The Solution for All Problems Facing the Right...

...will not be found here.

Not on this site, not with Web 2.0, not on the Internet, not...

...until a lot of conservatives realize that the Internet is merely one of many political tools which may be used to positively influence election results.  Sure, the GOP would certainly benefit if Republicans made better use of online technologies, but merely having neat tech toys is not nearly enough. 

THE BIG PICTURE

Face it, Barack Obama's web team did not beat John McCain.  John McCain (and the GOP baggage he carried) beat John McCain.  If McCain and Obama had swapped their web development teams, Obama still would have won.

Consider that you are constructing a building.  While the building can't be built without the right tools for the job, it takes a lot more than tools (even neat hypothetical power tools like the "rightroots") to get the job done.

It takes people, and lots of them.  Carpenters, plumbers, electricians, delivery drivers, equipment operators, investors, supervisors -- and someone in charge to make key decisions and direct the operations.  Without people to operate the tools, the tools themselves are relatively worthless.

It takes architectural drawings and blueprints.  Without a coherent plan which everyone can follow, the result will be a disaster. The Republican Party could build a socially conservative and fiscally liberal house.  Alternately, the GOP could decide to build a socially tolerant but fiscally conservative house, or even a socially liberal and fiscally liberal house.  However, fiscally conservative fixures built upon a socially conservative foundation only lasted a generation or so. It might be time to rethink the concept of fusionism.

It should also be noted that if the leaders provide reasonable plans but immediately deviate from them, the workers will quickly lose confidence in their bosses. It doesn't matter whether it is a project manager substituting a lower grade steel or a congressman voting for an increasingly bloated federal budget.

Eventually the workers are either going to stay home or find work on a liberal or libertarian project.

It takes a winning plan.  It takes people willing to work together to develop the plan.  It takes leaders -- but many of them will emerge from those developing plans or working to make the plan reach fruition.  Then we can start purchasing tools.  Otherwise, we are putting the cart in front of the horse.

NET 2.0

My personal background becomes a bit important for this upcoming topic.  As a Republican campaign operative, I ran a good chunk of Arlington County, VA for Oliver North during my first real political campaign.  Since then, I've managed or held a key role in a variety of (local to presidential level) GOP and Libertarian Party (more and more LP than GOP, of late) campaigns.  My latest paid political job was serving as eCampaign Manager for former Congressman Bob Barr's presidential bid.

I've lost track of the number of political websites I've developed over the years.  I've also lost track of the number of new web gimmicks or innovations I've used.  I've never lost track of these basic political tools (in no particular order) required for all successful political campaigns, though:

• A winning strategy
• A campaign plan
• Management and leadership
• Database management
• GOTV efforts
• Robo dialing
• Grassroots and volunteer operations
• Targeting
• Earned media
• Paid media
• Direct mail
• Events
• Telephone and event fundraising
• Polling
• Opposition research
• PACs and other fundraising opportunities
• Television and radio advertising
• Print advertising
• Signs and stickers
• Door-to-door operations
• Telephone operations

and all of this is more-or-less balanced by a single factor: the candidate.

One can purchase the niftiest $300 Hammer 2.0 that money can buy, but it still can't remove (without irreversible damage, at least) the effect of one simple Phillips-head screwdriver.

Let's take a quick look at how Web 2.0 interacts with these time-tested political tools:

The concept behind a winning strategy may or may not come from the Internet, but it will still be developed by a few leaders, probably behind closed doors.  Same with the general campaign plan.

Effective managers and leaders may come from online sources, but most probably won't. They will most likely see the Internet as one of many tools which they will utilize for their eventual success.

Database management, while it sounds Internet grounded, traditionally isn't. Most database managers I know (and I've been one) couldn't make a website or social network connect to the grassroots if their lives depended on it. They are great at collecting targeted data and finding technological solutions such as putting walking lists on cell phones.  I wouldn't take one to the bar with me if my goal was to get laid that night, though.

GOTV is an area where the Internet holds great promise.  I've developed multiple sites using the open source "left" product currently called CivicCRM, worked twice with Salesforce and used other turnkey solutions, and managed development of a few unique products.  Guess what?  Aside from major statewide or presidential operations, a skillfull Excel person can provide the same results in the same (or less) amount of time.

Robo dialing. See database management and GOTV.

The grassroots and volunteer operations. If John McCain had received the benefit of Ron Paul's mostly unmanaged grassroots operations, designers would currently be competing to see who could design Sarah Palin's inaugural gown.

Aside from data collection, targeting is what a database manager does best.  It's hard to target the majority of Americans with the fiscally conservative message while promoting a bailout plan, though.  Any skillful website manager (or pollster) could have told McCain this.  The Internet does hold the ability to retain unique data about individuals who visit a website, though.  I wish my friend Richard Viguerie had had this tool available during the Oliver North campaign.  From GOTV telephone ops to walking lists to direct mail to e-mail solicitations to how a website renders to a unique visitor, a campaign that isn't target savvy is a 19th century campaign.

Earned media happens both on and off the Internet.  Television media was worth the most this last election cycle and the Internet has just probably caught up with print media. However, earned media is free media and no reasonable candidate is going to turn it down.  Ever.

Paid media is covered in topics below aside from television media.  Yes, YouTube hits are really cool.  I'd much rather have my commercial viewed by 100,000,000 people than by 100,000 or 10,000.  Nuff' said?

Targeting paid media geographically is still a sound move.

Direct mail is still incredibly important.  The overhead is much higher than the Internet but it still touches a whole lot of people.  A properly managed direct mail campaign both augments the Internet campaign and reaches people who don't rely upon the web for political contact.  Additionally, direct mail serves important additional functions: branding, name recognition and repetition.

Event planning is a nightmare for any political campaign. Successful event planning is even trickier.  Web 2.0 provides cool tools to let your base know when and where an event will be held.  It will probably never replace one competent person (or a small team for a large campaign) to actually ensure that the events are actually successful.

Telephone and event fundraising will never be replaced by Internet operations.  However, the improved database management and targeting opportunities that Web 2.0 provides will certainly improve your bottom line.

Aside from polling I've personally conducted, the last three pollsters my campaigns have used were Matt Towery, Scott Rasmussen and John Zogby.  They all currently differ on their approach with respect to the Internet.  All three watch it closely, yet none of them are totally there.  In the meantime, I'm working on a cell phone polling project which might actually be completed before Web 3.0.

The Internet is the opposition researcher's wet dream -- and nightmare.  It's so much easier to dig up information than it used to be, but there is so much info (along with misinfo and disinfo) out there that it can quickly beome overwhelming.  It's a rare day that I don't hit the FEC site or OpenSecrets.org, though.  Blogs are truly great at helping op research and they break a lot of op research stories.

Perhaps others have had other experiences, but PACs and related organizations are still best approached on a one-by-one basis. The Internet provides too much disclosure for them, perhaps?

Once one gets past trade publications, local newpapers, and even national magazines, simply go for the most bang for the buck with respect to print advertising.  The same opportunites generally avail themselves online as in print.  Simply look at targeting and the amount of raw impressions. I'll trade a good alternative weekly rag for a popular website on most days, and the weekly will probably run my Internet ad for free.

Signs and stickers. Yard signs (especially in private yards or prominent locations) are still worth a lot of advertising dollars and probably always will be.  Bumper stickers work.  I expect, over the next few years, for Internet advertising to have the same general impact.  However, if signs won elections outright, Ron Paul would have lost (on Goldwater/Johnson standards) to Barack Obama in the general election, anyway.  However, the abysmal showing of McCain signs and stickers told me, early on, that he had lost, too.

One can't beat the Internet for the databases necessary to help with door-to-door or telephone operations, but without people (or robo-dailing) to man the operations, you might as well have a screwdriver with no one to turn it.

CONCLUSION

If the Internet or the netroots could alone win a national election, my wife would probably be designing the uniform for her "promised" presidential appointment of Surgeon General.

Patrick Ruffini is right: The Rightroots Needs Less Meta and More Purpose