The Atlantic had one of its usually great political stories in the March edition. It was written by Joshua Green and was billed this way:

THEY WON'T KNOW WHAT HIT THEM

The software mogul Tim Gill has a mission: Stop the Rick Santorums of tomorrow before they get started. How a network of gay political donors is stealthily fighting sexual discrimination and reshaping American politics.

Public radio's Austin Jenkins read the story, and was curious if Gill's under-the-radar efforts had made it this far west. Jenkins writes at Crosscut: (And his companion radio piece can be heard here.)

After reading Green's piece, I headed to Washington's Public Disclosure Commission Web site and found that Gill and six other out-of-state donors contributed more than $25,000 to six, swing-district Democrats running for the Legislature. A similar picture emerges in Oregon.

Asked about this pattern of giving, Gill's political guy, Patrick Guerriero, former head of the Log Cabin Republicans, was fairly cryptic. He told me: "You're not being inaccurate in noting that." He also says: "There is an open line of communication about places where individuals can invest and try to make a difference."

Jenkins also learned something else about local gay politics:

Almost a decade ago, Tim Bradbury, the openly gay former King County judge, founded Fighting for the Majority. Today, he and Murray claim this gay political fund is the single largest contributor to the House and Senate Democratic caucuses in Washington.

That was news to me, too. And there was nothing at the PDC to enlighten me about Fighting for the Majority. That's because the group, not unlike Gill, has focused on raising money while keeping out of the limelight. It has gotten coverage in the Seattle Gay News but not much more than a brief mention outside of that.

Bradbury told me yesterday that for the 2006 legislative elections, the group he founded raised $45,000. That was split between the House and Senate Democratic campaign committees. The money comes mostly from a big annual fundraiser where attendees write checks to the caucuses.

"We bundle. We are not a PAC," Bradbury said.

He means bundle only in the colloquial sense. That's an unfortunate, and it seems inaccurate, description, because bundling is not allowed under PDC laws. And it's not happening in this case. I was asking PDC staff about how this works and what's allowed, and that sent staffer Lori Anderson off to ask her own questions. She said that the money comes from what is officially a joint fundraiser between the caucuses and Fighting for the Majority. It does not constitute bundling, which groups are prohibited from doing in the state.

Fighting for the Majority has found a low-key but apparently perfectly legit way to be players in legislative campaigns. It's a low-key effort in that the group's name doesn't show up as the single largest contributor to the caucuses. The work isn't known outside a fairly tight circle of political insiders.

But the strategy makes sure that the people who count know where the money came from. Said Bradbury:

"We raise money specifically from the gay community and our friends, and the Legislature knows it. And, in fact, that's one of our reasons for not donating to individuals, but to turn the money over to the caucus, which in turn decides how to target the money. We want not just a handful of legislators to be supported by the gay community, we want the entire caucus to be supported and be aware that they are being supported by the gay community."

The group formed nine years ago. In its first election it raised $12,500. And that was after one political operative told Bradbury "if you can raise $5,000 you can hold your head up. If you can raise $10,000 you can be golden."

If that was the gold standard, where are they at today at $45,000?

"Oh listen," Bradbury said, "that standard fell away a long time ago. They always want more."

CORRECTION: The quote from Bradbury in Crosscut says Fighitng for the Majority is the single largest donor to the Democratic legislative caucuses. That doesn't look to be accurate. Adam Glickman, spokesman for SEIU, said by e-mail:

on your post yesterday -- between the state council and the locals, SEIU gave at least 60K to each of the two democratic caucuses (roosevelt and truman funds) making us by far the top donor to each.

The PDC reports back that up. Even if you don't include the locals, the state SEIU donations to each Dem caucus is more than claimed by Fighting for the Majority.