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February 21, 2006 09:00 AM UTC

Starting Fires, Then Fighting With Fire

  • 11 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

Democrats have taken a hit from Republicans over an entity called “Research and Democracy” that reportedly funneled support to Democratic candidates in 2004, primarily in the form of in-kind contributions. Republicans are now demanding to know who funded “Research and Democracy” and have been unable to find out the answer.

Up to this point we’ve ignored the story because both Democrats and Republicans have so many shadowy funding organizations that it’s a little silly for either of them to be complaining about the other. When Amendment 27 went into effect prior to the 2004 election cycle, so-called “527 organizations” sprang up everywhere to essentially campaign on behalf of, or against, a particular opponent, with the only caveat being that materials paid for by these “527s” cannot explicitly say things like “Vote for Joe Smith.”

But now it looks like the Republican attacks on “Research and Democracy” are part of a larger plan designed to go after targeted Democrats in the state legislature…funded by the same sort of organizations Republicans are railing against. Democratic Rep. Debbie Benefield, whose seat in the Arvada/Westminster area is always a battleground area, has been the target in robo calls made last week to her constituents. The calls attack Benefield’s character for having accepted money from “Research and Democracy.”

Who paid for the calls? They apparently came from the Trailhead Group, a  527 committee led by Republicans like Gov. Bill Owens, Bruce Benson and Pete Coors. These committees, of course, are not required to disclose their donors.

This is an interesting strategy by Republicans to fire the first shot over shadowy funding organizations. Democrats could easily make the same sort of claims, with the same sort of public demands, but they didn’t do it first. By making the first move, Republicans can deflect any subsequent attack by Democrats as being reactionary.

It would be interesting to see if Rep. Mary Hodge gets robo-calls in her district against her, since she is not being targeted this year by Republicans.

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11 thoughts on “Starting Fires, Then Fighting With Fire”

  1. Since Colorado Pols just listed the donors behind the Trailhead Group, could you please list the financial backers of the Research and Democracy organization?

  4. Trailhead is the mysterious “shadow party” everyone in the GOP have been talking about for the last year.

    GOV Bill is so in to the “Shadow Party” he doesn’t even bother showing up at Grand Old Party events any more. Swear to God… We’re in the middle of Lincoln Day Dinner season and I haven’t heard of him attending a single one yet.

    Anyhow, good to see the Trailhead guys are doing something finally. For a while many were wondering if they were all smoke and no fire.

  6. Let me get this straight didn’t the Democrats start this by taking secret money from Research and Democracy?

    The Trailhead guys would have nothing to talk about if the Democrats had not created the story.

    That’s the way I see it.

  7. It’s important to correct the record on this story.  Trailhead does disclose its donors — by law.  Check its IRS filings and various press reports.  All its contributors are public.  Research & Democracy, however, does not disclose its donors.  It is apparently not a 527, but rather some other type of organization that is not required to disclose its donors.

    In addition to innacuracies, it’s interesting to note that coloradopols repeats large chunks of Debbie Benefield’s blast e-mail from last Friday, in which she attempts to defend the indefensible, almost word for word.

    I wish the backers of this site, whoever they are and whatever their political agenda, sensed some obligation to the facts.

  8. Where did Alice Madden learn her politics?
    at Jack Abramoff’s knee?
    First she is fined $10,000 for campaign law violations. Now she has a bunch of secret committees running around. Gigi Dennis will enforce campaign law violations strictly. Donetta Davidson was a patsy.

  9. Pols – You people have a conflict of interest here that you should report.  The same people who fund your site are funding Research & Democracy.

    When are you going to admit that the entire premise of your post was factually wrong and your reluctance to post anything about this has more to do with the fact that the Dems fu%Pols – You people have a conflict of interest here that you should report.  The same people who fund your site are funding Research & Democracy.

    When are you going to admit that the entire premise of your post was factually wrong and your reluctance to post anything about this has more to do with the fact that the Dems fu%

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