"Democrats Adopting Republicans' Voter-Turnout Techniques"

Cybercast News Service:

As the "right-wing slime machine" gears up -- and presidential adviser Karl Rove works to turn out the GOP vote -- the DCCC said it is launching its Voter Turnout Fund to "match the Republicans blow for blow and voter for voter."

Carville and Begala describe the voter-turnout push as the "most robust, sophisticated get-out-the-vote program ever executed for a midterm election," and guess what - it requires money -- $250,000 by August 31, the DCCC said.

The DCCC said contributions will fund legal teams in every congressional district - teams that are "ready to fly to protect the rights of each and every American as the Republicans work to keep voters away from the ballot box."

In addition, the DCCC said it will "micro-target" swing voters and strong Democrats with email urging them to get to the polls on Election Day.

It says 40,000 volunteers and field operatives will make 2 million phone calls to voters "who can make a difference and put our candidates over the top." In at least 50 congressional districts, local volunteers plan to knock on an average of 25,000 doors per district, the DCCC said.

"This grassroots mobilization is unprecedented in a midterm election -- but that's what it's going to take to win."

In a "P.S." at the end of the message, Carville and Begala admit that Republicans have "a heck of an organization" when it comes to getting their voters to the polls. But it promises that this time around, Democrats will "out-maneuver" Republicans.

Likewise, the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org also is telling its supporters that "[w]hen it comes to elections, Republicans have out-organized progressives for the last few years, and it's time to change that."

MoveOn.org gives Karl Rove credit for a "cutting edge voter turnout operation," adding that "Republicans have perfected new techniques to find additional Republican voters -- and then 'bank' their votes as absentee ballots weeks before Election Day.

"The result," says MoveOn.org: is that "in too many elections, Democrats have already lost before Election Day even rolls around."

The group says it plans to beat Republicans at their own voter turnout game by adopting Republican techniques.

"Since 2002," the group said, "Republicans have used superior technology and techniques to get their supporters to vote at higher rates. Those techniques include "microtargeting," the use of early voting, and "absentee ballots to 'bank' votes before Election Day.

"Republicans have figured out how to get a big chunk of their supporters to vote early," MoveOn.org explained -- so on Election Day, "they can focus all their energy on the small group of people who haven't voted yet."

MoveOn.org PAC says it needs $416,000 to add microtargeting and vote-banking to its get-out-the-vote drive -- "so we can talk to more people and lock in the votes to help Democrats win Congress."

In a third fund-raising appeal sent Tuesday, Sen. Robert Byrd -- writing on behalf of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee -- said the DSCC has set a fund-raising goal of $1 million by Labor Day.