A Videographer In Every Pot?
BY Michael Turk | Monday, March 26 2007
I received an e-mail from the DNC today with a rather interesting message...
As the new Research Director at the DNC, I'm working to build a Party apparatus that can immediately respond to missteps, lies, and scandals of the 2008 election cycle, and establish a narrative that our party's nominee can use when the primary season ends.
Just as you helped put organizers on the ground in all 50 states, you can help build the Democratic Party's research shop...
Do you remember the George Allen "macaca" video?
That piece of coverage played an instrumental role in the election of Senator Jim Webb in Virginia -- and winning back the Senate in 2006. But this turning point in Senator Webb's campaign would not have been possible without his dedicated staff members following George Allen's every move -- and this costs money.
The Democratic Party needs to support that kind of diligent reporting in the new election cycle -- with video crews permanently on the ground in early primary states, for example. What did John McCain say in New Hampshire? Who did Rudy Giuliani visit in Iowa? What did Mitt Romney do in South Carolina? The DNC needs to know the answers to these questions every time a Republican makes a campaign stop, and we have to be ready to take the proper course of action. Let's set up a state-of-the-art operation to bypass the media and take the story of their lies, flip-flops, and out-of-whack priorities directly to you.
Despite the fact that this is a fundraising pitch, and may be all blow and no whistle, the thought of a 50-state videography plan should actually make Republicans nervous. The sheer volume of footage the Democrats could grab on Republican gaffes at all levels cannot be underestimated.
The presidential campaigns will have their own opposition guys tracking their foes. The real benefit from this would be to have a party sponsored videographer at every congressional event, every pancake breakfast. The number of down ballot races that could be swung by an off-the-cuff remark is greater than the less remote possibility that someone more polished will hand you the silver bullet.
While the GOP doesn't exactly have an exclusive on saying or doing stupid things, it will certainly seem that way if YouTube is flooded with DNC produced videos and our guys are putting up nothing.