The media is reporting that Tom DeLay is set to unveil his own right-wing version of MoveOn.org as he seeks to salvage his own reputation and the Republican Party’s electoral chances heading into 2008:
Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has formed a new grass-roots organization that he says will help conservatives better convey their message to voters and take back control of Congress.
The Coalition for a Conservative Majority (CCM) — co-founded by Mr. DeLay, Texas Republican, and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell — will establish “chapters” in all 50 states, which will be used to lobby lawmakers, coordinate political messages and influence members of the press.
“Right now, liberals are better organized, funded and active than I have ever witnessed,” Mr. DeLay said. “Our goal is to work with the talented leaders of the conservative movement to complement their efforts, using an army of activists to push for the policies and leadership conservatives are begging for.”
Roll Call reports that while CCM is DeLay’s baby, Ken Blackwell is going to be doing most of the heavy lifting:
CCM, a DeLay brainchild, actually will be headed by former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (R), who lost his 2006 gubernatorial bid to then-Rep. Ted Strickland (D). But DeLay is helping to establish CCM as a viable group and is in the midst of raising money for the venture and building its infrastructure.
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CCM plans to establish several local chapters in major media markets throughout the country (a meeting of the Houston chapter, in DeLay’s political backyard, is scheduled for Nov. 27). CCM particularly is targeting those media markets where left-of-center advocacy groups and 527s are operating.
Through these chapters and Blackwell’s personal outreach, CCM plans to “identify, recruit, train, inspire, activate and mobilize conservative activists to take specific action on policy issues and political causes” nationwide, according to an advance copy of the group’s brochure obtained by Roll Call.
Moving forward, DeLay will remain active in CCM, in particular as honorary finance chairman. DeLay has spent the past year building the foundation of the organization and preparing it for launch. Blackwell is serving as CCM’s chairman.
Blackwell is a logical choice to partner with DeLay in this effort to unify the Republican Party’s economic and social conservative base since, following the failure of his own 2006 gubernatorial bid, Blackwell was embraced by both strands of the GOP’s base, securing not only a position as Senior Fellow for Family Empowerment with the socially conservative Family Research Council, but positions with the economically conservative National Taxpayers Union and Club for Growth as well.
On top of that, Blackwell shares DeLay’s gift for inflammatory, partisan rhetoric:
CCM believes it will be uniquely suited to bring together “security, economic, and cultural conservatives” by uniting them behind a common agenda committed to protecting American families from their myriad of “enemies”:
Conservatives believe that security without prosperity is fleeting and that prosperity without security is impossible. We believe the family – rather than the group or the consumer – is the basic unit of society and civilization and that government as such has a special responsibility to protect our families, and in particular our children from all enemies: foreign, domestic, or judicial.
It is good to see that DeLay has not lost his taste for demonizing and threatening the judiciary since leaving office.
