Bush and Rove’s Citizens United fueled comeback. I $hit you not

(2 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

Crossposted at Daily Kos

At least half a dozen leaders of the Republican Party have joined forces to create a new political group with the goal of organizing grass-roots support and raising funds ahead of the 2010 midterm elections, according to people familiar with the effort.

The organizational details of the group, expected to be called the American Action Network, are still being worked out, but it is expected to contain both a 501(c)3 and a 501(c)4 component. In simpler terms, a 501(c)3 can advocate on policy matters while a 501(c)4 is an election arm.

Republican leaders expected to be affiliated with the group include former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, former Bush adviser Karl Rove, Republican strategist Ed Gillespie, and Republican donor Fred Malek.

wsj.com

    Jeb Bush, George Bush, same difference, same incompetent governing style, failed ideas and Corporatist agenda.

    More below the fold

    Cause nothing says grassroots like a Bush and a Rove.

    My original title was “GOP to use Citizens United to further Corporatist Astroturfed agenda” until I did some more research and found this . . . .

    Just two weeks after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of opening the floodgates of corporate donations into electoral politics, a class of Wall Street Republicans have assembled around a new GOP group that aims to capitalize on corporate America’s empowerment. According to The New York Times, the group aims to “develop and market conservative ideas…hoping to capitalize on the fundraising and electioneering possibilities opened up by a recent Supreme Court ruling.” “This administration as well as Citizens United – when you combine the two the prospects for funding these types of efforts are greatly enhanced,” said former senator Norm Coleman, one of the group’s organizers.

thinkprogress.org

Bold text added by diarist

    To develop and market Conservative ideas? It’s not like Conservatives haven’t had 30 years to do so! They have News Corporations, the entire AM radio bandwidth and most of the traditional media to use as their mouthpiece and they still need more Think Tanks, more astroturfed grassroots outlets because the simple, undeniable reality is that Conservative policies when put into practice SUCK for 99% of Americans but are super awesome for the wealthiest 1% who would love to convince us that, as Micheal Steele put it recently “A Million dollars isn’t that much after taxes, baby”

    It’s like an A team of Conservative political losers who have been rejected by the voters are getting a second chance to impose their unpopular policies thanks to (surprise ) Corporate legalized bribe money that will flood into their pockets thanks to Citizens United.

     We need to fight this if the Progressive Movement is to stand a fighting chance in the short term, let alone the long term, and I have a plan to do so (which I’ll explain in due time), but first, allow me to introduce to you the American Action Network, a Millionaire sponsored, astroturfed think tank in the mold of ThinkProgress.org and the Center for American Progress.

    Meet the Wall Street Millionaire Republicans behind the new Citizens United fueled GOP think tank, The American Action Network.

The Wall Street Republicans behind American Action Network

Robert K. Steel

Former Goldman Sachs Exec & Wachovia CEO

Kenneth Langone

Home Depot Founder, Investment Banker

Ed Gillespie

Fmr RNC Chairman, Lobbyist

Fred Malek

Thayer Capital Partners Founder

Fred Malek is a super-wealthy Republican operative who got his start with the Nixon administration. The former co-owner of the Texas Rangers with George W. Bush was responsible for a 1972 scheme that was investigated by the Senate Watergate Committee to politicize broad segments of the federal government in favor of reelecting Nixon

thinkprogress.org

    It’s like America never learns. The GOP hasn’t learned anything from their Conservative policy failures. If anything, the average Republican is even dumber than before Bush Jr came into office. I didn’t even think that was possible.

    But with all the Corporate bribe money in the world about to be unleashed on the interests of Democracy like they have never been before anything is possible.

    Sore loser Norm Coleman from Minnesota, the meathead ex Senator who lost to Al Franken and forced a recount and contested the election results for more than half a year, unlike the activist judges on the Supreme Court who ruled on Bush v Gore.

    Those Conservative Corporatist activist judges on the Supreme Court who legislate from behind the bench, ha ha ha, won’t we ever learn? Chief Justice Roberts has a corporatist agenda, where Corporations > People, State > Citizen and the Executive branch > the Legislative branch every single time.

    And thus we face the immediate aftermath of Citizens United, an American political landscape where the corruption and manipulation of America’s elected officials and voters will become so much more pervasive than it already is that the real grassroots voices that are demanding “Change we can believe in” are being ignored entirely by not only the Conservative media in favor of astroturfed tea parties and but also by our own Democratic leadership that would rather act in a bipartisan manner to deny us meaningful reform.

    The fact is, until Democrats dump the Lieberman’s and Ben Nelson’s, the Stupak’s and Heath Shuler’s and Harold Ford’s and embrace policies that are IN OPPOSITION to conservative failed ideas we do not have a two party system. We have a one party system where Conservative always win and control the agenda. Why is that? Because money is more important than anything else, even winning elections. Money equals speech, and until Non-Corporatists can get organized and put their money where their mouths are, we can only expect the legalized bribery in Washington to get worse and become a truly bipartisan effort to subvert the will of We The People.

    Now is not the time to give up. Now is the time to get organized, to fight back, to yell louder, or else the spirit of a Democracy for the people and not for the Special Interests only will entirely disappear from the face of America.

    And when that happens, the Bush’s and Rove’s of the world will be waiting and salivating for the chance to make their comeback.

Also crossposted at ProgressiveElectorate.com