From Roll Call:

Prominent liberal activists last week laid the cornerstone for a network of unregulated Democratic-leaning political groups that are expected to dump perhaps $100 million or more into media buys and voter outreach in the run-up to the 2008 elections.

John Podesta, chief of staff in the Clinton White House and now president of the liberal Center for American Progress, Anna Burger, chairwoman of the labor coalition Change to Win, and Taco Bell heir-turned philanthropist Rob McKay filed paperwork with the Internal Revenue Service for The Fund for America, a group registered under section 527 of the federal tax code.

Representatives for Podesta, Burger and McKay all declined Roll Call’s request to discuss the new group, but several knowledgeable Democratic strategists confirmed that the The Fund for America will become a clearinghouse for soft money political contributions, limit-free gifts that are known for bankrolling television spots such as the “Swift Boat” television advertisements that during the 2004 presidential campaign questioned Sen. John Kerry’s (D-Mass.) Vietnam War service.

The strategists said it’s too early to know which specific campaigns the new group will underwrite but that it is expected to focus exclusively on issue-based television and radio campaigns, door-to-door canvassing and direct mail.

The fund also is expected to be distinctly different from its 2004 liberal forefathers in two ways: The group will not have employees and it is not expected to magically disappear after the election.

The anchoress may not be happy with all the people on the right, but she has made it plain she does not care for the Clintons. She said the media would give Hillary a tongue bath. I think she is right.

I’m going to do my Nation column this week about last night’s debate, but one thing I found particularly offensive, aside from the atrocious questioning, was, from the standpoint of sitting in the audience, the way CNN producers purposely ginned up the crowd to cheer over and over, as if they were pom-pommed cheerleaders at a high school pep rally. This is a ridiculously immature manner in which to conduct an alleged debate on the nation’s future, but it also interfered with the debate itself, as a bunch of rowdies in the crowd felt empowered to shout over the candidates’ answers. Overall, it was an abysmal performance, but I’ll have more ordered thoughts later in the week. I thought Joe Biden “won” the debate by the way, not that it matters… The loser was Wolf Blitzer.

I was sitting in U.S. District Court a couple of weeks ago when about 60 people from places like Russia, Ethiopia, Japan and Canada were sworn in as U.S. citizens by Magistrate Judge Lawrence R. Leavitt. Then they gave themselves a rousing round of applause.

Among them was 20-year-old Maria Parra-Sandoval, a junior in the honors program at UNLV. She was born in Ixtlan del Rio, about 60 miles northeast of Puerto Vallarta.

 

Maria Luisa Parra-Sandoval, from Las Vegas, Nevada is a Sophomore attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas majoring in Political Science. She has volunteered in the following capacities: voter registration, UNLV Student Organization of Latinos Dream Act Campaign, the Cambridge Community Center, El Dia de los Ni–os at the Clark County Government Center, Gear Up, and on the Kappa Delta Chi’s “This is My Life” program.

“It is an honor to know that I will be surrounded by 20 other Latina women who are dedicated and passionate about community service and who are change agents in our society.”

Parra-Sandoval is a member of the Honors College at UNLV. She was selected to attend the prestigious Public Policy and Leadership Conference at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and to serve as a political communications intern for Sen. Harry Reid in Washington, D.C., according to a press release the school issued about two years ago.

A known Muslim activist
An Arkansas Democrat Party staff member with a pro Clinton history
A repeat appearance mother of a Marine
A union activist that Obama knew because he pointed that out and it was no where in her introduction description.

For CNN to describe them as undecided voters calls into the picture their credibility.

With what they should have known having a fair description of their history would have a least let viewers have some sense of historic linkage.

More is being discovered by the hour with simple search engine use and it is appearing in comment threads all over the place.

If this was a Fox debate, Media Matters would already have their 30 page research report circulating among the usual suspects.

What is needed now is a strong credible platform to point out the issues involved and get CNN to own up to their part in this charade.