I suspect you know what outside counsel is. If not, it’s the opposite of in-house counsel (Mr. Gonzales, IIRC). It’s an independent contractor as opposed to a direct employee.

Right. Ben Ginsberg is outside counsel — he a partner in a DC firm.

Some Texas Republican (eeek!) contributed $200,000 to SBVFT; George Soros, a Democrat contributor, contributed tens of millions to MoveOn.org.

The DNC brags that:

The Democratic Party is partnering with MoveOn.org, People for the American Way, Campaign for America’s Future, and dozens of other groups ….

Then there’s:

Media Fund (expenditures-$27,208,905):

Harold Ickes, president and founder (deputy White House chief of staff under President Clinton)

America coming Together (expenditures-$24,196,532):

Minyon Moore (former Chief of Operations, Democratic National Committee)

MoveOn.org (expenditures-$17,435,782):

Zach Exley, director of special projects (former Dean campaign aide, soon-to-be [now, I think] Kerry director of online communications and organization)

New Democrat Network (expenditures-$6,970,070):

Simon Rosenberg, president and founder (former Clinton campaign aide)

America Votes (expenditures-$1,176,590):

Cecile Richards, president (former aide to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and daughter of former Texas Democratic Gov. Ann Richards)

Grassroots Democrats (expenditures-$1,137,544):

Joe Carmichael, co-chairman (former vice-chair, Democratic National Committee)

(stolen from here.)

Another contact between Bush and the Swiftees is Chris LaCivita of DCI Group who advises the Boatheads and whose firm has worked with Bush in the past. Charlie, you apparently missed my prior recitation (in response to Roberts’ search for shreds)of other common contacts.

Mark,

I suspect you know what outside counsel is. If not, it’s the opposite of in-house counsel (Mr. Gonzales, IIRC). It’s an independent contractor as opposed to a direct employee.

Most intelligent folk would see the pattern by now.

Look, the point here is that you’ve got to pick one: either the minimal contact between the Bush campaign (a lawyer in common and an unpaid volunteer) really does constitute “collaboration”, in which case most of the movers and shakers in the Democratic Party are going to jail under McCain-Feingold, or the massive connections (shared campaign managers, announcements of “partnerships”, regular public meetings, and so on) between the Democratic party and the Kerry campaign aren’t actionable, in which case the minor contacts between the Swifties 527 and the Bush campaign are trivial and even less actionable in comparison.

Perhaps you could explain what “outside counsel” means to the class. You being a lawyer and all.

From the NYTimes story:

The campaign of Senator John Kerry shares a lawyer, Robert Bauer, with America Coming Together, a liberal group that is organizing a huge multimillion-dollar get-out-the-vote drive that is far more ambitious than the Swift boat group’s activities. Mr. Ginsberg said his role was no different from Mr. Bauer’s….

Pot, meet kettle.

Yet another shred:

It was further disclosed late Tuesday that the Bush campaign’s chief outside counsel, Ben Ginsberg, has also been giving legal advice to the Swift Boat group.

“Quit yer bitchin.

Um, OK.

About what though, I am not sure.

Maybe you could clarify it for me?

And you please remember that all was not Vietnam. There was the Bay of Pigs. There was the Cuban Missile Crisis – far more ominous than Vietnam. There was the Berlin Crisis – 148,000 Guardsman and Reservists called up – the wives of some pushing baby carriages in front of the White House.