Mary Beth Cahill
Biography and Quotes

Liberal Hall of Shame
The Top 1000 Liberals in America



One of the top political strategists of her generation, Mary Beth Cahill provided the political leadership and vision that helped Democrats retake both the House and the Senate in the 2006 midterm elections. The only woman to head up a presidential campaign in 2004 – she was John Kerry’s campaign director, leading his dramatic turnaround in the primaries – Cahill shares her unique insider’s perspective on the spectrum-wide shift in the electorate and how it influenced the 2008 election.

Cahill has been working in the trenches of electoral politics for most of her career, honing her talents by managing campaigns of U.S. House and Senate candidates. She was an assistant to the president during the Clinton administration and, while working for the venerable EMILY's List, Cahill turned the pro-choice PAC into an unrivaled political powerhouse. Currently, Cahill is one of three principles behind the Atlas Project, which developed a comprehensive strategy for Democratic presidential victory in 2008.

http://www.washingtonspeakers.com/speakers/speaker.cfm?SpeakerId=5110



The Kerry campaign was full of unbelievably smart people, led by Mary Beth Cahill, and John Sasso, and Bob Shrum, and Mike McCurry, and Tad Devine, and Dr. Susan Rice. I could go on and on. If more young people had voted, if turnout had been higher in Ohio, if the exit polls had been right, those people would be geniuses today, and for 3 million votes, Karl Rove would be a mere mortal.

Democrats Risk Becoming Merely 'Opposition Party'
Susan Estrich Friday, Nov. 5, 2004
http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/11/5/82129.shtml



Authored by best-selling author Richard Poe, the report reveals that Ted Kennedy is the driving force behind the Kerry campaign and that Kennedy operatives – including Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill and political adviser Bob Shrum – are calling the shots.
Saturday, Sept. 25, 2004 2:07 p.m. EDT
Kerry Taps Controversial Elian Attorney
http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/9/25/141047.shtml



In the conservative's nightmare of a John Kerry presidency, the most worrisome supporting character is Mary Beth Cahill.

As the former chief of staff to Sen. Ted Kennedy and former director of the pro-abortion group EMILY's List, Cahill would take Kerry, already one of the most liberal members of the Senate, even further left if he became president, say conservatives who spoke with CNSNews.com.

As Kerry's campaign manager, Cahill is credited, even by her fired predecessor, with taking a faltering presidential campaign and orchestrating such an impressive comeback that once he started winning, Kerry was never seriously challenged by any of the other Democrat candidates for president. As of late March, Kerry had become the presumptive nominee and zeroed in on the Republican incumbent, George W. Bush.

Rep. Grace F. Napolitano, D-Calif., knows Cahill's ability to bring a campaign around first-hand. Napolitano's 1998 come-from-behind victory was made possible in part by help from Cahill, who was then executive director of the political action committee EMILY's List. The group provides assistance only to female candidates who completely support the legalization of abortion during all nine months of pregnancy.

On its Web site, EMILY's List is described as an organization that "operates as a donor network, recommending pro-choice Democratic women candidates to its members, who contribute directly to the candidates they choose."

"In its 19-year history, EMILY's List has helped elect seven women governors, 11 women to the United States Senate and 55 women to the U.S. House of Representatives," the group claims. "In the 2002 elections, EMILY's List and its almost 73,000 members contributed nearly $9.7 million to pro-choice Democratic women candidates..."

Many conservative political advocates, who already view Kerry as a pro-abortion extremist, are wary of Cahill's influence on the liberal Democrat.

Starrs referenced Cahill's history with EMILY's List as evidence of her "ultra-liberal" credentials.

"That is a radical left organization that's bent on getting women into office that support abortion on demand," Starrs said. "If you have somebody who has actually worked for EMILY's List as your right-hand woman, you know darn well what's going to happen when the Supreme Court vacancies come up, and I'm certain that they will in the next four years."

Starrs fears Cahill would encourage Kerry into radical positions that he might otherwise not find politically expedient.

Conservatives Warn Cahill Would Pull Kerry Even Further Left
Jeff Johnson, CNSNews.com Tuesday, March 30, 2004
http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/3/30/102142.shtml



 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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