That's the rallying cry behind Hot Tub Tom's new venture, the Coalition for a Conservative Majority (CCM), a political advocacy group designed to unite all those fractured conservatives around the cause of out-mobilizing Democrats. "For six years now," reads CCM's opening salvo, "former leaders of the Clinton administration have studied and surpassed the conservative grassroots network, creating a liberal coalition unprecedented in its size, scope, and funding." And who better to lead conservatives out of the wilderness than Ken Blackwell, the former Ohio Secretary of State who presided over the controversial election of 2004, was routed in his bid to become Ohio's governor last year, and who now works at the Family Research Council. Wasn't it the conventional wisdom just a short time ago that conservatives were a mighty bunch united around making America an unregulated Christian nation with no taxes? Surveying the landscape from a minority position, DeLay now believes it's the liberals who are unified, largely because of what he calls "the liberal Shadow Party," by which he apparently refers to the vast Soros conspiracy. "The liberal Shadow Party," according to CCM's website, "has been built for one reason: to elect Hillary Clinton President of the United States in 2008." (In 2008, the Christian right is spelling unity H-I-L-L-A-R-Y.) "They have the money, the organization, and the coordination to do it," CCM goes on, "and there is no conservative network capable of standing in its path. Until now." The venture is classic DeLay. He wasn't beaten by his own dirty dealings, self-aggrandizement, or hubris. Instead, it was all the enemy's fault. They out-maneuvered us, DeLay is saying, but we won't let it happen again because God's on our side. CCM appears to be operated out of DeLay's political consulting company, First Principles LLC. And if you expect to find out who's funding CCM, don't hold your breath. It is organized as a 501(c)(4) political advocacy organization, which, unlike 527s, do not have to disclose their donors. Read more in today's FundamentaList. --Sarah Posner
