A very well-respected Democrat who is involved in the OFA 2.0 discussions e-mails:
While I haven't read the entire post you miss THE important point: Will the OFA listees feel betrayed if rolled into a DNC political operation or any other party operation? This is what they're wrestling with in addition to the legal issues.
First, read the entire post. And yes, that's a good question. The answer is, I think, it depends. It depends on whether there is an outlet for Obama supporters to hold recalcitrant Democrats accountable for their actions, like, say, if Max Baucus creates mischief in the Senate. (Obama now counts as a senior aide Mr. Baucus's former chief of staff, Jim Messina, so Messina will likely be called upon to keep Baucus in line from the standpoint of the White House.) Regardless of what the DNC looks like, there's bound to be some officially-sanctioned outside, non-party organization for Obama supporters to join. That organization has to be robust enough. If the DNC is strong, it will be less robust; if the DNC is weak, it will be more robust.
Nonetheless, once Obama becomes a member of the establishment, a counterparty is bound to form; there will be some mechanism for orthodoxy enforcement vis-a-vis Obama himself, and another mechanism for orthodoxy enforcement vis-a-vis those elements of the Obama agenda that command support from liberals and progressives.
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