GOP echo chamber's stealth funding of local blogs

[KelleyKramer]

This is an interesting post by Chris of MYDD.

It sounds slightly similar to the blog scandal that went in with Dashles campaign in Dakota.
I didnt follow what happened there, other than Gannon/Guckert was also involved.. if anyone could give a summary of what happened it would be much appreciated.

In any case, here are some snips from Chis and the full post is here

http://chris-bowers.dailykos.com/story/2005/8/7/142733/8409

The Republican Noise Machine Enters Local Blogospheres

The first two sections of this piece may seem elliptical, but there is an important connection. Yesterday, I wrote an article entitled Politics PA Donkey Splat, concerning a ridiculous and fabricated article Politics PA had written about the candidate I am supporting (as an unpaid volunteer) for the Democratic nomination in PA-08: Ginny Schrader. In the comments, a new commenter, VeritasLux, provided readers with some eye-opening information on Politics PA:
The site PoliticsPA.com is registered to the pseudonymous "Wally Edge"--along with PoliticsNJ.com. Hm-m-m, Wally Edge or is it Wedge Ally? Following the link two steps further, all of these politicsNJ/PA/NH, etc. sites apparently are the stepchildren of the Publius Institute, which is itself apparently a creation of the Claremont Institute--a conservative think tank in Claremont, CA. Since Claremont lists Howard F. Ahmanson, Jr. (of ES&S and voting machine fame) on its board of directors, and his wife, Roberta Green Ahmanson, on the same web page, it is logical to assume, as with many right-wing, Christian Reconstructionist groups, that Claremont is funded by the Ahmansons. (See: http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/01/06/ahmanson)

It might be worth a few hundred emails to good friend "Wally" asking them why they are performing unsubstantiated and anonymous hatchet jobs on Democratic candidates--although given the shady connections, I'd say that Ginny and Chris should take Claremont's sleazy, little, anonymous bitch slap as a compliment. Email information for these two groups is listed below.

Here also is a piece from the Boston Phoenix about the role in the 2004 NH primary of PoliticsNH.com, the sister site to PoliticsPA. The article can be found at http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/ news_features/talking_politics/documents/02685359.htm

At PoliticsNH.com <<Click on " Our Team, " and it brings you to the photos and brief bios of four staffers: managing editor James W. Pindell; senior editor Brian P. Murphy, a former staffer for George magazine; Jordan S. Lieberman, who is the president of the Publius Group, which owns the site along with several others, including PoliticsNJ, PoliticsVT, and PoliticsNY; and columnist Dante J. Scala, who is also an assistant professor of politics at Saint Anselm College.<p> A check through the Networks Solutions search site reveals that PoliticsNH is registered to NameSecure.com. Wally Edge is listed as the site's " administrative contact. " Edge did not return a call from the Phoenix. On the PoliticsNJ site, though, the " About Us " link says, " PoliticsNJ.com is operated by The Publius Group (ED. Note-an apparent front for The Claremont Institute) and our editor is Wally Edge, a pseudonym for the people who are working on this site. "

Last February, Roll Call columnist Stuart Rothenberg did a piece on anonymous political Web sites. When he called the Publius Group, Lieberman called him back but wouldn't provide additional details on who was backing the venture. Rather than identifying himself as the president of the Publius Group, as he's now listed on PoliticsNH.com, Lieberman told Rothenberg that he handled marketing for the company. Rothenberg's conclusion? " The potential for abuse with these sites is enormous. What would stop a candidate from setting up an anonymous political site and using it as a way to undercut or discredit an opponent? "

The answer is nothing. In the meantime, PoliticsNH generates buzz.>>

So, I'd say the Repugs are scared of Ginny and the netroots and are using their usual clandestine operations to try and neutralize the netroots long before the 2006 election. (BTW, their activities sound like a great basis for a blog that outs these manipulations and informs the mainstream media in real time.) Keep up the good work. OH-2 and the Hackett campaign obviously scared the hell out of them.

MUCH more on the full post here-
http://chris-bowers.dailykos.com/story/2005/8/7/142733/8409