It's only August. It's unprecedented the amount of money behind this.

Typically off-year elections are used for two things: one is a sort of testing ground, as a dry run for the next year. And two: you get a real eclectic mix of issues that don't have an over-arching theme but that's a little different this year.

Win, lose or draw, this strategy is already on the map for the other side. They're not going to slow down. ... This train has left the station for 2006.

I expect this to be a significant area of ballot initiative in 2006.