Republican operatives have started duplicating the political fundraising and organizational structure that catapulted state Democrats to power in 2004 and has helped keep them there since.

A PowerPoint presentation obtained by The Denver Post details the formation for Republicans of an outside-the- party umbrella organization called Common Sense Colorado, which hopes to direct $10 million to loosely affiliated conservative political groups.

A network of at least a half-dozen entities has taken shape in the past 16 months. And while there are no records with the secretary of state's office showing what they've raised so far, the presentation puts that total at $702,000 from a handful of corporate and industry donors, with prospects for $8.8 million.

The documents describe a "formal structure that controls all soft money efforts in Colorado" that's overseen by "political managers, business executives and attorneys to ensure full compliance."

But the lawyer who's helping establish the mass of nonprofit corporations and 527 political advocacy groups said the entities tied to Common Sense Colorado are just the tip of the conservative, soft-money iceberg.

"This is just one set of entities. This is 10 percent overall of what people are doing out there," said Jon Anderson, a lawyer with Holland and Hart and former chief legal counsel to Gov. Bill Owens. "There are a ton doing this sort of thing. There are so many entities out there that are being formed because of people's general dissatisfaction with government right now."

What works for Democrats . . .

The "Colorado Model" is widely credited as the source of the Democrats' recent success in the state and has been exported to liberal groups across the country.

Common Sense Colorado's presentation points out the control Republicans have lost since 2002: two U.S. Senate seats, two U.S. House seats, the governorship, the state treasurer's office, the secretary of state's office, and the state House and Senate.

Republicans were stunned in 2004 — a banner year for the GOP in the presidential election and elsewhere — when Colorado Democrats took back control of the state House and Senate for the first time in more than four decades.

Two years later, Democrat Bill Ritter reclaimed the governor's mansion for his party, giving the Democrats control of the governorship and both houses of the legislature for the first time in nearly half a century.

Then, just before the 2008 election, the liberals' model came to light, revealing a scheme where a high-powered board directed millions to a network of advocacy, get-out-the-vote, outreach and media groups. In 2006, the Democratic alliance marshaled at least $16 million to a web of 37 diffuse organizations, records show.

The organized effort with a decentralized structure allowed for control by key politicos without providing an obvious target for political opponents and their lawsuits.
It was completely new, said author and former Republican state Rep. Rob Witwer.

"It was a better political mousetrap, and it was perfectly allowed under the rules," said Witwer, who co-authored the book "The Blueprint: How the Democrats Won Colorado (and Why Republicans Everywhere Should Care)" with journalist Adam Schrager. "Now that the model is well-known, I think people are impressed with the simplicity and the innovation of the model."

Democrats planned to keep up the pressure on Republicans after an expected setback put the brakes on Senate consideration of financial regulations.
Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., leaves the Senate floor during a procedural vote for the financial reform bill on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, April 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
(AP)

But their task got slightly more complicated by the defection — at least for now — of one Democrat, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska.

Nelson voted with Republicans on Monday to deny Democrats the 60 votes they needed to advance the legislation to a floor debate. Democrats were expected to try again Tuesday, and yet again the day after if necessary.

In a statement, Nelson, a conservative Nebraska Democrat, said his vote reflected concerns about the bill raised by Nebraska businessmen. Before the vote, Nelson huddled with Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd to discuss a regulatory item of interest to one Nebraska businessman in particular — billionaire investor Warren Buffett.

The legislation would require derivatives — previously unregulated exotic securities — to be traded in open exchanges and cleared through a third party that would guarantee the contracts. An agreement Monday between Dodd and Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., would exempt existing derivatives from the clearing requirements.
Lincoln's proposal also would have exempted existing derivatives contracts from margin requirements, or collateral. Dodd succeeded in eliminating the collateral exception. That would potentially add significant costs to companies with derivatives portfolios, such as Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

"I was prepared to grandfather existing derivatives that have not been cleared, but I can't say you can't have margin requirements," said Dodd, D-Conn., explaining his discussion with Nelson.

In his statement, Nelson asserted that "no one should view my vote today as an indication that I won't support the bill currently being negotiated by the Banking Committee."

President Obama left white, middle-age male voters in his rear-view mirror Monday in launching his first midterm election pitch, calling on "young people, African Americans, Latinos and women" to deliver for Democrats in November.

In a video to supporters, Obama urged those who helped get him elected in 2008 not to abandon Democrats in an election year that is shaping up to take a chunk out of the Democratic majority in Congress.

In the appeal, Obama says new voters who "powered our victory in 2008" need to "stay involved" in 2010.

"It will be up to each of you to make sure that the young people, African Americans, Latinos and women, who powered our victory in 2008 stand together once again," he said.

"If you help us do that -- if you help us make sure that first-time voters in 2008 make their voices heard again in November -- then together we will deliver on the promise of change and hope and prosperity for generations to come," he said.

The promotion, which reaches out to constituencies that voted in large measure for Obama but typically vote in lower percentages than older and white voters, is being sponsored by the Democratic National Committee and Organizing for America, the group formed from Obama's massive e-mail support during the 2008 campaign.

Obama also tweeted his message: "Announcing #OFA and @democratsdotorg plans for the 2010 elections—and the important role that you can play. Watch: http://j.mp/blRzwT."

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said as the November races gear up, the president wanted to speak to his supporters.

"There are elections in November and I'm sure the president is going to participate," Gibbs said.

While National Republican Committee Chairman Michael Steele has also said that he wants the party to reach out to minority voters, the president's appeal to minority voters comes just as immigration reform takes center stage inside Washington debate circles.

The statement also echoes Obama's warning during the health care debate -- that voters will decide in November whether they like what the administration and Democratic Congress is doing. His remarks repeat the positioning from congressional Democrats who allege Republicans are in the pocket of "big business" to the detriment of the American people.

"Despite everything we've done, our work isn't finished. Today, the health insurance companies, the Wall Street banks, and the special interests who have ruled Washington for too long are already focused on November’s congressional elections. They see these elections as a chance to put their allies back in power, and undo all that we have accomplished. So this year, I need your help once more," he said.

But National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Brian Walsh issued a response saying the president's "rally cry" is an attempt to sell a product independent voters don't want.

"I think the fundamental problem is that candidate Obama has turned out to be a much different person than President Obama and independent voters across the country are simply not buying what they’re trying to sell," Walsh told Fox News Radio. "That's because the politics of hope has been replaced by the policies of higher taxes, reckless spending and more government control over Americans' everyday lives."

Walsh noted that each time the president has gotten involved in an election over the past 15 months, it has not worked out well for Democrats.

"We certainly expect that he's going to go out on the campaign trail but I would point out that he sought to do the same thing in New Jersey and Virginia and most recently in Massachusetts and in all three elections the Democrats lost even with the president's last minute campaigning."
Fox News polling from last week shows that Obama has a 39 percent approval rating from independent voters with a 47 percent disapproval. A separate Gallup Poll out last week showed that self-identified party affiliation had reached its narrowest gap since 2005, when the war in Iraq under the Bush administration was growing unpopular. The poll out Friday showed 46 percent of Americans identified as Democrats or leaned Democratic, while 45 percent identified as or leaned Republican.