Things We Missed During The Rush Debate

I know. It's been mentioned before. But look at the level of coordination that goes on between the White House and liberal blogs. And the fact the Politico reports it is in and of itself newsworthy.

The “8:45 A.M. call,” as it’s referred to by members, began three weeks ago, and it marks a new level in coordination by the White House’s allies at a time when the conservative opposition is struggling for a toe-hold and major agenda items like health care reform appear closer than ever to passage.

The call has helped attempts to link the Republican Party to radio host Rush Limbaugh, and has served as the launching ground for attacks on critics of Obama’s policy proposals. It springs from a recognition of what was lacking in the Clinton years, said Jennifer Palmieri, the senior vice president for communications at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, one of the groups hosting the call.

“[CAP President John] Podesta’s and my experience was in the White House during the Clinton years, and we didn’t have a coordinated echo chamber on the outside backing us up,” she said. “There’s a real interest on the progressive side for groups to want to coordinate with each other and leverage each other’s work in a way I haven’t ever seen before.”

The call is hosted by Progressive Media, a project of the CAP Action Fund and the Media Matters Action Fund. The project began last year as a launching pad for attacks on John McCain, but failed to raise money for television advertisements, and served in the later days of the presidential campaign as a platform for disseminating opposition research critical of his policy plans. White House officials do not take part in the calls.

The calls are led by its top staffer, Tara McGuinness, who will also head Progressive Media's "communications research and analysis war room" to wage spin and policy wars throughout the day, Palmieri said.

The call has proved particularly effective at coordinating attacks on critics, said Jacki Schechner, the national communications director for Health Care for America Now, a labor-backed alliance of groups that support Democratic efforts to expand health care.

Shocka! Media Matters is in the middle of this?!??!111eleventy!!! I mean, the fact that they attack Limbaugh the same day the the White House, Olbermann, and others do must have been a mere coincidence.

I could insert some snark about how Allah and his defenders acted during this, but they are not going to budge, and seem to just get more defensive when called out. So I won't.*

*And yeah, I'm being a bit passive-aggressive, but so what?

Posted by: eddiebear at 12:04 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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