I'm sure all you political junkies out there have been watching the Republican Party as it attempts to rebuild itself after suffering significant losses in both the last 2 election cycles. Some of it probably even gives you a bit of hope.
And it should, because what's life without hope? Just misery.
As a person who's been a registered-Republican since the day he signed his voter registration card, I hope they turn it around too, but then again, without philosophy ... in other words, absent voters who hold strong convictions based on liberty, who are not beholden to a particular political party ... what do "we the people" actually win, when the Republican Party starts winning elections again?
Case in point: As I'm sure you're all aware, the Republican Party has become obsessed with technology and the internet. They've even proposed a goal of recruiting 5 million new online activists. Sounds impressive, doesn't it? Finally ... they're catching on!
Or are they?
On January 6, 2009, six Republicans participated in a debate sponsored by Americans for Tax Reform, all vying to become the next chairman of the Republican National Committee. Current Chairman Mike Duncan pretty much summed it all up, saying:
We have to do it in the Facebook, with the Twittering, the different technology that young people are using today.
Yep! In that one sentence, Duncan told us why he won't be chair much longer, and why the party still has a long way to go.
The New Republican Strategery Part 1
As Julian Sanchez correctly points out, it's like they've developed a "tool fetishism."
... adapting to the Net is more about embracing a certain culture and worldview than about exploiting any particular gadget or social networking site-I wonder whether there isn't a broader technofetishism at work here. It's not that they shouldn't be thinking about how to do online organizing as well as the Obama team did, but at times the impulse to focus on modernizing tactics and strategy makes me think of the Microsoft execs convinced that the right ad campaign will finally convince people they love Vista.
The real problem with the Republican Party, is neither the correct use of technological tools, nor an insufficient marketing strategy. The problem is the product itself! They no longer stand for anything, well, other than winning.
So before they go jumping head first into the new technology frontier, I suggest they step back, take a deep breath, relax ... and pick up a few good books on conservative and classical liberal philosophy.
However, before doing that, they need to learn the American Creed, by reading and memorizing our Declaration of Independence.
Otherwise ... the "new" Republican strategy will end up looking like this:
New Republican Strategery Part 2
