blogger interrupted

Do not suppress the urge to rejoice at the site of the FBI hauling truckloads of material from Jimmy Dimora’s house.  A commenter asks…

OK, Tim, we know what this means for the little picture of Cuyahoga County Dems – many of them are screwed. What’s the big picture out of this for the state, Obama winning Ohio, etc. Analysis needed …

Relax, folks.  I think the complete destruction of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party (although not particularly imminent, but possible) thanks to Pat O’Malley, Frank Russo, Jimmy Dimora, and Bill Mason, would be a day for glad tambourines and dancing.  

If it happens this election year, all the better.

As I’ve written before, the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party is anything but democratic or a political party.  It is a funereal cess pool on a good day, and in a presidential year, it is an impediment to maximizing the vote in the county.  I wrote this back in May.

If Obama gets in here early (Thursday night sounds good), hires a LOT of staff, and directs those staff to leverage their own lists immediately, placing people precinct by precinct, the county party won’t matter.

REPEAT.  THE COUNTY PARTY WON’T MATTER.  It hasn’t mattered ANYWAY, except to slow things down.

This is extremely important, not just because the Obama campaign will have a free hand, which it has created itself, but also because Obama won’t have to rely on delivery from a county party that cannot deliver what it claims it can.  It never has, and never will.

This is precisely what the Obama campaign is doing.  They have already opened at least 3 offices in Cuyahoga, have begun canvassing, (I did some walking in Parma Saturday) and every ounce of work those 3 offices do before October is more than the county party would do before October, which would be nothing.  By October, the Obama organization in Cuyahoga County will be the engine, not the county party.

And also by then, this little wingding the FBI and IRS are throwing will have utterly decapitated and immobilized the existing party structure.  THAT IS A GOOD THING.  Cuyahoga’s party structure has done very little but stand in the way of voter contact during presidential years, through a combination of petulance, petty turf wars, and blatant extortion.  And when they finally do get on board, it’s like welcoming your 85 year old grandmother to the flag football team – don’t expect much.

So folks, be happy.  Get some popcorn, opera glasses, sit back, and enjoy the show.  

Unless, of course, you’re either Jimmy Dimora, Kevin Kelly, Pat O’Malley, Bill Mason, or Frank Russo, not one of whom has yet to lift a finger for Barack Obama this year.