I’m all in favor of candidates and the Republican Party collecting as many e-mail addresses from supporters as they can. Despite the rise of social networks e-mail is still the most powerful tool for connecting with online supporters. Ask the Obama campaign how e-mail is treating them.
Candidates and parties use gimmicks to get e-mail addresses. Sen. John McCain has an earmark petition
on his site. Another technique is the survey. I received an e-mail from the National Republican Congressional Committee asking to fill out a survey. They claim my opinion will “help [them] regain the majority in 2008.”
The questions are the same loaded ones I’ve gotten for years by snail mail from conservative/Republican groups asking for money. At least in the NRCC’s case they only want my e-mail address and zip code. No donate button in visual range.
Commenters at Michelle Malkin’s weblog noticed this too. Walterc wrote:
What a slanted questionnaire. I was expecting something a little less self serving that would actually get some valuable feedback from the constituancy (sic).
This was just asking me to sign off on their campaign rhetoric.
Pabarge is even more cynical:
I’m sorry but this survey is complete spin and a shill for donations. None of these people intend to follow through on the Republican agenda. They know our hot buttons and they’ll push those buttons when they want money, but once they get re-elected they’ll stab their very own published agenda in the back.
This survey does not even provide a place to give these RNCC mutts a piece of our minds.
Sad.
I give no $$ to the RNCC until I see some sign of real change.
I don’t blame them for their negative remarks. The questions treat the reader like he’s ignorant of current events. Look at Question #3: “Do you agree with the Nancy Pelosi Democrat Majority’s decision to impose massive tax hikes on the American people?”
What Republican would say, “yes?”
Look at Question #7: “Do you support the Democrats’ efforts to give federal government bureaucrats complete control of your health care costs and choices?”
What Republican would say, “no?”
This survey is full of these types of questions where the answer is obvious given the audience. There seems to be no point to this “survey” other than getting an e-mail address.
What could the NRCC do better? At the very least they could have a form for people to send comments or an e-mail link to an inbox that was actually looked at.
The NRCC has a weblog that allows comments so they’re not opposed to accepting feedback. They weblog and the survey could have linked to each other letting people give their feedback.
The best the NRCC could do is ditch these loaded questions and actually ask their supporters/donors how they can better serve them. To me talking about the online media as a conversation feels cliche and soft, but it fits. The GOP in general is in a rut. The conservative base feels alienated and ignored. They need to be engaged. On the internet it’s all about interactivity and participation. People aren’t passive when they’re chatting with friends or uploading photos or writing weblog posts or making YouTube videos. They don’t want to sit there and be shoveled campaign messages. They want to feel like they’re part of it.
I would advise the NRCC to dump this survey and start a real conversation between the chairman Rep. Tom Cole and the NRCC staff and supporters. They should talk about the most contested races. Where does the NRCC think they have the best shot at taking Democratic seats? What issues resonate most in what localities? What’s the status of the
investigation of the NRCC’s finances?
Have give and take. There’s bound to be negative comments. They should be welcomed. There’s sure to be more wisdom and good ideas outside the NRCC than inside.
The NRCC could set the standard of how Republican organizations engage with supporters in our highly-networked, highly-interactive age. Listening to your customers works for the most successful businesses. The GOP should do the same.
[Cross-posted to The American Mind.]
Comments
NRCC questionaire
"At least in the NRCC’s case they only want my e-mail address and zip code. No donate button in visual range." The danation pitch is on the next page - after they get your email address and zipcode.
Agreed
I would wholeheartedly agree with the post above and anyone who has been through a field school (especially a republican one) should understand about Voter ID and recognize these practices as wasting precious virtual one on one time with a voter. Getting an email address and zip code is only half the battle and it would be much more valuable to understand they're nuances on issues if possible and apply that later on. The fact that these types of surveys and gimmicks don't recognize that makes me wonder if they're is a disconnect between the field program and strategiests or are they just missing the boat completely and don't understand how to maximize the data collection. Either way its not a good sign.
web 2.0 , social media and our party
I have been heartened recently to see that there are elements of the Republican party that are interested in using new media technologies to really engage in conversation (something the democrats have been doing better than we) with the "people". (David All is probably my favorite example of this)
But I'm constantly disappointed that much of the party leadership is not only ignoring social media, but in many cases misusing/abusing it. Its time to smarten up before we lose even more of this county's young people.
Sarah Palin
Kudos on Sarah Palin's V.P. pick by John Mc Cain.She fought big oil in Alaska and with McCain's help can hopefully get the oil companies to agree or be mandated to return some of those record billion dollar profits to the American people.Now that would be a true stimulus package,in fact it would save our economy (if people are out of work, where do they really need to drive?).Biggest perk however, they will have won the hearts of the people! HBW
The many failings of Bush
Unemployment rate in Jan 2001 4.5% --After Bush 6.5% and climbing
Federal Deficit in Jan 2001 $0 --After Bush nearly $500 billion
Federal Debt in Jan 2001 $4.5 trillion --After Bush 10.5 trillion
WMD in Iraq before Bush, none. WMD in Iraq found by Bush, none.
Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan defeated and destroyed before Bush, none, after Bush- they're getting stronger and stronger using our presence as a worldwide recruitment tool while we fight a war in Iraq instead of the people who actually attacked us on 9/11, the Saudi funded Al-Qaeda network. Oh, the Bush family is in bed with the Saudi royal family, I forgot, can't do anything to upset our great "allies" the Saudis who fund madrassa hate schools against us and terrorist networks.
Soldiers killed in Iraq in false war- 4122, injured 30,000+
Halliburton stock price in 2001, $8.70, today $19.05, and $58+ in 2005.
Money spent per month in Iraq in 2001- $0. After Bush, $12 billion
American civil liberties before Bush, prevented warrantless wiretapping, guaranteed habeas corpus and outlawed torture- (you know, all that boring Constitution stuff) after Bush, Constitution shredded for political gain, illegal prison in Cuba in violation of international law, torturing of prisoners in violation of Geneva Conventions and general violation of both the letter and spirit of US law.
I don't even know how to describe Bush's epic failures in dealing with Hurricane Katrina and how he was on vacation while a major American city was underwater. The only parallel I can think of is Nero fiddling as Rome burned.
Don't you Kool-Aid drinking Reps see that we have taken the bait from Al-Qaeda and they WANT us in the Middle East so as to use our presence to increase their powerbase? We should have stayed in Afghanistan, finished the job there and came home; instead we have made the entire region more unstable. Iran is emboldened by a weak Iraq. Al-Qaeda has endless propaganda to use against us. Russia and China are more aggressive because all our resources are tied down in one place. Iraq was a nation that never attacked us remember. Saddam was a secular Ba'athist, the religious zealots in Al-Qaeda hated him and vice versa. He would have never shared power with them or tolerated their presence in Iraq because it would have been a threat to him.
For anyone who would say we haven't been attacked since 9/11. They don't have to attack us here anymore. They have us embroiled in the wars they want. Bin Laden said he would bankrupt the US as he had done to the USSR in Afghanistan. If you sheep would stop waving your flags and believing everything on fox news, maybe you would understand how much damage Bush has done to this nation both at home and abroad. His crony packed administration will go down in history as the most reviled and most incompetent if not maliciously inept of any president. Thank the Lord people finally saw through the smoke and mirrors of the "conservative" argument and voted for change overwhelmingly in a final act of revulsion for this mindless and, plainly stated, stupid, man.
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