DeLay to create "shadow party" in Colorado

Tom Delay, speaking on behalf of the Coalition for a Conservative Majority (CCM), told a tightly-packed room of about seventy Republicans in Lakewood last night that the way to win back a conservative majority is by coordinating the activities of various grassroots conservative organizations under the umbrella of the CCM.

DeLay spoke for about 30 minutes.

Also in attendance was Colorado’s Bob Beauprez and CCM chairman Ken Blackwell.

The CCM’s strategy would include the coordination of fundraising and campaign activities under the aegis of 527s as well as more traditional grassroots organizations, like pro-life and pro-gun groups.

In addition the CCM will seek to create the communications infrastructure to compete in Colorado with the Democrats Gang of Four, Jared Polis, Tim Gill, Al Yates and Pat Styker for both money and message.

DeLay believes that the Republicans were defeated because, in part, they failed to take advantage of current campaign finance laws that allow coordination of message through “shadow parties” like the ones created by Stryker, Gill, Yates and Polis.

These “shadow parties” operate outside the traditional party and campaign organizations with complete independence. Rather than having a top-down organization however, with a few wealthy contributors controlling the message, DeLay’s group hopes to operate at the grassroots.

DeLay has always been known for pushing the fundraising envelope. He was in fact indicted in 2005 for conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws. He subsequently resigned from his leadership position in the Party and withdrew from his reelection campaign to congress.       

Beauprez, who was defeated in part because of conservative suspicions of him created during the aborted Republican gubernatorial primary and who was successfully tagged with the moniker Both-ways-Bob at that time, had a little different take on Republican defeats.

Beauprez blamed Republican defeats on the GOP getting “lazy” and maybe taking too much for granted during what some thought would be a permanent Republican majority.

CCM chairman Ken Blackwell echoed that theme saying that the Democrats were just hungrier than the Republicans in 2004 and in 2006.

DeLay, a former House Majority leader also known as "the Hammer" for his stern imposition of party discipline, several times told his audience that he was a conservative first and a Republican second.