Obama's Election Has Elevated The Influence Industry's Liberal Side

Less than 24 hours after President Obama announced the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, an alliance formed solely to push the appointment launched a six-figure ad buy on the major television networks. Conservative groups, by contrast, stumbled through days of disjointed messages and never mustered the resources for a major television campaign. By the end of the week, Republicans were fighting among themselves over the perils of attacking the nation's first Hispanic nominee to the high court. The episode was one of the latest examples of how Obama's election has dramatically altered the landscape occupied by the advocacy groups, think tanks and lobbying firms that make up Washington's sprawling influence industry. Democratic and left-leaning groups are now ascendant, enjoying clout not seen in a generation and benefiting from close access to a White House brimming with former colleagues. Many of the groups spent the Bush years championing policies that had little chance of being adopted; now, their ideas and positions are at the center of the Washington debate.