Hey us progressive net-rooters are all info-tech sophisticates, right? But are we about to be clobbered in "groundwar" GOTV work this Fall by a centrally coordinated, lavishly financed, highly sophisticated, pinpoint-targeted, and
empirically tested GOP juggernaut?
This article terrifies me:
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/2004/la-na-bushcamp1feb01,1,269201.story?coll=la-home-headlines
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The upshot: With most state Democratic party organizations pretty much moribund, Bushco and the national Republican leadership have already spent millions of dollars since 2001 to develop, test, analyze, and prepare the deployment of new high-tech methods to deliver their base voters to the polls, and to sign up a hoped-for 3 million new Republican voters for November's elections. This revolutionary approach -- already field-tested and "well-honed" -- combines centralized planning, local adaptation, integrated Internet/database/messaging technologies, and peer-based personal recruitment models. Marry that with Bush's $millions and the GOP's legendary organizational discipline -- and I fear we're in big trouble.
A few quotes from the article:
So far ahead are they in their planning, and so committed to their new strategy, that -- nine months ahead of time -- they are already leasing vans in key states to carry voters to the polls on election day -- Nov. 2 -- and teaching volunteer canvassers how to track turnout with pocket computers.
"On a grass-roots and regional basis, this campaign is already underway," said Ken Mehlman, the campaign manager, as he ticked off the organizational groundwork that has already been done: local committees named; voter registration drives launched; millions of supporters signed up; websites and e-mail systems humming.
"We are literally nine months ahead of where we were four years ago," said Robert T. Bennett, chairman of the Ohio Republican Party and a veteran of 40 years of GOP work. "This campaign is probably the best organized I've ever seen."
The result, GOP planners hope, will be a juggernaut that not only guarantees Bush's reelection but lays the foundation for a lasting Republican majority in Congress.
The scope and tactical sophistication of the GOP plan as detailed in the article goes way beyond the reach of our progressive efforts among the "net-roots" and the blogosphere -- at least based on everything I've read so far. On the other hand, the Repub tactics suggest several potential ways for us to connect our netroots strength to actual grassroots voter outreach and election wins. (Something that the trailblazing Dean campaign hasn't achieved yet.)
Some questions I'd like to ask to those who know more than I:
- What are the Dem party and its natural allies preparing that can match the sophistication or effectiveness of this GOP juggernaut?
- What new approaches should we undertake, and where the hell is there enough organizational focus, effective leadership, and managerial cohesion to win the GOTV groundwar?
Finally, a poll to gauge what Kossians think about this potential threat to our roots...