The party's over



By KENNETH P. VOGEL & ALEX ISENSTADT | 10/28/11 4:39 AM EDT

For decades the six national committees of the Democratic and Republican Parties dominated the American electoral landscape.

That era may be coming to an end.


[b]New outside groups that can raise unlimited cash are encroaching on the money, functions, and talent of the Big Six – creating a shadow party system of super PACs and linked nonprofit groups unrestrained by the political sensitivities and fundraising limits that moderate the parties’ activities.
[b]

It used to be that the party committees were the dominant force, and now that influence has been diminished by the super PACs,â€