Finally, a vast-right wing conspiracy

Politico's Mike Allen and Ken Vogel report on the efforts by older Republican hands -- namely, the men who steered the party in the Bush era -- to create well-funded organizations doing the work they see MoveOn.org and the Center for American Progress doing on the left. It's a good primer with telling revelations. To wit:

- The Republican State Leadership Committee is shooting to raise $50 million to $70 million -- that later number would more than treble its 2008 budget -- in order to win as many state legislatures as possible to influence redistricting. (This is the closest that I think Republicans have gotten to something like the left's 2006 "Secretaries of State Project," to win those sometimes obscure offices to make sure decisions on vote counts went Democrats' way.)

- American Crossroads, the organization run by former RNC leaders with the loosest definition thus far, was received commitments for $30 million.

- The American Action Network, which has thus fair made its presence known with high-minded D.C. events, is raising money for midterm TV ads.