No Magic Internet Button for GOP
by Andrew BreitbartThis week’s Washington Times column:
After the 2004 election, much was made of Joe Trippi, Howard Dean’s campaign manager and Internet guru. Mr. Trippi is credited with using social networking tools to hook up supporters and to drum up excitement and campaign cash for Vermont’s then-little-known former governor.
His book “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Democracy, the Internet, and the Overthrow of Everything” capitalized on Mr. Dean’s meteoric yet short-term rise at the hands of a previously competent yet little-known Democrat apparatchik who became an Internet legend for almost getting the dark horse over the primary finish line.
“The Howard Dean campaign was a dot-com miracle,” Mr. Trippi now tells audiences for a handsome price.
But Mr. Dean’s story was also the ultimate dot-com crash: “And we’re going to South Dakota and Oregon and Washington and Michigan, and then we’re going to Washington, D.C., to take back the White House! Yeeeah!!!”
The “Dean scream” lives in infamy on YouTube. Live by the Internet, die by the Internet.
Now Mr. Trippi gets paid a lot of money to tell clients something that millions have known since the mid-1990s: The Internet is a big, big deal.
The last election cycle bore more online fruit for Democrats.
“Obama is really Howard Dean 2.0 when it comes to online fundraising,” said Phil Tajitsu Nash, who runs Campaign Advantage, a company that makes Web sites and develops Internet strategies for candidates.
So it’s understandable that Republicans are green with envy and scratching their heads wondering why the Internet works for Democrats but doesn’t work for them. The simple answer:
There is no technology that can help overcome the left’s current online dominance.
You can read the column in full here.
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102 Comments
You’re right, and yes, it’s a very very deep hole. But it’s worse than that. Republicans trail Democrats in every fast-growing demo except old people. Obama’s victory came out of the new dominant voting bloc — urban voters. A bloc that is getting bigger, not smaller.
Nate Silver has a good look at this, here: http://www.esquire.com/features/data/how-obama-won-0209
As for retaking or taking some small part of pop culture? It’s gonna be a long hard slog. The creative impulse tends to accompany liberality when it comes to politics, particularly when the artist/creator is young (he or she may change their mind later, as this site proves on a daily basis). There’s nothing all that mysterious about it. Other occupations often lean toward a particular political orientation. If you have a room full of screenwriters, you have a room full of Democrats. If you have a room full of police officers?
Anyway. Good luck.
That is not true. It worked big for the only Republican running – Ron Paul. The core support for the once-great Republican party – the patriots – are not going to support CFR-sellout globalist kook candidates like the media-chosen Bush-clones like Romney, Thompson, and Juan McCain. If you are going to force us to pick one of those or any like them, we will stay home, vote third party or even Democrat.
We are putting America first, not Israel. Until the GOP learns this, it will wither.
“college Republicans and other young conservative activists need to go Hollywood – in mind, spirit and even in location. Retiring military personnel hot off of war duty need to head west to secure the Los Angeles front. Producing screenplays – not legislation – is the answer. Performing songs – not whining – is the plan.”
DING DING DING
We have a winner… being a liberal is cool. If you really talk to a so called liberal they will answer conservative 9 times out of 10.
The truth is terrifying but also liberating. Awesome column Andrew
Andrew is spot-on!
His words, “The Democratic Party resonates on the Internet because it resonates in pop culture. The Democratic Party resonates in pop culture because it has been committed to dominating it for over a generation.” should be carved into the forearms of every GOP strategist.
It’s not what people want to hear. They want to hear that we can win if we just find a good way to “get the word out.” Once everyone finds out that the dems seek to “redistribute wealth,” well, who can ever vote for them again after hearing THAT?
The answer, of course, is that to the ears of 70-percent of the voters 40 and under, “redistributing wealth” sounds like “fairness.” Most people see some money coming their way – after all, why should they have to pay for their kid’s root canal when Warren Buffett has all those billions? Let Warren pay his “fair share.”
I hope that Nov 4, 2008 has finally put the last nail in the coffin of the ridiculous belief that “The country is basically conservative.” Conservative compared to who, Abbie Hoffman?
There is but one course of action: Take back the culture, It won’t be easy, or cheap, or fast. But it can be done.
I have the perfect project for conservatives looking to make inroads in popular culture. Considering the importance pop culture has in shaping political narritives, we need to make inroads here beyond 24. As Rush said last week:
if conservatives do not find a way to dent the pop culture, it isn’t going to matter what happens in Washington. It’s unrealistic to expect that every bit of entertainment culture the American people are exposed to is a hundred percent dyed-in-the-wool liberal and then expecting on Election Day to go vote for liberals.
That’s why we need to rally to elect Emily Hughes the Next American Idol. She’s the girl who sang “Barracuda” in her Audition; she was AWESOME! Unfortunately, her audition tape isn’t anywhere to be found on the web, but I did find this preview clip on AOL; she’s also in this commercial.
UPDATE: I actually was able to find this poor quality YouTube clip
Why is this a good idea?
1) The Popular Culture – I mentioned this above and it bears repeating: We Need to Make Inroads in the Pop Culture. This is the perfect opportunity in which to do so. Idol already has the largest audience on TV. Idol’s audience already skews to the right. Is there any better place to begin?
2) She Rocks – Paula said she could make it into the top 5. Paula’s right. With a committed fan base, she could win the whole thing.
3) She’ll get Sarah Palin covered in the Entertainment Media – This is an essential step to reaching low information voters. It will keep Sarah in the public eye, without exposing her to the jackals in the drive by’s. 5 minutes on Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, or TMZ will net far more votes than sucking up to the drive by’s by going on Meet the Press. Force the drive by’s to cover TMZ!
4) E-mail addresses and Cell Phone #’s – We can collect them, a la Obama, for use in a future political campaign.
5) She Looks Cool – She has pink hair and tats up and down both arms. That can only help us in the 18-29 year old crowd.
Thoughts/suggestions?
“We have a winner… being a liberal is cool.”
Angleia, this is EXACTLY right.
As for internet fundraising, it’s not its own box. It’s a tool to be used as part of a broader strategy. It’s not its OWN strategy. Obama understood this. The GOP currently does not.
Knocking on doors is still THE way to GOTV. Until we can mobilize armies of young people who can afford to take a bunch of time (read: college students), we will NOT make the gap. I live in Nevada, and we were KILLED this year by the Californian Hordes.
I’m talkin’ to you, TX!
Jenny C., I urge you to read that Nate Silver piece. Running a Hooterville ticket — Palin/JoethePlumber — is not the solution. The voting pool is changing more and more each election. The fastest growing demos are younger voters, minority voters, and most of all, urban voters.
As a liberal, I’m happy for you to ignore all that. But these are seismic shifts, and Andrew is right to take note of them and look for a new way through.
In other words, and with regards to Palin? Hope is not a strategy.
This is all fine and great. I have no problem with building an online presence to raise money, that’s fine and good.
The biggest problem is the message. The message got lost. There is no small government opposition anymore. The federal government under Bush grew by a trillion dollars, six years of that with a Republican congress and senate gleefully signing it all away.
Under Bush there was two policies. Tax cuts and hawkish foreign policy. Three years of sitting on their hands before the surge soured the country on hawkish foreign policy and Obama co-opted them on tax cuts.
I have an idea – decide what you stand for. Everyone this party has put its bags with the last few years has ended up a loser. How’s that whole gang of 14 thing going?
The next term is a good opportunity. The Democrats have done nothing but run against Bush and been reactionary. Obama ran on a “change” he has yet to state what that is. Put up an opposition, dig in and fight fire with fire. It’s simple.
Harley, the country may also be more urban, or becoming so, but its also moving more south to the red states. I don’t see buses lining the highways trying to get into the liberal meccas of Washington D.C. and Detroit.
It’s not really difficult to figure out, folks. The internet is dominated by younger people, and younger people vote more Democratic. It’s not rocket science.
The GOP needs to stop acting like the Party of Israel-First and of Corporations with juuuuuuust enough lip service to the religious kooks to alienate more voters than they gain with Old Testament-style views on things like stem cell research. Stop the War on Drugs (but we know that will never happen as that is the source for a lot of government funding in so many ways.) Stop immigration totally for 5 years. Raise tariffs. Stop funding Israel. Allow America to heal itself.
Steve – January 18th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
“…and younger people vote more Democratic. It’s not rocket science.”
We all vote democratic, just not all Democrat.
It also helped that Obama’s website deliberately turned off all security checks in handling credit card transactions. The website allowed contributions from Mr. Woodya Bendover and Adolf Hitler of 12345 No Such Place Ave, Anywhere PA. With essentially no limits, and no tracking of illegal overseas sources, he raised a record $300 million.
In the Google search box type Obama “Address Verification System” (in quotes).
Johnfnwayne, and that’s working to the Dems advantage too. There was a time when Virginia and North Carolina were absolute locks for the GOP. (Indiana too, for that matter.) But migration into the states, and increasing urban population, have turned red states to blue. Or bluer.
One election cycle more? You may be adding Georgia to the list. (Again, all those folks moving to Atlanta.)
Andrew-it’s being adressed-do a story on it.
http://rebuildtheparty.com/
The Creature from Jekyll Island should be required reading. Until you understand what is outlined there, all your silly this-party that-party nonsense is a mere distraction.
Kit –
Ah, yes, the mythical “socially conservative MS-13 members.” No one buys it. It was a way for the media to manipulate the Republicans to slit their own throats by abandoning their base. You guys are hopelessly outclassed time and again. Turn off the tube and think for yourselves. Kick these dumb high-school dropout Mexicans out of the country and stop pandering to them. If any party did that they would win hands down. Stop being timid like McCain, Dole, and the other loser RINOs that are a line of failures.
ADAM I think the point many agree on in this column is that flaming liberals are beyond reach. The GOP, and conservatives in general only need fine-tune some aspects of their delivery. That’s not to say they don’t need to do some due diligence on their part moving ahead. Also more Americans voted in the 2004 election, and this latest election was hardly a landslide victory. I think it may feel or seem that way because of the saturation of Obamania we’ve all had to endure/witness the last 2yrs by a majority of msm networks and news outlets.
Does such over exposure influence voters? For sure. Is it the only reason why the GOP lost? No.
However there’s no doubting Conservatism has its place in America, and independent voters aren’t going anywhere either. You be showing much hubris if you think they’re keepers now for the Democratic party…
Sites like Big Hollywood are on the right track, and I agree with its founders that exposing liberalism, its stronghold on pop culture and its inherent intolerance plus collective dissonance etc. is but a cog in the very large wheel that is mass communication. They sure seem realistic about their goals and I can only praise their efforts thus far. I can only suggest to keep the momentum going and let inertia take over, and it will.
There are very few Dems who are squeaky clean and who cannot forever avoid spotlighting their personal/political demons and failures. The free press can’t also be coddling them forever either, it will give way at some point bringing down the Dem’s house of cards. A pandora box is just waiting to be opened, who will open it and how remains to be seen.. I often wonder how Obama gets any shut-eye at night.
Very interesting few years ahead of us..
Jenny C, point taken.
And there’s nothing wrong with Average Joe, Average Joe is great. But Average Joe is, usually, not the guy you want sitting in the White House. Ronald Reagan for example, may have appealed to average Joes all over the country. But there was nothing average about him.
I don’t get Palin, so there’s that. But I do know that every reputable post election poll showed that there were two reasons McCain lost. The economy. And Sarah Palin. I understand that you disagree, and I know that she has some passionate supporters. But right now? That does not translate into the kind of support she needs to be a truly national candidate. There is simply no evidence for it.
As for the Hispanic vote, I’ve referenced their social conservatism in the past, and that’s the GOP’s last shot with this group. But, like it or not, the GOP’s immigration policy will cost them this voting bloc nationally just as Pete Wilson’s stint as governor did in California. And as for those social issues?
You already won. When’s the last time a Dem made abortion or guns the centerpiece of their election campaign. Dems talk about religion as much as Republicans do (between Obama and McCain, there was only one church-goer). Dems have learned to speak the language that the GOP candidates have been using for a very long time, and it’s working for them.
And yes, they won’t do a great deal about it. But then again, the GOP seldom does much either. They merely pay lip service to the issues, abortion in particular, get the votes they need, and move on.
Harley – January 18th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
“I don’t get Palin,”
Palin=McCain=Dole=Romney=Thompson=any RINO. The Fabian Socialists (what they really are) in the media prop up weak candidates for the conservatives to bite at. Most time they are anything but Conservatives. But they are there to gather you in and make you feel like you have a choice. The last time any real conservative was allowed to even get airtime (besides Ron Paul, of course) was Pat Buchanan.
Palin is such a surreal example of this I almost expect her to be some sort of animated robot.
“As for the Hispanic vote, I’ve referenced their social conservatism in the past, and that’s the GOP’s last shot with this group.”
But they aren’t socially conservative. What makes you say so?
“But, like it or not, the GOP’s immigration policy will cost them this voting bloc nationally just as Pete Wilson’s stint as governor did in California.”
If the Republican 24/7 pander-to-Mexicans machine isn’t enough then when are you going to realize nothing will be. That is why they were imported here – the powers that be don’t like Whites who cling to outdated notions of individual sovereignty. They want a class of stupid people with low expectations in life that are easy to control with bottles of cheap alcohol.
“When’s the last time a Dem made abortion or guns the centerpiece of their election campaign.”
Why would they need to? The gun control crowd controls both parties and the NRA which SUPPORTED more gun control when they should be rolling back the enormous layers of laws we have NOW!
Like I said, you guys are outclassed by a light-year. You don’t understand. The “NRA” only does what you think so long as the members agree. So, just replace the members. Piece of cake for the Fabian Socialists – it is what they do. So, now you have an “NRA” that is pro-gun control. So, when they support gun control, the media says, “see, the NRA even supports it.”
The people who you are up against don’t sit in easy chairs and wait for people to be presented to them to get behind. They infiltrate and manipulate things. That is how they control the schools, media, etc…
“Dems talk about religion as much as Republicans do (between Obama and McCain, there was only one church-goer). Dems have learned to speak the language that the GOP candidates have been using for a very long time, and it’s working for them.”
Once again. The Fabian socialists have taken over many churches and are pushing this uber-Zionism where Christians are being hoodwinked into supporting the imposter J3ws in Israel (who are not the biblical Jews who largely oppose Israel and Zionism.) This is pushing the world into another world war like the LAST two they also orchestrated. Their goal is to inch the population of the world into a New World Order where everyone except for the elite are serfs in a new feudalism managed by a one world government.
This isn’t obvious to anyone else?
Kit – again you demonstrate you are hopelessly out of touch. Ron Paul was slightly older than McCain IIRC. He had DROVES of young people supporting him. In some ways, it surpassed Obama’s support.
Get beyond the “we need a Mexican face for the Mexican vote and we need a pimply-faced kid for the youth vote” etc…. The reason the GOP is imploding is because it had no message. Actually, it had a clear message for the most part, just the so-called leaders didn’t carry it out. That is because the candidates are chosen not by those making the platform but by a shadowy group like the CFR. So, you can do anything you want, but so long as you keep accepting these pre-programmed sell-outs as candidates, nothing will change. Look at Obama – they did the same thing on that side! Most Obama supporters are already disappointed, but people like me knew what was going to happen because we knew of his ties to CFR, AIPAC and Brzezinski.
. . wondering why the Internet works for Democrats but doesn’t work for them.
It’s not all that mysterious.
The Republicans have been in power for a while and the Democratic left is highly motivated to change that. The popularity of the Iraq war, especially among young people is very low. Anyone listening to the MSM, or cable programs like the Daily show are getting the Democratic party view.
This will change. Every sitting administration makes mistakes over time and the party in charge of the White House gets the blame. As their agenda is being enacted (or is not enacted as they expected) the organizers and true believers will be de-motivated.
Now it’s the right’s turn to be upset as socialism takes charge. Expect sites like this to become huge. Expect Limbaugh et al to get even bigger. The important thing is to be ready for it.
dragonash – January 18th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Mr. Price: I agree with previous posts stating that it’s the candidates we conservatives offer. Bush, Sr.? Dole? MCCain? And even GWB, Jr. Please. Clinton NEVER got 50% of the vote and Obama got less votes than Al Gore and our supposed candidates were dinosaurs. Just a few points here and there and we can change this thing.
What the hell are you people talking about?
Al Gore got 50,999,897 votes, and Obama got 69,456,897 votes.
I read all the comments with great interest. I am 44 years old and although not a wiz on a computer, I get by pretty good. I am in the most desirable voting group. But, the theme that this site is all about, being participants in the pop culture rather than being revolted by it on the sidelines. It is a starting point. Also, we have to remember a couple of things. It is true, people wanted a change after 8 years of President Bush. The GOP did not nominate the best candidate. And deserved the ass-kicking that it got. But, as a commenter noted, if another 8,000,000 people bothered to vote, the results might have been different. As far as the demographics, I remember hearing the same thing in 1992 when Clinton was elected. Ask Mr. Clinton how that turned out two years later. And as far as Gov. Palin is concerned, she was destroyed by the Dinosaur, Drive-By, Mainstream, Obama-Worshiping Media within 48 hours. And, Team McCain did nothing about it. She will be back and big time. Once again, this is the go to site for those of us conservatives that want to engage the pop culture-not just rail against it. Keep up the good work, Andrew!
David, briefly.
Comparing politicians — or leaders, if you will — in 1776 and 2008 isn’t quite apples and oranges, but the context is different not to a subtle but rather to an enormous degree. Americans want competence in the White House. They want more than that, of course. But any candidate who, for whatever reason, errs in that regard? They do not have a chance on a national level. And right now Gov. Palin has a competence problem. Not with the faithful, of course. But with the larger electorate.
As for the numbers. The WSJ has the most recent approval numbers re Palin. 15 percent very positive. 30 percent very negative. The latter is the highest number in the survey. This is not a good number for any political candidate. In all the horse race polling, Palin usually takes second place behind Huckabee. Given her recent exposure? She should be doing better than that.
As for being largely unknown. That’s her biggest problem. She’s anything but known. And there is one thing it is very very difficult to do in politics, and that’s change a negative first impression.
Andrew is right, there is no magic bullet. The GOP’s problems are boiled down to this:
1. Higher Black turnout.
2. Mexicans voting in large numbers (they always favor Dems and always will) explicitly AGAINST “the White” candidate and party.
3. Single Women, who voted 70-29 for Obama.
4. Younger voters, who voted for Obama (though their turnout was no greater than 2004).
5. Older voters who voted pocketbook issues.
With that, Obama got the Bush margin in 2004, i.e. 52-47.
The reason for Demo dominance is that women are the ground zero for liberalism and PC and status games (same thing). It’s why Princess Caroline Kennedy is the Next Senator from NY and Sarah Palin (lack of status/social standing) along with Joe the Plumber were dogmeat.
The Democrats have a huge advantage on the Internet – most of the high-speed Internet infrastructure is concentrated in the more liberal urban areas. In the rural areas where voters tend to favor the GOP, there is much less broadband availability. Even dial-up internet is a problem in some areas, due to the crappy antiquated copper wire network in the rural areas.
The Republicans have shot themselves in the foot by insisting that deploying rural broadband can be done only by the private sector. Well, the private sector has failed, and now the GOP can’t rely on modern technology to reach their constituents. Instead, they are stuck with dinosaur media like television, radio, newspapers and direct mail. Republicans like Chip Saltsman who advocate an Internet-based strategy to reach voters haven’t figured it out yet.
No offense Andrew, this column is pure crap. Ron Paul is a complete nutter who was an unknown before the election. He said some things a lot of people agreed with, played the underdog, and suddenly there were signs hanging everywhere in almost every city for the guy. Obama had a sure fire Democratic year (unpopular President, bad economy, expensive war, great press coverage, etc…) and won by 7 million votes over the oldest guy to ever run, who had a campaign considered by almost everyone to suck on an epic scale, who pissed off his own party to the point they were saying they’d vote for the other guy just to teach Republicans a lesson, who then selected a complete unknown woman who was obviously not properly prepared for what she’d face (and handled in as poor a manner as I’ve ever seen in a national election).
Yeah, Obama just rolled over Republicans so that they’ll never recover….Please.
Lots of great thoughts posted before me. I’ll not repeat them verbatim. The advent of the internet as a tool for the Dems played to the power of the youth oriented society. They networked as never before and raised Obama to pop icon, fueled by the MSM. What was the common wisdom for the Repubs big victory way back when? AM radio. That worked then, but not this time. Its strength may play again, but as this website is attempting to show, we need to use the “now media” tools currently in place, and those to come, to change the way the youth perceive the democratic process. And we need the youth to teach the oldsters how to join in and not seem out of touch.
Republican ideology, at this time, is perceived to be outdated and not of the people. But Conservative ideals are timeless and for everybody. Find the candidates that can convey those ideals intelligently and at the same time, simply – without rhetoric, so both the “middle of the country” and “fair minded liberals” get it, and we will be on the way to getting Republican and Conservative on the same page again. Let’s try less feeling and more thinking. If that happens we can secure the power positions that are needed to win the fight for the larger democratic process.
Sarah Palin may not be the right front runner in three years, but she conveyed something this time to a lot of people and fired up the base. If the upcoming candidates turn out to be similar in thought, deeds, and conviction, we will have change happening that’s more to our liking.
Obama’s strength in internet fund raising can be described in one word – FRAUD. Now before you dismiss this as some paranoid rant let me state what is known – there is proof that Obama obtained some funds fraudulently, what we can’t establish is how much was raised. The proof of fraud was reported in reputable blogs like Powerlineblog, where they were given evidence that the Obama campaign accepted credit card donations from names that didn’t match the cardholders name (e.g. Ayn Rand, Adolfe (sic) Hitler, Saddam Hussein). How is a simple and obvious fraud like this even possible in the 21st century? Here is what happened:
1. The Obama campaign was the only campaign (out of the entire field of Dems and Republicans) that did not give the FEC access to its sub $200 donation records. The ONLY campaign. Co-incidentally, the one fund raising area that is not scrutinized just also happens to be the one area that Obama blows everyone else out of the water. Hmmm.
2. The Obama campaign was the only campaign (again) that turned off the default fraud checking on CC transactions. The fraud check is automatic – someone needed to make a conscious decision to turn it off (and it is more complex than ticking a box, it requires a singularity of purpose and effort). Furthermore, the banks charge more per transaction when the security is off – we are talking from a few cents per transaction with fraud checking to tens of dollars without fraud checking. This is not trivial and would have cost the campaign hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees. Whoever made the decision to turn off the fraud check would have been informed of this and was senior enough to commit the Obama campaign to wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars unnecessarily.
3. Similarly, the Obama campaign was the only campaign (is there a pattern here?) that had no security measures for screening out foreign donations. Even the simplest check (number check – different countries have different sets of numbers)was turned off.
So how much could be raised if you have to limit yourself to less than $200 a pop? Say you want to donate $1 million to Mr Obama’s campaign. You set up an internet boiler room operation, hire 12 people to type in details at the Obama website and within 8 hours you could donate $1 million in parcels less than $200. If the Chinese / Iranians etc wanted to buy an election they could have done this without breaking into a sweat.
We know that fraud was deliberately made possible, and we have proof that the Obama campaign accepted some fraudulent donations. Without FEC scrutiny we will never know how many fraudulent (and international) donations were made to his campaign. And in terms of Mr Obama giving the FEC permission Mr “Change” and “Yes we Can” is definitely “No You Can’t” (again, the only candidate).
The MSM were told of this during the campaign, and any journalist could have tested it themselves on the Obama website. But strangely no-one bothered. I am sure if a Republican tried to do what Obama did they would have been on to them in a flash.
Now, do you still believe we can learn anything from the Obama campaign?
Cahnman – That’s fantastic. You really think that the answer for the Republican Party is for all of us to get behind Emily Hughes, and help her win on American Idol? Wow. I guess the GOP has absolutely nothing to worry about.
I don’t necessarily think Republicans need to go Hollywood to wow young people. Ronald Reagan captured the youth vote. Why? Because he had a message of hope, change, and incredible optimism for America’s future. Did John McCain represent that? No, his message was focused on how shady Obama was and how we couldn’t trust him. Obama’s message was about hope and change just like Ronald Reagan.
Now, I hear all the complaining about how Republicans can’t compete on the Internet. Sure we can! We just need people with innovative ideas on how to bring us all together. Just look at Team Sarah. Their site is a brilliant marketing tool. The site has hundreds of groups that lets every type of Republican find his or her own little niche. Say for instance if you’re a gay pagan who loves Sarah Palin, you already have two groups that cater to you on there. If you find your niche, you’re likely to stick around and stay politically engaged.
Republicans need something along the lines of a Team Sarah site to bring us all together from varying backgrounds under one main site. It’s not rocket science. Quite frankly, I don’t understand why Republicans seem so intimidated by the Internet. Sure, Democrats were superior in their organizational efforts but we can learn from it. Take the best of their game and improve upon it. Then, hammer them over the head next time around.
Andrew, absolutely brillant piece.
We do have one Celebrity though in the GOP: Sarah Palin.
70,000 people. That’s how many she drew to The Villages for a campaign rally on Sept. 23, the largest rally ever for a Republican in the 160-year history of the Party. Lost in all the discussions about Sarah, is this fundamental fact: Nobody on the GOP side draws a crowd like she does.
Our Party would be absolutely insane not to nominate her for 2012.
If the GOP doesn’t go with Palin, I’ll just vote Libertarian.
Frank – January 18th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
“…[McCain is] a nice man, he is a true blue war hero…”
What BS! He got himself shotdown because he was a horrible pilot that exercised poor judgement. He said he IGNORED A MISSILE WARNING. Typical of his personality – like ignoring the warning about illegal immigration and government spending. He got himself shot down because he was an arrogant, priviledged brat and he made himself into a liability to this country (not even counting all the other jets he destroyed). He is more of a villian than a hero.
Well said, Andrew. Let’s get to work.
Des, Pure crap? Ron Paul raised a lot of money. (I said the Internet is a “big, big deal.”) And Paul was completely marginalized — by the media. (Sometimes the media even does my bidding!) Paul had no chance in the primaries. He had no chance to run as an independent in the general. He is a punchline to most. No small thanks to the collective strength of media conditioning. My point stands.
David, fair enuf. As to Reagan’s Morning in America and Obama’s own message? They do share one very important historical data point. Each is following one of the least popular presidents in our nation’s history (based on approval ratings).
So in each case, yes, they were able to promise change, hope, and a new direction. If only because the country was so dissatisfied with current occupant of the Oval Office.
Yes, Andrew, but Paul was a punchline because he was a joke to begin with (as was Howard Dean, who in my opinion had no legitimate shot at his party’s nomination). The Howard Dean myth is that his scream cost him the nomination, when the truth was, despite the money he raised (which made him prominent), what were the chances he was going to win? People like to speculate about it because his meltdown was so spectacular, but let’s remember he gave that speech after losing.
The Dems can outraise the Republicans right now on the Internet, I agree. But this is a snapshot in time that is the result of 6 years that went bad with a Republican President, House, & Senate. Republicans spent us into debt, and generally ignoring Conservative (or even intelligent) philosophies, and so they paid the price. The new Democratic stimulus (spending) bill is going to make a lot of Americans choke when they read about it. The policies on defense aren’t going to work, radical Islam is not going to stop hating us because we promise not to pour water on their face or listen to their calls. The Dems are going to eat it because that’s what politicians do. When that happens, the people in the middle are going to rebel, and we’re going to forget that at this time, people were afraid it was inexorably tilting toward the Dems.
I agree with you that the Left dominates much of the entertainment industry, the media, and the internet culture. But they still only make up 22% of the voting public. They’ll win as long as they pretend not to be Left, and not a second longer.
Des, while it’s an inexact science, your numbers are a little skewed re the voting public. Democrats usually lead the GOP in party I.D., the numbers move around a little — for example, each party’s I.D. number goes up after their convention — but the spread remains about the same. 36 percent for the Dems, 27 for the GOP. (Those same polls show that when Independents get off the fence, they move disproportionately into the Dem column.)
Harley said….I don’t get Palin, so there’s that. But I do know that every reputable post election poll showed that there were two reasons McCain lost. The economy. And Sarah Palin.
Harley, that couldn’t be less true if you made it up yourself….oh wait.
I read the polling data, and you’re twisting the question they were responding to in order to fit your agenda. Sarah Palin was wildly popular compared to Joe Biden. Vice Presidential candidates NEVER effect elections (did you notice Dan Quayle or Dick Cheney hurting either Bush?). The fact that Sarah Palin actually excited a large portion of the Republican base, and a small amount of Independents is shocking because it’s the first time in history that’s ever happened.
She had stronger negatives because she was in the media so much more than Biden (actually she was in it more than McCain as well). Her appearance on SNL was the largest audience they’ve had in over a decade. Her debate was the most watched VP debate ever. Her convention speech was almost as watched as Obama’s. If she ran as President today, she’d be in trouble because people still remember the gaffes. If she continues to be a popular Governor and improves her public image, she’ll be a real danger to the Democrats because people are very interested in her. Four years ago, Barack Obama was a mildly popular local politician who just won a Senate seat because his opponent had to withdraw during the election. If you think Sarah Palin is in a position worse than that, you really need to take a look at separating your politics from your thought process.
Des, while it’s an inexact science, your numbers are a little skewed re the voting public. Democrats usually lead the GOP in party I.D., the numbers move around a little — for example, each party’s I.D. number goes up after their convention — but the spread remains about the same. 36 percent for the Dems, 27 for the GOP. (Those same polls show that when Independents get off the fence, they move disproportionately into the Dem column.)
No Harley, my numbers are not skewed. They are the average of every exit poll taken over the last decade. I didn’t say Democrat, I said the Left (Liberals). There is a difference. I used to be a Democrat, I’ve never been a Liberal (and I’ve never been a Republican). More people identify themselves as Conservative than Liberal, but more as Moderates than either of those. Party affiliation matters, but only marginally so. The public at large doesn’t like Liberal policies, so we’ll see if Obama keeps his campaign promises (or rhetoric, as he likes to call it now). If he actually governs from the Center ala Clinton, he’ll do all right. If he governs the way he voted or campaigned, he’ll be a one term President.
I never had a conversation with a person who supported him who actually knew his voting record. He got in under the radar, without most people knowing what he had stood for during his career (I do because I live here and have known about him for 20 years). If you think that his election is proof that America is ready to go hard Left, then I respectfully disagree.
Andrew –
Ron Paul beat the media’s favorite Giuliani, in the primaries despite Faux News not allowing him to participate in the debate in NH. I still see Ron Paul stickers all over the place. If he had no chance in the primaries then this country has no chance.
For the record, I voted for Sarah Palin. Period.
I’m experiencing a self-imposed media blackout (except for my beloved BH & a few other blogs) for a few days, maybe longer until the ‘one’ crashes a bit (and it will happen).
Thx again to AB for this site. This particular post has been one of the most interesting to read. I especially enjoy the exchange between AB & Des, but my favorite (although I feel to be a bit voyeuristic) is watching Des and David Marcoe SPANK Harley … every time! Duh, it’s going to be a long hard fall over the cliff if we believe Harley and follow his advice for 2012. He’s a tricky fellow.
There is no technology that can help overcome the left’s current online dominance … except the right’s future online dominance.
Des, separating Liberals from Dems — or separating Conservatives from the GOP — is a semantical game. You can play it if you want. But it has little value in the world outside your computer screen, and none at all when it comes to predicting the future.
This election wasn’t about going ‘Hard Left’ and I can’t imagine why anyone would think it was. Obama is a pragmatic left of center Democrat. I expect he’ll govern that way.
As for Palin, you’re ignoring the obvious in order to better hope for the future. That’s fine, not moderately disingenuous. Charles Krauthammer, among others, said the same thing I did. Palin and the economy were the two reasons McCain lost. That doesn’t mean she has no future in the GOP. It’s just the way things turned out.
Texacalirose, well, whatever floats your boat. Seems to me that Des, David and I are having a conversation that includes disagreement. Not sure where you find all that spanking. (I’m guessing projection, maybe latency.)
Des, separating Liberals from Dems — or separating Conservatives from the GOP — is a semantical game. You can play it if you want. But it has little value in the world outside your computer screen, and none at all when it comes to predicting the future.
What are you talking about??? Conservative is a philosophy, while Republican is the name of an organization. A semantical game? That’s just ridiculous (not to mention entirely untrue). I’ve never been an official member of any party, but spent most of my life identifying with Democrats. I have never (not for a minute) been a Liberal. Liberal is a philosophy that encompasses a set of ideals that sometimes coincide with the Democratic party. Saying there the same is just flat out wrong.
I’m sorry, but Barack Obama hasn’t been “Pragmatic Left of center Democrat” once in his entire career. I’m not sure if you know anything about him or not, but he comes from the extreme Left of the Left wing (he once said there was no difference between himself and Bobby Rush…founder of the local Black Panther party). He won his seat from someone who openly called herself a Socialist (not exactly a Moderate district). His friends in Chicago politics (his close ones) are a who’s who of the Left wing Chicago machine. He was the only State Senator of either party who opposed the “Born Alive Infant Act” (which said doctors weren’t allowed to let live babies die when they resulted from a botched abortion). While sitting on the board with Ayers (someone he was much closer with than anyone in the Left wanted to acknowledge) he helped distribute hundreds of millions of dollars to education initiatives that didn’t actually improve education for anyone (but they did help far Left causes associated with changing education). He has supported every corrupt Left-wing politician in Illinois (including Blagojevich, who he was very close to).
Seriously, I could go on for hours. This is the man who voted present more than anyone else in the Illinois State Senate. If you want to blindly hope he’ll govern the way you want him to, that’s your choice. We know he’ll sound good while he does it, which is an important part of the President’s job (and something Bush was atrocious at). But you can’t point to anything in his entire Legislative career that was Center-anything. Sorry, you have to try that on someone who hasn’t lived in Chicago all their lives.
Bart,
I love the new site but have to disagree with you on this…I believe that the Dems won because of one thing and one thing only…Grassroots! Having been a political activist in my past I can categorically say that it is always about grass roots…We used to have the power in that arena but they finally learned how to do it and took it quite a bit further using Craigs List…For the last eight years(times 365 days a year) I have read post after post on Craigs List mobolizing the young people…Getting them out to work(for pay)and educating them…They did it and so can we…All my conservative friends use Craigs List
and so the same could so easily be done with the GOP…Let’s stop wringing our hands and get going…2012 is a heartbeat away!
Nice site you have!
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