[Mb-civic] McCain Campaign Hires 'Best Bricklayer' - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

McCain Campaign Hires 'Best Bricklayer'
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By Chris Cillizza and Zachary A. Goldfarb
The Washington Post
Sunday, March 19, 2006; A05

In the behind-the-scenes hunt for 2008 campaign talent, Sen. John McCain 
(R-Ariz.) has bagged a big one.

Terry Nelson, who served as national political director for President 
Bush's reelection race in 2004, has signed on as a senior adviser to 
McCain's Straight Talk America political action committee.

"Senator McCain has demonstrated a real commitment to helping our 
candidates up and down the ballot and I am excited to be a part of his 
effort," Nelson says in a statement the PAC plans to release Monday.

Nelson's formal role for Straight Talk will be to maximize the 
organization's influence and effectiveness in the 2006 midterm 
elections, but his hiring also makes a major mark on the 2008 landscape.

McCain and his chief political strategist, John Weaver, have spent much 
of the past year courting key members of the Bush campaign team. Until 
now, the majority of that recruiting has focused on the men and women -- 
designated Pioneers, Rangers and Super Rangers -- who each helped 
collect hundreds of thousands of dollars for Bush in 2000 and again in 
2004. (In that vein, Straight Talk America recently received $5,000 
checks from former Texas governor Bill Clements, a Republican, and 
lobbyist extraordinaire Ed Rogers -- a close ally of Mississippi Gov. 
Haley Barbour, who recently removed himself from the 2008 field.) But 
the hiring of Nelson shows that McCain and Weaver are not neglecting the 
staff side of the presidential process.

Nelson, a native of Marshalltown, Iowa, managed Iowa Republican Rep. Jim 
Nussle's 1994 race and went on to serve as majority staff director of 
the Iowa state Senate caucus. Nelson served as political director of the 
National Republican Congressional Committee in 2000 and as deputy chief 
of staff at the Republican National Committee two years later. He is a 
partner in Dawson McCarthy Nelson, a GOP media firm, and the Crosslinks 
Strategy Group.

Of Nelson, McCain said: "Straight Talk is fortunate to have the 
strategic guidance of one of the country's most seasoned professionals."

A McCain adviser described Nelson as the "best bricklayer in the 
business" for his ability to build and implement a massive grass-roots 
political organization.

The splintering of the Bush campaign inner circle began earlier this 
year when Ed Gillespie, the former chairman of the Republican National 
Committee, signed on as treasurer of Good Government for America, the 
political action committee of Sen. George Allen (R-Va.).

Withdrawals Don't Pay Off

When Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Fla.) announced last week that she would 
donate $10 million of her own money to her Senate campaign, boosters 
said it would jump-start a flagging candidacy and put her on the path to 
victory this fall.

History suggests this might be a tad optimistic.

In recent years, candidates who have tapped their personal bank accounts 
have tended to drop out of races or lose outright. In fact, in 2002 and 
2004, only two of the 45 candidates for the House and Senate who spent 
more than $1 million of their own money on a race won, according to 
campaign finance records.

"The people running for governor or senator or president have been among 
society's winners," said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for 
Politics at the University of Virginia. "To get to that point, they 
always believe they can beat the odds because they've done that before."

There have been exceptions to the rich-losers trend. New Jersey Gov. Jon 
S. Corzine (D), running for an open Senate seat in 2000, spent more than 
$60 million of his own funds to win. In 2002, Sen. Frank Lautenberg 
(D-N.J.) won after spending $1.5 million on an abbreviated campaign 
while Rep. Michael T. McCaul (R-Tex.) racked up a landslide victory in 
2004 after spending $1.9 million of his own dough -- the vast majority 
of which was disbursed in the primary election.

Only one person has spent $10 million or more since Corzine. Democrat 
Blair Hull dropped $29 million of his money on a 2004 Senate run in 
Illinois but lost badly in the primary after revelations concerning a 
messy divorce came to light.

What's certain is that Harris's candidacy needs the cash infusion. She 
trailed Sen. Bill Nelson (D) by $7 million in available cash at the end 
of 2005.

"Will resources alone ever win elections? No," said Brian Walter, 
National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman. "It has to go with a 
grass-roots organization and the ability to get your message out to 
voters. Which we believe she'll be able to do."

Burns May Have a Primary

Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), dogged by controversy over ties to the Jack 
Abramoff lobbying scandal, could face a primary challenge.

Montana Senate Minority Leader Bob Keenan, a Republican, told state 
newspapers he is worried about whether Burns can hold the seat this 
November and is considering challenging the three-term senator in the 
GOP primary in June.

In recent months Burns has been battered by the media and Democrats over 
his connections to Abramoff, and he has watched his lead shrink over his 
two potential Democratic opponents -- state Auditor John Morrison and 
state Sen. Jon Tester.

A Mason-Dixon poll conducted for Lee Newspapers late last year showed 
Burns under the 50 percent mark in head-to-head matchups against 
Morrison and Tester.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/18/AR2006031800966.html?nav=hcmodule
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