It’s been a while since I’ve heard chatter on the blogosphere about building a Rightroots movement (I last commented on it at the end of October). However, over the past few weeks, I’ve seen a number of major developments that suggest we might be on the verge of establishing a true and effective Rightroots movement.
When John Hawkins wrote about this topic, he noted that (emphasis added):
One of the biggest problems online — and this extends outside of the blogosphere — is that there are far more liberals online than conservatives and they’re much more enthusiastic.
Because of that, huge websites that can drive a lot of traffic like Digg, Fark, and YouTube have come to be dominated by liberals, even though they aren’t liberal per se.
Over the past few months, some great minds on the Right – people like Patrick Ruffini, Mindy Finn, Eric Odom, and Michael P. Leahy – have taken the lead in organizing conservatives online. As a result, I believe we’re witnessing a substantial increase in both online participation and enthusiasm among the Rightosphere. Although we haven’t fully established ourselves on Digg or YouTube (yet), we have taken Twitter by storm – and establishing a significant conservative presence on other websites may be coming very soon.
And so without further ado, I wanted to take a highlight a few fantastic websites/projects that have come to fruition since the election that are helping to organize a Rightroots movement. If you’re not already active with them, you should definitely check them out and consider getting involved.
- Rebuild the Party – When Patrick Ruffini and Mindy Finn initially started , it was simply a forward-looking plan for the Republican Party (albeit a phenomenal plan that I have enthusiastically endorsed). However, it has since blossomed into a substantial movement. Over 7,000 people, mostly ordinary citizens, have endorsed the plan. All but one of the candidates for RNC Chair has publicly announced their support for it. And over 2,100 folks have jointed the . This is a very strong showing of the Rightroots who are clearly looking to rebuild after the devastating results of the 2008 election.
- News Platoon and DiggCons – A number of folks, led by Eric Odom, launched the in response to the Congress’ unwillingness to pass offshore drilling legislation in August. And although #dontgo remains the umbrella organization, Eric has recently released a number of notable new spin-off projects. One of them, , is building a state-by-state grassroots network that offers “REAL news stories across” a given state. New Platoon’s first state, , is in beta. The other project that Eric just today released, , is aiming to even the conservative hand on , where for the most part the Right is held to a whisper.
- Top Conservatives on Twitter – Michael P. Leahy started as “a rallying point for conservatives on Twitter.” The hash tag has been one of the top 10 trending topics on Twitter for weeks now. The list started out with no more than a few hundred names; it has since ballooned to nearly 2,000 users, and 15 RNC members have signed up on Twitter.
With websites and projects like these springing up across the nation, I truly believe that we are witnessing a new conservative online movement. We may not yet have established a true Rightroots movement, but I am starting to think that we are getting very close. A critical next step will be using peer production and mass collaboration to our advantage.
Update: responds, as does .
Last 5 posts by Aaron Marks
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Thanks for the plug and mention, Aaron. I believe that we are indeed, as you suggest, making some serious gains online. Right now it’s hard for a lot of people to see because a lot of it is more foundation and infrastructure development, but it is happening and it’s happening fast.
I think we still have a collaboration hurdle to understand and get over, but we’re getting there.
I agree on all accounts Eric. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Aaron,
Great post to think about and I do think we are on the “Verge of a Right-roots Movement”
I also think it could be overwhelming for some trying to grasp all the new social mediums at one time (or at least I am.)
Maybe you would agree that people should pick the “best-fit” social tools for them to use like Digg, Blogtalkradio, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Kyte etc.(could be 1 or 2) and drive the conservative GOP conversation in a focused effort. One Cause, One Moment, One Direction with each of us individually using our giftedness, resources & social networks to get the collective message out.
Everyone using what they’re good at to share with others what the GOP is good at: providing opportunities for a better life, liberty and pursuit of happiness outside of governments help or uncalled for intervention. Just something to consider as things move forward at the speed of 2012.
@Eli: You make a good point, but I would argue that not all people are going to be comfortable using certain social networks or tools.
I, for example, love Twitter and use it more than anything else. But Joe Somebody may not like Twitter at all. In fact, he might like to be active only at MySpace. So focusing all of our efforts on Twitter would not bring Joe into the scene because it isn’t fitting for him.
So, with this in mind, I think we need to find leaders in each social realm/community/sphere and have these leaders collaborate with leaders in other areas. That way we’re utilizing every social network/media/tool as possible, but keeping people only active in the areas they want to be.
Thoughts?
Eric,
That’s exactly what I meant. Sorry, I didn’t say it well. I meant (me, for example) using Facebook & Twitter while (my wife) is better at Blogging only.
So I think we actually agree. I wasn’t saying our “GOP movement” should be limited to certain mediums. We should blow the roof off of all of them. Suzie on the other hand, doesn’t have to sign up for every new social medium to help the cause (unless she wants to.) She just needs to be encourage to use the 1 or 2 she’s good at.
Right? I think we’re united on it.
) Let me know. Glad to know you by the way. It’s an honor.
Great point Eric, “we need to find leaders of conservative thought and activism in each online realm” that’s a dynamite summary of what #dontgo and #tcot and #rebuild all showed us. This is only a beginning
The notion of a true Conservative is farcically reinvented off the lips of the latest self-proclaimed specimen, the same way that “change” has become a politically prostituted mantra for the Left, devoid of any substance or pretense there of. Yet change can ultimately be anything as far as it concerns Leftist “revolutionaries” preaching overhaul for the sake of overhaul: nothing ideologically uncomfortable about it. While the Party of perpetual “progressive” reform need not be bothered with the intricacies of a well-defined “change”, conserving for the sake of conservation just doesn’t fly as well. The future is necessarily open-ended, but anyone invested in preserving valuable aspects of a supposedly cherished past, needs to be able to coherently pinpoint what is worth preserving (or even restoring, if the past is remote enough) and fluently articulate why.
The Conservative movement has lost its conceptual anchor into the essence of America’s greatness and is now consumed with merely conserving the Conservative movement. The future has historically been unkind to reactionaries; hence Conservatives’ recent fall from relevance should come as no surprise.
Vague platitudes of a Conservative golden era are ludicrous. There was never such a thing as a glorious way of life Americans ought to have preserved like an insect captured in the amber of history. Allusions to morally airbrushed “good old days” founded in sound “Judeo-Christian” values, are nothing but blurred second-hand collective hallucinations of a generation disastrously failing to grasp modern-day ideological challenges. Before ever being entitled to a dominant voice in this country’s future, Conservatives must sever their romantic attachment to this idealized fabricated past.
I’m soooo happy that I, unlike you, do not spend too much time over thinking the topic at hand.
The blessedness of simple really is just that… a blessing.
Ya know, reading this post, I wondered: do liberals use technology more than conservatives do, overall?
For example, look at 100 libs and conservatives in any given demographic category and what percentage:
* use text messaging
* use a social networking site
* use email
* read blogs or have an rss reader
My guess is the libs will score much higher on these marks, and that in turn suggests that it’s not enough to just connect the conservatives that are currently online; that some effort must go into getting one million conservatives to start using all the above (as an example goal). And this would be the start of a particular grassroots movement of its own, where one wired con can hold meetings in his or her own living room and educate five others on how to use new technologies.
I guess this is some variation of a 50 state strategy. You want to fuel the online movement? Bring more conservatives online.
I’ve had the same thoughts as you’ve expressed, Bill. Many think Obama’s campaign was all about \tech.\ It was all about building social networks and using the psychology of membership and contribution to motivate and discipline those who signed on. MyBO can be duplicated technically, but until conservatives/Republicans realize it all runs much deeper, the tech stuff is doomed.
And while many jibe the Dems for Hope and Change, the fact is that these two empty words were instrumental – they allowed followers to fill in the blanks and commit to the campaign, er, movement’s success. The other brilliant move was the \you\ basis of all the tech. Behind that was the intelligence furnished by those in the network, the subtle peer discipline to keep folks involved in this hip and cool movement.
All this is just personally fascinating – and somewhat frightening as I see party leaders (and wannabes) fixated on the tech end, missing the most important aspects of the lesson.