New GOP website a dud

September 7, 2009 | David Farrar

[DavidFarrar]

Back in February of this year, while reeling from the latest national electoral defeat, the GOP held a series of GOP TEC summits to essentially revamp the GOP web site. One of the speakers that offered the most forward thinking on this subject, in my opinion, was Newt Gingrich. Click here to go to the video of what he said. Please note, while everything Mr. Gingrich said had value, his point about the design of the new GOP website starts at Time: 7:22 and runs to the end of the video.

[DavidFarrar]

Through further discussions, at least as far as I was involved, one of the most important aspects of an effective GOP website design was the ability to give all party members a voice, allow them to speak and to be accurately heard. This change was going to be important in restoring the political balance between the corporate wing of the party and its grassroot members.

Sadly, the functional design of the new GOP.com website hasn't changed at all. It still functions in the same manner as the old one, with sheer party propaganda always going one way, from on high, down to the grassroots. What is missing is the functional ability to provide a plug and play generic package of programs that any Republican candidate can use, the 'how to organize a precinct' with a set of guidelines and interactive and data based software, some useful widgets to allow contact between individual grassroot party members and their own Congressional representatives, much like what can be found at The People Decide , and the function to give all party members their voice, allow all to speak and all to be accurately heard, not just by the party leadership, but by all party members.

What this tells me is the corporate wing of the party has prevailed in dictating its design for the new GOP website over the empowerment of the party's grassroot wing. It tells me they now think the political momentum has shifted so much in their favor, they no longer need to empower the party's grassroot membership in order to regain political power. It tells me they now believe they can usurp the Tea Party movement when the time comes without the need to engage it politically. And lastly, it tells me Obama's political failures are not going to bring about any significant changes in the political agenda of the Republican Party once it regains political power. The Republican Party will remain firmly in the grips of its corporate wing's political agenda of higher taxes, higher government spending and less personal liberty for all.

How sad. How very, very sad.

          ex animo

          davidfarrar

[counterpunch]

What the GOP needed to do was revamp their party leadership.
After getting blown out in two consecutive elections, John Boehner should have been sent packing.
The fact that he is still House Republican Leader today is the absolute height of insanity.

No one is going to trust the GOP again until they’ve demonstrated they’re reformed, with new leadership.
Mike Pence is the man for the job.
It’s time for Boehner to step aside.
Otherwise, the GOP’s opportunity to retake the House in 2010 is going to slip away.

[DavidFarrar]

You may be right. But the party has had new leadership before and still remained captive of its corporate wing, who actually pays the salaries of the party’s leadership. Until that matrix changes, nothing will change within the political structure of the Republican Party I fear.

ex animo
davidfarrar

[Colvin]

GOP website is a dud, much like the GOP itself.

[IbJensen]

Who in the hell wants to hear Newtie address any topic?

This is the idiot who posed with Nancy Pelousy in an endorsement for the 'fight against gorebal warming!'

[faucetman]

between the corporate wing of the party and its grassroot members.

You guys don’t get it. THERE IS NO CORPORATE WING anymore. The grassroots have LEFT YOU. And ya know what? Without us you don’t exist. You are all FIRED

[faucetman]

SCREW NEWT. I used to love Newt, he has gone over to the dark side, BYE Newt.