Durbin’s party building
Wednesday, Jun 25, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* There’s little doubt that House Speaker Michael Madigan’s control of the Democratic Party of Illinois has been more about power and saving money on postage for his House candidates. During the last cycle, there were lots of grumbled complaints that no coordinated campaign was in place to help congressional candidates. And Madigan is the only state party chairman in the country to refuse Democratic National Committee field staff.
So, US Sen. Dick Durbin is ever so gently trying to build an organization parallel to Madigan’s…
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, a figurehead among Illinois Democrats, is working to build his own Illinois voter database — a “voter file” distinct from the party’s central voter file, which is controlled by House Speaker Michael Madigan’s political organizations — as well as a new layer of the party’s grass-roots operation. […]
“Under Speaker Madigan, (the Illinois Democratic Party) really has focused on the House, particularly,” Durbin said.
* Durbin is working with the Democratic County Chairmen’s Association, which is beyond Madigan’s direct control. The chairman of the association, Alan Pirtle, is allied with Rep. Jay Hoffman, Gov. Blagojevich’s House floor leader.
As mentioned above, one of the initial tasks is creating a new “voter file”…
The state party’s own voter database, known as the “voter file,” has been developed and maintained by Madigan’s personal campaign committee, Friends of Michael J. Madigan, since the early 1980s, Brown said. The database contains layers of information including voting history and demographics to help candidates identify potential voters. […]
[Brown] said candidates can gain access to [the voter file] for a fee, and who can gain access to the file is made on a “case-by-case basis.”
* “Bored Now,” a regular commenter here, explains…
What Durbin has done is to make Votebuilder (also known as The Van) available in Illinois. Durbin correctly points out that Votebuilder is available “across the count[r]y.” elsewhere, the state parties have partnered with the DNC to bring it to their states. The Van was also the basis for both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama’s databases. It had been previously available in Illinois through resolute consulting and was used in 2006 by Congressional candidates like Dan Seals. others may remember van through efforts in 2004 on behalf of John Kerry through act and the America votes coalition. it was one of several attempts by Democrats to duplicate the success Republicans have had with the voter vault.
The Van is also the basis for the DNC’s neighborhood volunteer program. What is interesting about this effort is that the national party is giving people access to their database at a local level for voter contact. The information gathered by these efforts gets folded back into the database for future use by democrats running at all levels.
* Durbin has played a role in several local and congressional elections over the past few years. He has been heavily involved in helping turn Will County from “red to blue,” for instance.
Durbin is not a particularly threatening figure in the Democratic Party, so there’s never been much of a push-back from Madigan when he’s done local party building efforts. But controlling that voter file is a big thing for Madigan. Information is power, even if the system he’s using is out of date…
If you’ve ever worked with Madigan’s database, you know that it is fairly ancient is both design and user-friendliness, and the backend is limited, at best, to simple variables limited to (primarily) public data. But it has been the only game in town, and its success was largely due to the fact that it had no competition.
* But Durbin will need all of his political skills when encroaching on MJM’s turf…
Durbin said he has reached out to other Illinois Democrats, including Comptroller Dan Hynes, about his joint effort with the county chairmen’s group, but no one has signed on yet.
“I’m not trying to side with any faction in the party,” he said.
He’s about the only one who could do this.
- Vote Quimby! - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 9:56 am:
A sign some people are finally tired of the bickering and are taking actual action. To not take advantage of the Obama phenomenon would be a disaster for the state party. I can’t wait to get even more campaign mail!
- Ghost - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 9:56 am:
Interesting.
The problem with Durbin’s database being so accessible is its use to make hiring decisions in goverment positions influenced by those elected canidates based upon the information in the database.
Still, definetly somthing thats needed
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 9:57 am:
Interesting timing. Qui bono? Does this have anything to do with 2010? Does Durbin favor someone for governor?
- Ghost - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 10:01 am:
I suspect Durbin is looking more local then that for this database.
- Anon - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 10:06 am:
Is tin foil on sale, or do people just like hats?
- bored now - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 10:12 am:
two further points: first of all, madigan’s database is perfectly useable here in illinois. it is what people who walk the streets and cut the turf are used to. there’s not a lot of reasons for madigan to change, because he hasn’t had to.
and that’s the second point: madigan’s database matches up well with what the republicans are using here. outside of aaron schock, i can’t think of another republican candidate who has used superior voter contact technology against madigan.
the invisible threat — and it is invisible until someone actually does it — is that if local democrats do buy into votebuilder and add significantly to its database about voters (issue interests, loyalties, etc) it could be used against the younger madigan in future races as she seeks to move up. that’s the real potential for buying into the advanced technology that is basically scorned here in illinois…
- Anon - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 10:14 am:
resolute consulting? daley…stroger…who else is working with durbin?
- A Citizen - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 10:25 am:
Durbin seems to swim safely in the relatively clear, smooth, calm waters of the Washington environment. He is now thinking he can safely swim in the shark and piranha infested waters of Illinois? His judgement is flawed, he will pay a hefty price - he should have worked quietly behind the scene with MM. No good deed goes unpunished!
- bored now - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 10:35 am:
resolute was a broker for use of the van in the state after dpi chose not to bring it here. the seals and bean campaigns used it for their campaigns, and i believe (but can’t say for sure) duckworth did, as well. but resolute was pitching van and not votebuilder. this is a slightly better resource than what resolute had…
- Anon - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 10:41 am:
Calm waters of Washington? HAve you watched TV or read the paper in the past 10 years?
- Agust - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 10:42 am:
I thought I FIXED this YEARS ago. What have you guys been doing since I left? - Agust.
http://www.lewisburg.org/agust/crains_piab.htm
- bored now - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 10:42 am:
a citizen: your loyalty is remarkable, but:
as i said in my post that rich linked to, this isn’t news. i’d dare say that many if not most of us knew about durbin’s paying to bring votebuilder to illinois. and while you are looking at this parochially, i’m looking at it from a completely different perspective: having illinois data available for the national party is important. while illinois may be safely blue with obama at the head of the ticket, having data from will (an exurb) or even downstate will allow the democrats to draw inferences that can be used elsewhere in the country. it’s absurd to isolate illinois from the rest of the country this way, especially if it doesn’t directly threaten any existing power structure.
i’d strongly suggest that durbin’s judgment isn’t flawed at all, but actually mediates between the needs of the speaker and obama/the dnc. just because you are for one doesn’t mean you have to be against the others. i’d hope that the speaker doesn’t see it that way…
- VoterFile - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 10:49 am:
The trick will be when Durbin ask county chairs and others to pay for use of the file —- this was a sticking point in the past.
In the meantime IL Ds are not solicted for everything under the sun when the state file goes to the DNC and then out to the marketers
The more contact the merrier
Pingback In Chambers » Durbin Growing New Layer of Democratic Party, Updated X1 - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 10:53 am:
[…] The CapFax Blog also responds. Durbin has played a role in several local and congressional elections over the past few years. He has been heavily involved in helping turn Will County from “red to blue,” for instance. […]
- Boone Logan Square - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 10:55 am:
Durbin also bolstered his donor base and email list in the fall of 2006, when he initiated a draft movement to get Obama into the presidential race. I am curious to learn how much larger his donor base is today than it was two years ago.
- Rob_N - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 11:20 am:
Rich writes, “During the last cycle, there were lots of grumbled complaints that no coordinated campaign was in place to help congressional candidates.”
There was grumbling about MJM/IDP… But the campaigns took it upon themselves to coordinate as best they could.
Rich also writes, “And Madigan is the only state party chairman in the country to refuse Democratic National Committee field staff.”
What? Dem staff that Madigan can’t control knocking on people’s doors? Yikes!
Apparently DNC money is only good if Madigan can control it. Same goes for Obama’s and others’ state-based PACs.
- Captain America - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 11:25 am:
It’s definitely a commendable effort by Durbin, given the balkanization of the Democratic Party of Illinois. Presently there is really no Democratic Party in Illinois, just independent factions controlled by various powerbrokers.
- Ghost - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 11:30 am:
CA as opposed to the democratic party where? The democratic party has always been compromised of various facions. Many of its failures flow from the inability to bring these factions together. This is the heart, soul, strenght and weakness of the democratic party.
- bored now - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 11:41 am:
just to be clear, because i didn’t address this issue: i have no knowledge of sen. durbin working with resolute consulting. resolute took it upon themselves to offer illinois candidates access to the van before durbin got involved. the real point is that the speaker and dpi can’t keep a resource like van or votebuilder out of illinois, they can only decide if they want to pay for it to be here…
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 1:52 pm:
No offense to Dick Durbin, but my guess is that this will be a big waste of money.
Any County Chair who actually wanted the voterfile would have called Madigan already and asked for it. And Madigan would say yes, although they might have to pay.
But in probably 95 or more of Illinois’ counties, County Democrats don’t use targeted walklists or phone lists, or election day plus lists.
That’s because they don’t knock on doors, call voters, or ID them for election day. Their top priority on election day is making sure election judges get three square meals, not getting out the vote, and all the free software in the world isn’t going to change that.
- Bill - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 4:06 pm:
A,
Trust me. Nobody knows how to play the game in Illinois better than Dick Durbin. Despite his public persona, he has very sharp elbows and knows how to rough it up. Don’t sell him short. I wouldn’t want to be on his enemies list.
- chiguy - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 4:09 pm:
You knuckleheads can’t see the forest for the trees. This is a very big deal and a direct challenge to Madigan’s control of the state party apparatus. I can’t remember the last time Illinois ran a true coordinated campaign effort and because of that we have lost races we should have won like Tammy Duckworth’s congressional bid last cycle. Republicans put $4 million dollars through their state party in support of Peter Roskan while the Illinois Democratic Party didn’t spend a dime in support of Duckworth probably costing her the race. Madigan has used the state party as a slush fund to support only House Dems and Lisa. Durbin has taken the first important step in building a “shadow party” that will eventually supplant the Democratic Party structure or force Madigan out all together. Do you mopes actually think that President Obama will allow Mike Madigan to control the state party once he is elected. Get real and smell the coffee. All you have to do is look at the D-2’s. The biggest PAC in the state, SEIU, is giving to Durbin’s organization not Mike Madigan’s Democratic Party. The writing is on the wall folks. You had better learn how to read. This is the end, my friend….
- Mike Noonan - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 4:17 pm:
Technology is only as good as the people who use it. To me, the best in the state is Senator Mike Bond, the poster boy for the VAN. He organized an effort using the VAn and palm pilots at the door in 2006 that is a case study on how to win local elections. Wheeather the voterfile comes from DPI, Senator Durbin or any of a myriad of vendors, the fact still remains that some campaigns do npot understand the how to use the tool to maxamize their chances come election day and sadly many others don’t prioritize its use.
These voterfiles, especially when integrated with a daily, paid canvass operation can pick up trends and help with micro targetting better than most any tool I have found. The key is the integration of the plam which allows for daily upload of all canvassing results into the database.
Remeber, any campaign can buy this for about 5000 depending on the size of the district, so it has not been the MJM has been keeping anything from anyone. It seems to me that he’s just been giving it out to the campaigns who will actually put the labor into using the tool.
- Amy - Wednesday, Jun 25, 08 @ 5:44 pm:
Dick and Loretta are two of the most loyal and giving Democrats who really give a damn without holding a knife to the throat.
their work is already valuable and this is a great sign that things
will just get better. true Democrats, not greedy Democrats.