Obama's Groundbreaking GOTV -- The Article Every GOP Operative Needs to Read
Gene Schwimmer, Guest Contributor ·
November 21, 2012 at 6:36pm
The title is not an exaggeration. Yes, the Obama campaign’s get-out-the-vote strategy was truly groundbreaking; likewise, their contribution-solicitation program. And yes, every GOP operative who will be involved in the midterm campaigns and in 2016 really, really needs to read this.
I will follow up this post with a more comprehensive analysis, but this article is too important to wait. For now, here’s the bottom line:
Obama’s groundbreaking operation raised $190 million more online than in 2008 and turned out an estimated 1.25 million more youth voters.
Oh, and that Anna Wintour-inspired Obama “fashion line” that we conservatives made fun of?
It raised$40 million.
- Comment (32)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (5)
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
Comments:
Aug '11
Re: Obama's Groundbreaking GOTV -- The Article Every GOP Operative Needs to Read
It really is something else. I read the article. It's crazy-- Obama was making bank with twitter and social media, and well, the Romney camps voting day ORCA system didn't really even work. It's definitely something that needs to be looked at. I guess I assumed that Romney was doing these things, and maybe he wasn't. I don't use twitter... and really, for a variety of reasons I wouldn't have put an political stuff on my facebook. But I did donate. I think we will be looking at this election for a long time.
Edited on November 21, 2012 at 6:59pmAug '10
Re: Obama's Groundbreaking GOTV -- The Article Every GOP Operative Needs to Read
People making multiple donations up to $1000, by text message?!
Technology is really useful for reaching people with more money than brains.
Nov '12
Re: Obama's Groundbreaking GOTV -- The Article Every GOP Operative Needs to Read
I read the article. It basically exposes a fundamental problem for the GOP - silicon valley (read Google) liberals and their corporations paired up with sociologists and academics in behavioral research (again, all liberals) to use technology to advance their weak candidate who had no (good) results to run on and no 2nd-term agenda to speak of. This is as much psychological warfare as it is political warfare.
The GOP is always smeared as "the party of the rich" and "the party of business" and yet it is demonstrably false. But, the Democrats can get away with using the rich, using big business and using academia to advance their politics. And they do this without any serious challenge.
Time to take the gloves off GOP! You need to develop both the business and financial resources to combat the democrats and you need to do it without fear of being labelled as the party of the rich. You need to simply fight, with all available tools, for every vote and every voter. And you need to expose, without fear or timidity, the hypocrisy of the left and the media vanguard that protects it.
Jan '11
Re: Obama's Groundbreaking GOTV -- The Article Every GOP Operative Needs to Read
You'd think with such an advantage, he'd have done better than he did.
Of course, all of the GOTV operation depended on specialists and consultants. Governing depends on Obama himself. The GOTV is much better than the governing.
Oct '12
Re: Obama's Groundbreaking GOTV -- The Article Every GOP Operative Needs to Read
This is ... disheartening. Both from a political-tactical perspective, and from a philosophical perspective. The conservative argument tends toward the 'thinky' -- how is it to compete with this sort of direct feed into the semi-/sub-conscious tribal-allegiance proclivity?
Jun '12
Re: Obama's Groundbreaking GOTV -- The Article Every GOP Operative Needs to Read
No, I'm not sure there will be an election in 2016 as such. The crash the President is leading us toward will show us whether there will be a country to vote for or not. Happy Thanksgiving!
Jun '11
Re: Obama's Groundbreaking GOTV -- The Article Every GOP Operative Needs to Read
The cluetrain's first stop should be this Atlantic piece. Ignore the inside baseball tech jargon and look at the firms these people came from. Facebook, Twitter, and Google ring a bell with anyone?
Obama for America's tech folks were real tech folks who had conceived, designed, and delivered real products. Who were Romney's tech folks? Connected GOP "digital" consultants from what I can tell. The Obama/Romney technical competition was between folks who probably know what a Twitter API versus the folks who built the Twitter API.
Or, for you 2001 fans, we were battling the beings that built the monolith with the apes who threw bones at it.
May '12
Re: Obama's Groundbreaking GOTV -- The Article Every GOP Operative Needs to Read
Time also featured a piece that was inside view of the democrat Big Data program. If republicans are the party of big business where was their effort to match this level of effort?
Great points earlier about the Silicon Valley/Sociologist/Academia progressive triad.
Nov '12
Re: Obama's Groundbreaking GOTV -- The Article Every GOP Operative Needs to Read
Fricosis Guy: The cluetrain's first stop should be this Atlantic piece. Ignore the inside baseball tech jargon and look at the firms these people came from. Facebook, Twitter, and Google ring a bell with anyone?
Obama for America's tech folks were realtech folks who had conceived, designed, and delivered realproducts. Who were Romney's tech folks? Connected GOP "digital" consultants from what I can tell. The Obama/Romney technical competition was between folks who probably know what a Twitter API versus the folks who built the Twitter API.
Or, for you 2001 fans, we were battling the beings that built the monolith with the apes who threw bones at it. · 8 minutes ago
EXACTLY!
Aug '10
Re: Obama's Groundbreaking GOTV -- The Article Every GOP Operative Needs to Read
Hmm, the Democrats are big on campaign-finance reform, but what about donations-in-kind? When top-level executives at the world's biggest tech firms give your campaign free advice, that's the equivalent of millions of dollars in donations.
Aug '11
Re: Obama's Groundbreaking GOTV -- The Article Every GOP Operative Needs to Read
with me where I am
No, I'm not sure there will be an election in 2016 as such. The crash the President is leading us toward will show us whether there will be a country to vote for or not. Happy Thanksgiving! · 14 minutes ago
I'm assuming this was in jest. Even so, even in jest "the sky is falling" line is bad for two reasons. First, it's a cop out. Conservatives failed, and they wish to feel better by saying that it was not they who failed but the people who failed them. Nonsense. Second, it's fodder for progressives to say that, at heart, conservatives adhere to the paranoid style.
No, Democrats won with social media. They have an advantage there in that their constituents use it more than Republicans or conservatives, at least outside the professional class. We're still running a combination of Reagan '80 and Bush '04 campaigns. We need to stop.
And there are plenty of libertarians and conservative working in digital media who would be happy to help. Plus, we can always just appeal to a universal profit motive...
Oct '12
Re: Obama's Groundbreaking GOTV -- The Article Every GOP Operative Needs to Read
Owl of Minerva
Plus, we can always just appeal to a universal profit motive... · 4 minutes ago
Problem there is, what happens when the profit analysis says getting a sweet appointment in a statist regime will give better short-to-medium-term returns than will supporting liberty?
Mar '11
Re: Obama's Groundbreaking GOTV -- The Article Every GOP Operative Needs to Read
Fricosis Guy: The cluetrain's first stop should be this Atlantic piece. Ignore the inside baseball tech jargon and look at the firms these people came from. Facebook, Twitter, and Google ring a bell with anyone?
Obama for America's tech folks were realtech folks who had conceived, designed, and delivered realproducts. Who were Romney's tech folks? Connected GOP "digital" consultants from what I can tell.
I think this exposes a reality that conservatives are having a hard time swallowing: many of today's leading "makers" are young liberals.
Once upon a time much of our economic growth was built on, well, building things - manual labor, establishing a small bricks-and-mortar business, building factories, etc. Today our economic growth is boosted by 20-somethings sitting on beanbags typing on small tablets.
It has always been true that the drivers of the economy can also drive politics. But it is time to wake up to the reality that our economy is no longer driven by car manufacturers and hardware store owners.
Mar '11
Re: Obama's Groundbreaking GOTV -- The Article Every GOP Operative Needs to Read
Brian Skinn
Owl of Minerva
Plus, we can always just appeal to a universal profit motive... · 4 minutes ago
Problem there is, what happens when the profit analysis says getting a sweet appointment in a statist regime will give better short-to-medium-term returns than will supporting liberty? · 27 minutes ago
This is much too cynical.
I live in the heart of Silicon Valley - all of my neighbors work for Google, Apple, Facebook or the like. Most of the people helping the Obama campaign are not crypto-fascists looking to secure the good favor of our coming benevolent overlords. They're idealistic bright kids in their early-to-mid 20s who want to make the world a better place.
Everyone goes through a period of youth where their desire to improve the world is much greater than their knowledge of how to do it. The difference today is that people in that phase of life now have incredible skills that can impact the rest of society.
Edited on November 21, 2012 at 8:38pmJul '12
Re: Obama's Groundbreaking GOTV -- The Article Every GOP Operative Needs to Read
None of the "innovations" the Obama Tech Team came up with were "new." Every single one of them exists in the "real world" of product development in technology that I am supposed to be working on now instead of reading the altogether self-congratulation/gloat mode the press is in after "the greatest campaign" ever! I am not want to saying there are no lessons from their win, but nothing Obama's team did is either exceptional or wonderful if you consider the "permanent" campaign operations. The next "GOP" contender needs at least the same level of Tech "weaponry" although the Conservative activist/professional class needs to take over as the political consultants have, once again, failed to deliver.
Edited on November 21, 2012 at 8:52pmJun '11
Re: Obama's Groundbreaking GOTV -- The Article Every GOP Operative Needs to Read
Absolutely. I loved to work in the Valley. Besides, our guy was the one who got fleeced...by professional conservatives. Now that's a bunch to be cynical about!
Also, did the SV folks in the article I linked to look like they were sitting around looking for a sweet appointment? No, they looked like they could code their way out of a leg irons.
Romney's digital consultant? He looked like could get me in that 2003 Chevy Cavalier for no money down.
Mendel
This is much too cynical.
I live in the heart of Silicon Valley - all of my neighbors work for Google, Apple, Facebook or the like. Most of the people helping out are not crypto-statists looking to secure the good favor of our coming benevolent overlords. They're bright kids in their early-to-mid 20s who want to make the world a better place.
Everyone goes through a period of youth where their desire to improve the world is much greater than their knowledge of how to do it. The difference today is that people in that phase of life now have incredible skills that can impact the rest of society. · 0 minutes ago
Nov '10
Re: Obama's Groundbreaking GOTV -- The Article Every GOP Operative Needs to Read
I think we need to study this, understand it in detail ... and get out of it altogether!!! This has nothing to do with good government or leadership or character or anything of value or interest to the American people or the conservative movement. It is a fundamental corruption of the political world. I think it needs to be defeated with a solid, honest campaign based on real-world values and solutions. Orca was a disaster for us, but the problem was not that it didn't work very well, it was relying on it in the first place. Who are we?
As I showed in an earlier analysis, at a certain point in 2010 the polls indicated that the Tea Party was actually in a position to have defeated both major parties, had they chosen to organize in that way. It may be that the Tea Party has now outlived their usefulness, at least in that form. But they showed the correct conservative model of organization. No amount of whiz-bang technology and glitzy sales can beat millions of real people of real character standing up and saying what everyone knows is true.
Let's not be sucked into this.
Oct '12
Re: Obama's Groundbreaking GOTV -- The Article Every GOP Operative Needs to Read
Mendel
This is much too cynical.
I meant this in a more limited sense than my wording perhaps implied: I was merely attempting to note that the profit motive does not uniformly lead to support of liberty.
Mar '11
Re: Obama's Groundbreaking GOTV -- The Article Every GOP Operative Needs to Read
True words. If you want to win by manipulating people join the Democrat caucus.
Despite all the post campaign hagiographies the damn truth is simple. Romney was a poor candidate and with the minor exception of the first debate he ran a poor campaign.
You don't like to hear it? Well suck it up buttercups. Campaigning for the Presidency aint for someone trying to play it safe and that is the only thing Romney did.
If Mr. Romney had garnered the votes that even McCain could manage, McCain!, he would have won. To everyone making excuses for failure, grow up. Romney is a failure and never belonged on the the ticket.
Jul '10
Re: Obama's Groundbreaking GOTV -- The Article Every GOP Operative Needs to Read
Roberto
If you want to win by manipulating people join the Democrat caucus...
You don't like to hear it? Well suck it up buttercups. Campaigning for the Presidency aint for someone trying to play it safe and that is the only thing Romney did.
If Mr. Romney had garnered the votes that even McCain could manage, McCain!, he would have won.
Okay, who are you and what have you done with Roberto? (Suck it up buttercups? ain't?)
You and Craigen are too optimistic about the electorate's Conservative proclivities. Also, as a technical matter you are wrong. Romney has already exceeded McCain; he would have needed at least 65-66 million votes to win. Obama's turnout -given this economy- is phenomenal.