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Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Did Republicans Give Away the Farm?

Posted by: Matt Lewis at 12:17 PM

They say a good magician never reveals his tricks, but Republicans who pulled a rabbit out of their hats in 2004, didn’t learned this lesson.

As everyone knows, by now, microtargeting helped President George W. Bush win re-election. So what did Republicans do with this new super-technology that allowed them to win in 2004? They promptly gave it away.

Between 2004 and 2006, top-level Republican operatives and strategists gave speeches, wrote numerous articles, and authored (or co-authored) books outlining precisely how to use this technology.

(In fairness, I've written instructional articles for magazines like Campaigns & Elections, but the topic was generally about something that both sides already know how to do, such as public speaking, fundraising, etc.)

Without all this assistance, it may have taken the other side two or three election cycles to catch up to us (Democrats could always have looked to the way businesses use this technology, but it would have taken them longer).

Just as the Rosenberg’s giving away the H-bomb changed the trajectory of post-WWII history, giving away microtargeting -- arguably the greatest innovative tactical campaign tool to come out in the last decade -- might have changed the trajectory of political history.

Did we give away the farm?

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roho writes:	Wednesday, August, 22, 2007 8:06 PM
In 2004 the public supported the war and
the Dems ran an idiot.......A great masterplan for the GOP in 2004 is as funny as Rudy claiming he's the savior of post 911 NYNY...........I guess he was compared to Ray Nagan in New Orleans! But, the old strategy of crying "But what if Hillary get's elected?" will not be enough in 2008.......Come November 2008, the GOP had better have a "bonified" conservative if they want to win the whitehouse.
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TheEngineer writes:	Tuesday, August, 21, 2007 9:26 PM
It's even now
Congressional Republicans stole the Democrats plan of expanding the size and scope of the federal government while spending like drunken sailors.
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IfAFrogHadWings writes:	Tuesday, August, 21, 2007 5:47 PM
I don't know if we've given away...
...the farm, but we've probably given away the hacienda for awhile--microtargeting or no microtargeting.
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Danny writes:	Tuesday, August, 21, 2007 5:13 PM
NO
Republican micro targeting works becasue there are simply more conservative minded people in this country. Rove's army of 2.3 million unpaid volunteers is what enabled the microtargeting to work. There just are not that many liberal voters out there.
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Danny writes:	Tuesday, August, 21, 2007 5:12 PM
NO
Republican micro targeting works becasue there are simply more conservative minded people in this country. Rove's army of 2.3 million unpaid volunteers is what enabled the microtargeting to work. There just are not that many liberal voters out there.
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Pasadena Phil writes:	Tuesday, August, 21, 2007 1:33 PM
It's all part of the pathology
"Stop us before we act like conservatives and win even more elections!"
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PhillupSpace writes:	Tuesday, August, 21, 2007 1:21 PM
He Wags His Tail.
Remember the dog playing poker? He's not so smart; every time he gets a good hand he wags his tail!
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KatieFavazza writes:	Tuesday, August, 21, 2007 12:46 PM
Excellent post, Matt
I've got a link to it on the homepage. Now, go get some ice cream.
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RASHUM writes:	Tuesday, August, 21, 2007 12:33 PM
not worried
I think them Dems would of figured this out anyway. It was no secret. However, (like most things in this world) it is one to have the technology or information, it is another to successfully implement. The Republicans had 1.4mm volunteers. Each targeted 40 voters in key areas. I do not think the Dems could get that much of a dedicated volunteer force. The Dems were aware of this strategy in 2004 and had all the financial backing and were not able to copy us.
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