At least that’s what I gather from Patrick Ruffini and Michael Turk, both of whom criticize Blog P.I.’s Bill Beutler for his recent analysis of conservative and liberal fundraising sites.

I ws one of the founding bloggers behind Rightroots, an ABC PAC creation that raised money for 21 Republican congressional candidates. With the support of six other bloggers — Lorie Byrd of Wizbang, Erick Erickson of RedState, Mary Katharine Ham of Townhall, John Hawkins of Right Wing News, Patrick Hynes of Ankle Biting Pundits, and Ed Morrissey of Captain’s Quarters — we were able to raise nearly $300,000. Not too shabby.

But two months after Election Day, the future of ABC PAC seems to be best symbolized by a big question mark. According to Ruffini and Turk, two of the most intelligent Internet minds on our team, ABC PAC is suffering from a lack of money in order to move to version 2.0. The clock is ticking, and while the left’s counterpart, ActBlue, isn’t taking full advantage of its potential either, conservatives don’t have much time to spare.

I never like asking for money, but this cause is too important to the future of the conservative movement not to support. You can click here to donate.

In the meantime, I have my own recommendations for ABC PAC 2.0. Ruffini correctly points out, “these things don‚Äôt get built in the final three months of a campaign when all involved were a bit preoccupied with the 2006 elections. Strategically, you want to build these types of things in an off-year, and 2007 is such a year.”

The folks at ABC PAC should take that advice and start by hiring a full-time executive director on par with Benjamin Rahn, president of ActBlue. Without anyone in charge, ABC PAC is doomed for failure.

Secondly, ABC PAC needs to expand the field to all Republicans up for election in 2008 at the federal level — House, Senate and the presidency. It should offer the option for different coalitions — be it conservative, moderate, libertarian, etc. — to pick a slate of candidates to endorse. Not only will this allow ABC PAC to raise significantly more money, but it will also introduce ABC PAC to a diverse group of bloggers.

Finally, ABC PAC needs to do a better job of reaching out to the candidates themselves. Rightroots was a perfect example. Ray Meier, who was running in New York’s 24th District, fully embraced what Rightroots had to offer, using his website’s donation page to link directly to Rightroots. As a result, Meier raised more than $17,000 to finish second in fundraising among House candidates. Imagine the success Rightroots could have enjoyed had the other 20 candidates simply offered a link from their campaign websites.

Got your own suggestions? Please leave a comment.