The Blueprint: How the Democrats Won Colorado (and Why Republicans Everywhere Should Care)

I'll freely admit that I read this book because one of the authors is a friend of mine from law school. I fully expected to hate it - for no other reason that I have never been much interested in politics. I assumed that no matter how good the writing was (and knowing Rob, it was going to be good) the subject matter was either going to put me to sleep or hopelessly confuse me. I assumed this would be "inside baseball" for a sport about which I knew nothing and cared little.I was VERY pleasantly surprised, and I'm here to tell you that this book is fascinating. The authors lay out a case that is largely free from their own commentary - they say what happened, and how, and they make it read like a detective story. When I was done reading, I found it hard to imagine that no one before Colorado 2004 had tried the strategy in this book; it seems utterly inevitable now, and yet the book makes it clear how groundbreaking the strategy was.Schrager and Witwer lay out the story and the evidence in a clear and compelling way, without arguing that the Democrats' stunning takeover of Colorado was good or bad - just that it happened, that it was no accident, and that it's already being replicated all over the country. Even with my lack of any real base knowledge of behind-the-scenes political maneuvering, I found the story interesting and easy to follow. It changed my understanding of how political races are fought and won, and about campaign finance (and campaign finance reform legislation). It will change the way I think about the news for a long time to come.Every American should read this book in order to understand what is going on RIGHT NOW in American politics. More importantly, the education in this book comes in a very well-written, enjoyable form. You won't have to suffer through this civics lesson - you'll actually like it.

First, there is a one-star review on this page for a *different* book called "The Blueprint: Obama's Plan to Subvert the Constitution" or some such nonsense -- which as a partisan broadsheet, is exactly what *this* book is not.The authors here have written a brilliant story about how a rather surprising political event came to pass: rocked-ribbed Republican Colorado becoming a mildly progressive state, at least in its electoral results. As a fairly serious Republican myself, I was a bit annoyed at the triumphalism of an old, left-wing friend who had moved to suburban Denver and thought that it was merely some progressive ideal that had finally dawned on the good folks of Colorado and, with the inevitability of socialism, the trend was going to sweep the rest of the country.I never agreed, but it was not until I read this book that I -- a California kid -- understood what had happened. The authors have put together a great story about how motivated, well-funded, and well-organized progressives put together the machine to take over Colorado politics. Maybe their policy is better, maybe not. But the progressives in Colorado had the mechanics to get their message out and that, as we have seen, is often enough to win elections. What's great about this book, though, is it just wants to tell a good political story, instead of trying to force-feed you political inevitabilities. It is tightly written, well-sourced, and thoughtful. Mr. Witwer was a Republican state representative, his co-author a television political correspondent. What's great about this book -- and what's so awful about the other book called "The Blueprint" -- is that this book is a history of what happened in Colorado, instead of what most political books are: apologetics or histrionics.Read this book. Don't read the other "Blueprint" -- and ignore that one-star rating. I'm buying this for my friend in Colora

The Blueprint tells how four wealthy progressive donors and a group of bright motivated Democratic operatives in Colorado developed a highly efficient system between 2004 and 2008 to navigate existing campaign finance laws and win elections.They used their model to flip Colorado's state legislature and governorship from solidly Republican to solidly Democrat in just four years. The Republicans did not know what hit them until they were out of their jobs.Using their system as a "blueprint", these left-wing individuals duplicated their success in other states, like Iowa, Wisconsin, Texas, and Wisconsin, to win elections at both the state and federal levels.The model consists of taking over the operations of the political parties, which were hindered by campaign finance reform laws, and bringing these operations to a new level using cutting edge business practices and computer technologies.The authors keep story moving fast, so it reads like a good political thriller. They obtained access to actors on both sides of the political aisle, and by letting them speak for themselves, we get a real sense of who these people are. A handy list of the players at the front of the book makes it easy to keep track of the numerous individuals and organizations involved in the drama.The Blueprint is a great example of political reporting for those who want to know how the game is played in today's over-regulated, high-tech, political environment.