The GOP talent gap
While television ads still play an important role, particularly downballot, the election results clearly show that Republican campaigns need to be just as aggressive with their grassroots outreach, online persuasion, and data collection and analysis as their media buys. …
A disproportionate amount of postmortem coverage has focused on Obama’s data and technology operation which was bigger — though also qualitatively different — than 2008. Instead of relying on the magic of a youthful candidate, big rallies, and racking up a billion minutes of view time on YouTube, Obama 2012 used quantitative analysis to squeeze out every last advantage it could, reflecting the “grind it out” mentality of this year’s campaign. …
The most pressing and alarming deficit Republican campaigns face is in human capital, not technology. From recruiting Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes in 2008, to Threadless CTO Harper Reed in 2012, Democrats have imported the geek culture of Silicon Valley’s top engineers into their campaigns. This has paid significant dividends for two election cycles running. …
Does this mean that this Democratic advantage is permanent? It will be if the operatives and funders in the Republican Party come to believe that the problem is merely one of buying a few shiny tech objects, rather than doing the hard work of recruiting a new generation of technical and data talents to remake the culture of Republican campaigns.
Blowback
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People in India like Republicans… Let’s go tech recruiting.
myrenovations on November 17, 2012 at 11:26 AM
Honey Boo Boo grows up: https://i.chzbgr.com/completestore/12/11/11/RG_bP6tYVk24t6KCUIuJ7Q2.jpg
davidk on November 17, 2012 at 11:30 AM
Republicans simply don’t know how to fight the socialist smear machine.
They have to attack the socialists even more viciously than the socialists attack them. The Republicans do have one advantage … they don’t have to lie. The truth hurts the socialists more than any lie could.
Go after them.
darwin on November 17, 2012 at 11:34 AM
Still doesn’t explain why McCain’s notoriously dysfunctional campaign turned out more voters than Romney’s despite four years of Obama and a massive dropoff in white Obama voters. If people are so depressed or apathetic that they basically need to be dragged to the polls at gunpoint something is wrong with the whole system of choosing the candidate.
Seth Halpern on November 17, 2012 at 11:34 AM
Massive Vote Fraud:
Romney Shut out in 37 Chicago precincts:
http://www.cdobs.com/archive/featured/really-romney-shutout-in-37-chicago-precincts/
“The List”, Obama Voter Fraud
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2960108/posts
THE BIG LIST of vote fraud reports
http://www.wnd.com/2012/11/the-big-list-of-vote-fraud-reports/
22 Signs That Voter Fraud Is Wildly Out Of Control And The Election Was A Sham
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/22-signs-that-voter-fraud-is-wildly-out-of-control-and-the-election-was-a-sham
Video: Rampant Voter Fraud Witnessed by Poll Watcher in VA
http://nicedeb.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/video-rampant-voter-fraud-observed-by-poll-watcher-in-va/
ahem on November 17, 2012 at 11:45 AM
Sarah Palin.
renalin on November 17, 2012 at 11:55 AM
They were hiring a lot of organizers for both Obama’s campaign and affiliated left-wing groups in my swing state. They targeted college grads and offered around $25-30K for field organizers in major urban areas.
It made the difference and we went blue again.
Punchenko on November 17, 2012 at 12:04 PM
I think you’re right. She had that populist, blue-collar appeal that simply terrified the Democrats.
Punchenko on November 17, 2012 at 12:26 PM
Ummm.. can we please get off this Palin fixation, she’s damaged goods. As for why McCain got more votes…I’ll take religious bigotry for 200, Alex.
Illinidiva on November 17, 2012 at 12:37 PM
I tend to think the GOP has been reluctant to go after a black socialist.
The RNC needs to identify black, Hispanic, Asian, and Jewish conservatives; publicize them; and then finance their outreach in their communities. These people should conduct traveling shows all around the country wherever there’s a concentration of these people are. Make it educational. Discuss in a rational way how the policies of the two parties connect or don’t connect with them. I don’t care if they get only one person to listen to them at first. But get them seeing a face they recognize telling them what they need to know.
This should have begun after McCain lost. I certainly should begin no later than 1 February 2013.
BuckeyeSam on November 17, 2012 at 12:39 PM
religious bigotry? hahahahahahahahaha. mom we got a live one here LOL.
renalin on November 17, 2012 at 1:40 PM