#dontgo

A colleague from #dontgo recently sent an email asking members When Will the Right Start Collaborating? Here's my response:

I have a few theories about this question but none of them are going to be popular.  The first theory is that the Right is in the midst of a civil war (read Jon Henke's article at The Next Right article on Mike Huckabee and Libertarians for the latest installment of this debacle).

The second theory is that there really is a difference in neural wiring between conservatives and liberals. I'm convinced that conservatives are not collective action-takers who thrive in the beehive environment with the possible exception of (a) great threat, and/or (b) great opportunity. When faced with great threat/opportunity, conservatives actually will organize and collaborate - but again, it's not in our nature to do so on a daily basis as it appears to be for our liberal brethren. Liberals have bought into the mindset of continuous struggle toward a perfect world, whereas conservatives seem to be of the mindset that life is "good enough for me most of the time".

Conservatives respond very well to rallying around principled leadership, the kind of leadership that can articulate their values and teach conservatism as well as influence its policy implementation through strong personality and charisma. The message we were sent with McConnell and Boehner's continued elevation in the Party was "bend over and we'll drive you home with more of the same". I think this was a major strategic error, just as keeping the current auto industry management in place would be. Conservatives should demand a "restructure" but right now everyone I know is so completely demotivated, which has led to entropy and paralysis. I see people reverting to "comfort activities" which is a form of reality denial.

What I think needs to happen in order for collaboration to occur, is great pressure in the form of crisis, and then strong, articulate, charismatic (hopefully principled) leadership which is able to step in, man the helm, and inspire cohesive group behavior. This is a standard recipe for all historic social/political movements. If Obama does succeed, and the economy recovers, and his administration does reach across the aisle, and he does govern from the center, there will not be enough crisis to motivate conservatives to develop clear, alternative messages. One of the worst practices of the GOP media and campaign strategists is to continually focus on what the Left does wrong instead of focusing on what the GOP is going to do correctly. Articulate, teach, inform us of a conservative message - please.

Another thing that online media evangelists may not be aware of is the fact that 90% of my colleagues in the technology industry spend absolutely NO TIME whatsoever on blogs, activist websites, or use Social Media for purposes other than socializing with real friends. The idea that average Americans, especially conservatives, are somehow "plugged in" online is absolutely untrue. Millenials actually are plugged in politically, but the majority tends to lean liberal. Boomers and Gen X'ers appear to still be relying on email and video (TV/movies). If we developed a conservative television series with the charisma of Mad Men, that could be absolute magic.

This all probably produces more questions than solutions, but I don't yet have the bandwidth to study the science of influence and persuasion that might turn the tide of online participation by older conservatives. Keep ensuring the platform is there (if you build it, they will come?), and don't give up - but we really need to examine this sociologically a hell of a lot more than we have in the past. With every crisis comes great opportunity. We need social scientists, psychologists, and propaganda artists (Hollywood conservatives), but even more, we need A Clearly Defined Message for them to proliferate. This takes us back to the civil war at the top, so until we break out of the loop, I'm concerned that we will continue to rinse, lather and repeat the mistakes and failures that have brought us to this crossroads.

cross-posted at Lagomorphic Tendencies

For millions of Americans, the results on November 4th were sad but not surprising. They signaled the failure of an ideology which held power for years, promised much and delivered little.

To some, the failure was due to problems inherent in Free Markets, Capitalism, Limited Government, Social Conservatism and the rest of the foundations of Conservative thought. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Barack Obama's message was electing John McCain meant "4 more years" of George Bush. He was right. Unsaid was that electing him would be worse! Apart from the War on Terror and SCOTUS picks, what Bush accomplishments would Obama have problems with?

Bush has grown Government with a GOP controlled Congress for 6 of his 8 years. Obama is unhappy about that? Congress passed the Medicaid spending increase. Obama is unhappy about that? Congress passed Kennedy's Education Bill. Obama is unhappy about that? Social Security Privatization failed. Obama is unhappy about that? Immigration? The Bailout? Obama is even talking about Welfare disguised as Tax Cuts for heaven's sake! One could go on and on.

On too many issues and at too many levels, Conservative principles did not fail, Conservative principles failed to be upheld!

There were bright spots. The defeats of Harriet Meiers' nomination, the Immigration Reform bill and the Dubai Port Deal come to mind. Common to these successes was the grassroots involvement of everyday Americans refusing to allow Government to take the nation in the wrong direction. We did it then, we can do it again.

This morning, the #dontgo Movement gives us that opportunity! #dontgo was founded by Eric Odom and Allen Fuller on a Friday in August when Nancy Pelosi and Democrats turned off the lights in the People's House and went home. Big Government and Democrats didn't have time for you. But many GOP House members believed different! They stayed and told Democrats, "Don't Go! Come back and finish the People's business!" With no cameras or microphones, those voices went basically unheard.

Until Odom and Fuller put up a Twitter hashtag - #dontgo. The word started trickling out. Until Odom and Fuller put up a website #dontgomovement.com so cellphone video, pictures and blog posts could get out. Until the MSM picked up what grassroots, New Media activists were doing and for the next month, the message "Don't Go!" followed Nancy Pelosi from book signing to book signing! Better, tens of thousands of people rallied to one of the most successful grassroots efforts on the Right in years.

That was 2 months ago. While the issue birthing #dontgo is no longer a rally point, people are still looking for a voice to speak to Big Government to foster change! Good news. Odom and #dontgo didn't stop working and growing when the microphones moved on to the next issue. This morning brings us this:

“Center Right Movement Heats up the Internet”
Conservative Bloggers See Netroots As Key To Advancing Policy

On Monday, November 10th www.dontgomovement.com will host an e-launch party to celebrate its fully-functional website and new online radio show devoted to advancing conservative netroots activism.

#dontgo originally began as a simple internet tag that the founders would put on their blog posts while tracking the energy debate by the US Congress on August 1st, quickly it became used by hundreds of activists including members of Congress not just to track the energy bill, but to energize and push conservative values. Soon thereafter the site was created and to date has 30,000 opt-in email subscribers.

The #dontgo Revolution takes web-based strategies and tactics that Democrats used in the last election cycle to advance conservative views and values. The mission is to develop a fifty state strategy of blogs and internet social networks that would get more conservatives active in their communities leading into the 2010 elections.

Communications Director Juliana Johnson states, “As we witnessed in the 2008 elections web-based strategies are imperative. Conservatives have time and time again failed to use the internet to attract voters and get more people active. We hope that with the launch of this website we will be able to effectively wage the battle of ideas with the left in cyberspace.”

Monday’s radio show (online) will air at 5pm CST. In order to listen please go to www.dontgomovement.com and on the right there is a button “listen to #dontgo radio”.

CONTACT: Juliana Johnson, Director of Communications
(312) 575-9500 (office)
(847) 691-9278 (cell)
julianatjohnson@gmail.com

If you're a an eActivist - a blogger, vlogger, podcaster, internet radio host or wiki editor - head to dontgomovement.com and sign up. If you're a traditional activist - a door knocker, phone caller, envelope stuffer, poll watcher or election day driver - head to dontgomovement.com and get involved. You'll be building the state-by-state, city-by-city, block-by-block structure needed to rein in Liberals regardless of Party. And you'll enable the election of politicians who won't just campaign to the Right, they'll govern that way, too!

This is not just a hope! We've seen people work together, they can bring real change. Your passion has moved you in the past. #dontgo gives that passion an effective outlet. Come join us!

Blue Collar Muse

While I'm still skeptical of any large strategic effect the #dontGo movement had, the energy issue overall, as well as McCain's selection of Gov. Sarah Palin, has spurred new policy messages on a wide range of economic, middle class issues. Two days ago, Congressman Eric Cantor (R-VA 7th District) spoke to the Conservative Bloggers' Briefing at the Heritage Foundation, introducing a "Middle Class Bill of Rights." The components are:

• Energy: As everybody knows by now, the rational approach is to have an "all of the above" strategy which includes production of non-renewable and renewable resources (including nuclear), as well as initiatives that increase conservation and efficiency. Cantor mentioned that the selection of Palin gives the GOP in the expertise edge of energy solutions.
• Health Care: Cantor explained that individuals worry more today than a generation ago about losing their jobs because of the subsequent loss in health care coverage. Consumer-based health care programs and the expansion of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are the way to proceed.
• Making Paychecks Go Further: Another way of saying "tax cuts." But Cantor also mentioned that French President Nicolas Sarkozy is proposing making overtime wages tax-exempt to fuel more productivity at the micro-level.
• Job Creation: Cantor correctly points out that the best stimulus for any economy is job creation. This means Congress has to start being concerned about competitiveness and corporate taxes. Back in January, Cantor introduced the "Middle Class Job Protection Act," which would, among other things, cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%. While it is speculative to link corporate taxes to job loss/creation, the ultimate burden of corporate taxes does fall on individuals through lower wages, higher costs at goods and services, etc. (The Tax Foundation has started a campaign called CompeteUSA, showing that corporate taxes in America are increasingly out-of-line with the rest of the world.)

While I like the combination of issues and the focus on the middle class, I'm not so sure I like the branding. Middle Class Bill of Rights? I've never been a fan of economic "rights." But maybe it is this type of messaging that the Right needs for this and future elections cycles in order to successfully court the middle class. And now that McCain and Republicans are making headway on economic and energy issues, as Sean points out, Cantor is definitely headed in the right direction.

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) was instrumental on Aug. 1 from the start of the #dontgo revolt on the House floor. But since then, he hasn't been back to Washington, opting instead to focus on work in his district. He's also doing two things that almost certainly enhance his profile as a potential VP for John McCain: raising money for Republicans and appearing on TV as a surrogate for the GOP nominee.

Nonetheless, Cantor's name has been left out of recent news stories or relegated to darkhorse status. Aside from an excellent Washington Times piece by Ben Domenech making the case for Cantor, it would appear his 15 minutes of fame have faded after a flurry of news stories several weeks ago.

That could change over the next week as he heads to Denver for the GOP's messaging operation to counter the Democratic National Convention. Just as they did four years ago in Boston, Republicans will bring some of the party's most recognizable faces and rising stars for news briefings each day.

Cantor's absence from Washington didn't strike me as unusual until today when I heard Minority Leader John Boehner was headed back to Capitol Hill for the Republican revolt, which enters its 14th day tomorrow. It'll mark the second time Boehner has come back. Other members of the Republican leadership team -- Whip Roy Blunt, Conference Chairman Adam Putnam, Policy Chairman Thaddeus McCotter and NRCC Chairman Tom Cole -- have also returned.

From what I was able to gather, it's not that Cantor doesn't want to come back. He simply doesn't have the time given his jam-packed schedule and stumping for McCain. "Eric's not the kind of guy who lets the grass grow under his feet," a source told me today.

There's no question about that. Cantor has collected more than 34,000 signatures on his Call Congress Back petition, which launched simultaneously with the #dontgo protest on the floor. He has consistently kept pressure on Speaker Nancy Pelosi in TV interviews. And he was the McCain campaign's official representative on Aug. 4 conference call about Barack Obama's energy plan.

Am I reading too much into this? Perhaps. But that's what makes VP speculation so fun.

Hear what citizens have to say when Texas Republican Rep Jeb Hensarling asks them to send a message to Congress to allow an up or down vote on the American Energy Act by collecting signatures where it hurts the most - at the pump.  H/T to Jenn Sierra at Ft. Hard Knox: 

I have been a little skeptical of the whole #dontGo thing. Perhaps inappropriately so. I saw three thinigs today that might be changing my mind about the effect. At the very least, it is changing Democratic minds and raising GOP coin. I can't ask for better than that.

Grist and Open Left's Matt Stoller both object to this language from a letter from Al Gore's We Can Solve It campaign:

Last week, the U.S. Congress left Washington without addressing the energy crisis. They didn't deal with gas prices. They didn't move on solutions to climate change. What's worse, their inability to renew the clean energy tax credits means that government incentive programs to support the solar and wind industries will expire at the end of this year. Jobs will be lost as a result of their inaction.

Grist and Matt are right. When the greenies use that framing, we win.

Second, a Democratic candidate in upstate New York running against Rep. Randy Kuhl (R-NY) demands that Nancy Pelosi bring back Congress:

A top Democratic House candidate is calling for Congress to convene a special session to address the lingering energy problems that went unaddressed when the chamber adjourned earlier this month.

Gulf War veteran Eric Massa, who is making his second attempt at taking down Rep. Randy Kuhl (R-N.Y.), stressed that he disagrees with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on the issue. Pelosi has resisted calls — which have come almost exclusively from Republicans — for a special session.

And third, the RNC got in the game with an email this morning. This is both educating activists and raising coin. As Morton Blackwell noted last Friday, Republican activists see the GOP fighting for something. That's good.

Ed at Hot Air brought this video to my attention, which features 15 GOP Senators, including Tennessee's Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, calling on the Democrats for a "balanced energy plan." A great addendum to the House GOP effort, actually.

Here's what I like about this video. It's fast-moving, it's solutions-based, and it's surprisingly Internet savvy for Republican Senators. It's a smart appeal to young voters (the Coldplay song would be passé, except I'll give the GOP a pass because at least it's from this century.), and it doesn't talk down to us. The call for their Democratic colleagues to do something is much more senatorial, which makes sense and bookends the revolutionary air behind the House's Guerrilla Congress.

My only hope is that the GOP in Congress uses this as an opportunity to step out of the way, not try to be too meddlesome like with Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Republicans need to know that what we do best is let the market and the people do their jobs.

 Mike Warren posts at RIght-Wing Vitriol from Vanderbilt University.

A report about the activity happening on the floor of the House. - Jon Henke

For an hour and a half this morning, I was on the House floor watching the Guerrilla Congress in action. Unfortunately, I have no photos to show for it, as Blackberries, iPhones, and cellphones were all banned from the chamber. The representatives I heard speak this morning (sadly, ol' Marsha Blackburn was not among them, though I did see her there): Adam Putnam (Fla.), Virginia Foxx (N.C.), Scott Garrett (N.J.), Frank Wolf (Va.), Christopher Shays (Conn.), Patrick McHenry (N.C.), Judy Biggert (Ill.), and Rob Bishop (Ut.). I think the theme of what everyone spoke on can best be summed up by what Rep. Putnam reiterated twice: "When the next generation looks at the Middle East on the map, they should be able to say, 'What an interesting place,' not, 'We depend on them for our economic security.'" A lot more under the jump.

Earlier today, I was priviliged to talk to a few dozen bloggers on a conference call put together by Eric Odom, one of the masterminds behind #dontgo. While Eric was asking me a question, a thought struck me. August has actually been somewhat of a critical month in the last few elections, and #dontgo could make it again this time.

It was on August 11, 2006 that George Allen, cruising to re-election, made the Macaca gaffe. Initially, Allen didn't take too big a hit in the polls -- but after issuing what must have been a dozen different apologies and enduring three consecutive weeks of Washington Post hit jobs, Jim Webb was made competitive -- and the Senate was lost.

As Jim Geraghty can sing chapter and verse on, August is the month John Kerry lost the Presidency in 2004. It was one gaffe right after the other. After SBVT / snubbing the Marine at Wendy's / Teresa's "four more years of hell" comment / "more sensitive war on terror" / saying he still would have voted to give Bush the authority to go to war, Kerry was badly weakened going into the GOP convention, paving the way for a big Bush bounce that never fully receded.

August is also the month Al Gore leapt back into contention in the 2000 election, and he went on to win the popular vote.

August could be that month for House Democrats if #dontgo keeps going. As with George Allen and John Kerry, it will take more than one or two news cycles to inflict the needed damage, but a series of high-profile maneuvers to keep this 70-30 issue in the headlines.

Let's get McCain on the House floor. Let's get all the House challengers to an event on the Capitol steps. Let's make a strategic calendar every day from now until Labor Day.

It's my belief that while massive losses in the Senate are a foregone conclusion because of the map, House Republicans's stock is undervalued. The Democrat-controlled (but Republican occupied) Congress has a 9% approval rating. The Dems won seats they should not have in 2006. 1992 was also a change year, and yet Republicans then managed to pick up 10 seats.

#dontgo is positioned to be the event that at last restores Republicans to where they should be in the House. Don't lift the boot from Nancy and Steny's neck. Let's keep this going.

#dontgo is officially a movement. MoveOn is mobilizing against the House Republicans and the rightosphere this afternoon. I don't think they've ever done this in response to a grassroots conservative protest. Something has changed. 

There has been nothing worthwhile to speak of in recent years that's emanated solely from the base like this has. It's worth our time to take a step back and understand what made this success possible.

First, while Reps. Mike Pence and Tom Price provided the spark by starting the House floor revolt, it was the rightosphere (and crucially, the Twitterverse) that poured the gasoline.

Elected officials cannot start movements on their own. They need a willing audience to activate. The audience was primed by John Culberson leading the revolt against the ridiculous House franking rules. (On the issue side, it was primed by Newt's "Drill Now" movement.) That solidified Culberson, and by extension minority Republicans, as the troublemakers storming the gates with technology, and Democrats as the lame defenders of an old order. That is the natural role of any political minority, but one House Republicans, accustomed to the majority, have been uncomfortable embracing. Until now.