace of small government has been replaced with outright disdain for it. Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, doesn't just want to shrink government. To use his words, he wants government "down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub."

political-buzz.com — We are happy to bring you another edition of our “Political Dispatch” podcast series from PoliticalBuzz.com. “PD” is a weekly series bringing you insight and analysis from the best political journalists and strategists as well as exclusive interviews with top politicians and campaign staffers.

This week we talked with…

Robert Borosage - president of the Institute for America’s Future and co-director of its sister organization, the Campaign for America’s Future. He also writes occasional columns for the Huffington Post blog.

Robert has been a frequent guest on the program and returned today to chat about the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s recent controversial remarks about Barack Obama and what, if any, rift has developed between Obama and the liberal/progressive base of the Democratic Party as the Dem nominee makes a subtle shift to the center for the general.

guardian.co.uk — WASHINGTON (AP) - Health care is returning as a campaign issue, with special interest and advocacy groups preparing to spend at least $60 million to push politicians to embrace universal access to medical coverage.

The efforts, one by a coalition of labor and liberal groups and another by AARP, also include direct appeals to the presidential contenders and congressional candidates to change a system in which millions of people are without coverage.

A coalition of labor unions and Democratic-leaning organizations called Health Care for America Now on Tuesday was announcing a $40 million campaign to promote affordable health care coverage for all. The group is spending $1.5 million on a national cable ad, and print and Web advertising. It also plans to spend $25 million on advertising through the end of the year. The effort will concentrate on key congressional districts in 45 states, where the coalition also plans to deploy 100 organizers.