By DHinMI
This seems to have passed by with little or no notice, but in terms of Democratic politics for the next two years, it’s very important.
Harold Ickes is the new President of America Coming Together.
There’s plenty of speculation that either the FEC or the courts will issue rulings that will dramatically change and possibly even curtail the role of 527’s in future elections. But until that happens, ACT will continue to fill a crucial niche, as the organization entrusted by large soft money donors—especially organized labor—with doing the GOTV and voter registration that contributed greatly to Kerry’s 9 million vote increase over Gore’s winning total four years earlier.
Should the FEC or the courts dramatically change the campaign finance laws, Ickes may prove even more valuable. He was, after all, the key fundraiser and the person who orchestrated Clinton’s soft-money blitz against Dole in early 1996, essentially defining Dole before he had any opportunity to respond. It was a new strategy championed heavily by Ickes, both in its conception and its implementation. Again in 2003 and 2004, Ickes led the way in looking at the new campaign finance restrictions and spotting the opportunities; he set up and ran The Media Fund, which saved Kerry’s but with tens of millions of dollars of television advertising that pushed back against Bush while the Bush campaign was hammering the cash-poor Kerry throughout March and April.
Ickes is a brilliant organizer, experienced politico, and prodigious fundraiser. He’s a worthy successor to outgoing ACT President Ellen Malcolm, who heads back to her full-time gig as founder and President of EMILY’s list. And he’s the right person to have as ACT faces new legal and administrative challenges to its program of driving up turnout among voters in base Democratic communities.
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