Few Republicans doubt that online technology is the key to future success. And, thankfully, those few are highly unlikely to read this post.

Lame jokes aside, the conversation and activity since November within the Republican Party and the conservative movement broadly has been inspiring. In an I-know-that’s-a-cliché-but-it-fits kind of way. But that conversation has been at the macro level: how campaigns can change GOTV, how the GOP can build its email list, and how members of Congress should start tweeting. Lots of good talk; not many take-action tasks for the everyday Republican. So in this post, I want to focus on the micro-level: how individuals can use the internet to help the right.

The internet has made research simple, quick, and painless. That’s as true for procrastinating college students as it is for aspiring political activists–so use it now to your advantage. Reams of data are available on politicians and government bodies: budgets, contracts, ethics disclosures, meeting minutes and videos, and the list continues ad nauseam. Let’s start digging through it and building arguments with it.

My theory about this is simple. Americans, regardless of partisan inclinations, dislike government waste and stupidity. (That’s why people/programs accused of being wasteful or stupid don’t discuss the value of such monikers; instead, they spend a great deal of time arguing why they aren’t wasteful or stupid.) But, unfortunately, government bodies are inherently prone to making wasteful and stupid decisions. This occurs for may reasons, but the primary one is that they elected officials aren’t spending their own money–they’re spending someone else’s. I, too, would be much more liberal in my shopping if it were on someone else’s credit card.

What does this mean? Elected bodies (and people) unaccustomed to public scrutiny present rich examples of the silly things these elected bodies (and people) do. So start examining them. Now.

• Track your local government. Local government is a great deal less glamorous than politics inside the beltway, but it has more direct–and sometimes even more frightening–effect on your daily life. Plus, it receives considerably little attention, except from those who have something to gain. The result is that local governments feel particularly emboldened to do stupid things (e.g. Raleigh, NC briefly criminalized garbage disposals last spring) or waste taxpayers’ money (e.g. poverty-ridden, crime-ridden Durham, NC spent $46 million on a performing arts center).

  The best source for information about your government is the government itself. Google your town government. Start reading minutes of the meetings; search for key terms if you’d like. (“Smart growth” and “affordable housing” are great ones to start with.) Then start asking questions. Email departments if things don’t make sense or you’d like to get on a mailing list. I worked for a state agency for a summer, so I can tell you, no matter how much bureaucrats grumble, they have to answer your question.

• Track your state’s congressional delegation. There is a surprising paucity of organized information on low-profile figures in Congress. (A prime example is my congressman, David Price (D-NC4), a 20-year incumbent: Google him, and then read a lot about the baseball player who shares his name.) Many members of Congress sit pretty in districts all but hand-drawn for them. With a lack of media or citizen attention, they become more enamored of serving themselves than their constituents–especially when they get reelected year after year after year.

  Start paying attention to the day-to-day in Congress. The Republican Cloakroom is a fantastic resource for the House. Taxpayers for Common Sense compiles databases on earmarks. Compare those earmarks to campaign donation information available via OpenSecrets or the FEC. Finally, find salary for officials and staff, financial disclosure statements, and travel disclosure forms from Legistorm. It doesn’t take much effort to find interesting things.

• Track stimulus spending in your state. The stimulus bill offers a unique chance to demonstrate the foolishness and waste inherent in massive government spending programs–especially when it’s likely the benefits of said programs (in terms of job creation/saving) are fuzzy. Most state governments have set up stimulus information sites, but they’re unlikely to identify state projects using federal funds inefficiently.

  Start planning to track stimulus-funded projects now, as they’re just rolling out, and commit to cover them to their completion in 2010 or 2011. I’m building a simple database-driven site to do this for North Carolina. If you’d like to help, or better yet you’d like to head the effort in another state, get in touch with me. I think we could have a good conversation.

Write a blog; contribute to someone else’s. Send information along to your county or state party or even the local media. Call your elected officials. Or just start building an email list to distribute the information to your family and friends. But do something and, above all, be honest and call out Republicans when they deserve it.

I have a theory that the more people see of how government works, the less they would like it to do. I’m trying to test that theory. I hope you’ll help.

Last 5 posts by Abby Alger

• Kids These Days - March 17th, 2009
• In which I browse HR 1105, so you don't have to. - February 24th, 2009
• Re: Attacking Obama - February 5th, 2009
• What does youth voter outreach look like? - January 11th, 2009
• Let’s Fix the System - December 28th, 2008