Cyrus Krohn, e-Voter Institute Board Member
Posted on 03/06/2009 2:40:33 PM PST by RatherBiased.com
Two years ago I left a prominent technology company in Silicon Valley to join the Republican National Committee as e-campaign director to elect the next Republican president. We lost, but there was more than a software glitch that contributed to our November 2008 defeat. Now that I’ve submitted my resignation, I have a few things to say and people to thank.
First, the perception that the GOP is woefully behind online and can’t catch-up is the blog-flogging of political simpletons.
It’s common knowledge now that Republicans held a technological edge until the Democrats improved what the GOP initiated years earlier. Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean confirmed this when he said (at the National Press Club on Nov. 5, 2008) that he modeled his party’s 2009 comeback by copying the RNC’s sophisticated database and online outreach efforts from the Web 1.0 world.
Change comes quickly online and the tide will turn again in favor of the GOP, once we hone our message and harness emerging technologies. To do that, we must match Democrats, programmer-for-programmer. Regrettably, we’re in terribly short supply of professionals focused solely on building platforms and applications. This is where we got dot bombed in 2006 and 2008. Maybe we should start providing computer science scholarships in exchange for a commitment to serve our party?
Yes, we have generational and geographical hurdles stunting our digital spurt. The former will be solved actuarially and the latter the Democrats will solve for us by upgrading the grid. Thanks for the help Sen. Mark Warner! Where the GOP can boast is that we have tweeters and bloggers in droves–although their impact remains unclear.
The RNC made some notable gains during the past election cycle. I soon realized our online network was fragmented, our list of e-mail addresses was minimal and we lacked innovation. Today, we host 31 state parties on our website platform, and our e-mail universe has grown from 1.8 million to 12 million addresses. Based on our voter file matches with major web publishers’ databases, we can advertise online directly to 40 million-plus voters. We outperformed the DNC in several areas, accruing twice as many Facebook friends and producing our 2008 Party Platform using the internet. There is a lot more work to do, but the foundation has been laid for new faces to build upon.
The community of online political activists has grown considerably since 1998 when the e-Voter Institute conducted the ground-breaking study on the effectiveness of the internet. The study documented how Peter Vallone used online advertising against then-Gov. George Pataki. The George Washington University’s Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet also produced invaluable research. In 2004, IPDI’s study, “Putting Online Influentials to Work” served as a precursor to the role Web 2.0 would play in the 2008 presidential election cycle.
Cyrus Krohn, e-Voter Institute Board Member
Full Disclosure: I’m on the Board of Advisors of the e-Voter Institute and George Washington University’s Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet.
I’d like to express appreciation to my former colleagues and others who had the greatest impact on my tour.
Former RNC Chairman Mike Duncan and Chief of Staff Anne Hathaway hired me and I’m forever grateful. Chairman Duncan’s appreciation and understanding of the importance of technology allowed our staff to flourish under difficult circumstances.
Collaborating with Sen. Richard Burr and Rep. Kevin McCarthy to create an interactive 2008 Republican Party Platform using the internet was a first for the nation and my proudest moment.
Karl Rove helped me architect an online strategy that contributed to victories, including those of Gov. Bobby Jindal, Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Rep. Dave Reichert. Rep. John Boehner was kind enough to offer me the floor at the 2009 House Republican Leadership Conference where we set the stage for a technology revival with valuable input from Rep. Eric Cantor and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.
My staff was one of the most creative and dedicated teams I’ve worked with. Brian, Todd, Liz, James & Eric - you all have bright futures and I’d be honored to work with you—or for you—again. We all miss the late Mike Connell.
It wasn’t all work and partisan partying. President and Mrs. Bush were gracious hosts to my family. I don’t know how I made the invitation list for so many of President Obama’s inaugural parties but I must be in competition for the Democrat’s favorite Republican. Thanks to my long-time friend Arianna Huffington for inviting me to the Huffington Post Inaugural Ball where I met Bob Weir, one of my musical idols. Jerry Rafshoon’s party for my mentor Michael Kinsley’s new book was an intoxicating evening.
I wish RNC Chairman Steele and his new crew the best in 2010.
After taking some time off and relocating my family to the GOP safe-haven of Seattle, I plan to build new online applications for the person best positioned to win in 2012.
Onward & Upward,
@cyrusk
Cyrus Krohn is former e-Campaign Director of the Republican National Committee. Contact him by visiting http://cyruskrohn.com
“The above is his official announcement.”
The above is his official CYA statement...the lefties KILLED us online...we had a great ground game for W but got our asses kicked in every respect ever since...granted we had no POTUS candidate but we still are getting croaked...
Anyone, anyone....Bueller?
“I don’t know how I made the invitation list for so many of President Obama’s inaugural parties but I must be in competition for the Democrat’s favorite Republican. Thanks to my long-time friend Arianna Huffington for inviting me to the Huffington Post Inaugural Ball where I met Bob Weir, one of my musical idols.”
I rest my case...
The GOP got it’s collective posterior handed to it NOT because of digital impairment, but due to mental impairment.
His MENTOR was Michael Kinsley!!!!! Isn't this some kind of red light? Don't alarm bells go off. And how amazing that he got invited to soooo many inaugural balls.
“...the lefties KILLED us online...”
Yes, they did, but they did it by using ILLEGAL OVERSEAS MONEY to influence an American Campaign.
Paid (by whom?) internet and phone boiler rooms in GAZA, Nigeria, and Europe propogandizing for Obama. PAYING bloggers to post all over the internet, on every message board they could find.
We don’t have this kind of game because we FOLLOW THE LAW...
We don’t have this kind of game because we don’t get huge amounts of FORIEGN SUPPORT...
We don’t have this kind of game because we don’t have hundreds and hundreds of orgs, all financed with taxpayer and overseas money to carry the water for us.
Note to RNC: Hire some 25-year-olds for this job not the guy who’s first PC was a Commodore PET!
I'm certainly not an apologist for this guy, because you're right on the money.
Having said that, it's tough to compete against not just the DNC, but Google, Yahoo, MySpace, Facebook and a dozen other content searchers, aggregator and social networking cites working in concert with the DNC.
“Thanks RNC! You’ve been punk’d!”- LOL!
I don't think I'm going that route.
This message from this guy is a giant slap in the face and disgrace to any Republican who has given the RNC ONE RED PENNY in the last election cycle. Michael Steele had better start getting bold fast.
This is a slap in the face!
“I’m certainly not an apologist for this guy, because you’re right on the money. Having said that, it’s tough to compete against not just the DNC, but Google, Yahoo, MySpace, Facebook and a dozen other content searchers, aggregator and social networking cites working in concert with the DNC.”
Absolutely...I think that all of the above is true, it just felt like this guy was blowing smoke...no doubt, as always, we are fighting the DNC and the MSM...
Sounds like he was another enemy within. He's intoxicated by a leftist's new book, is good friends with the liar beyotch, etc. Good writtens, please don't come back and RNC please do not allow him back.
WhAT?
The link to “Person best positioned to win in 2012 at the end of this story is a “Rick Rolled”!!!
WTH is this?
LOL
His MENTOR was Michael Kinsley!!!!!
Yeah, really...Kinsley was too liberal for the LA Times...the RNC should be flogged for this hire...this guy is probably gonna dine out on this stupidity for the rest of his wretched life...
BUMP!
Whenever I get depressed about the current state of the GOP (which is far too frequent), I remind myself that a candidate as horrific as John McCain still managed to get over 58 million people to vote for him - and that's against a backdrop of a crumbling economy, an unpopular war and incumbent GOP Pres and the ubiquity of bias throughout the MSM and all it's demon-like tentacles.
His MENTOR was Michael Kinsley!!!!!
Yeah, really...Kinsley was too liberal for the LA Times...the RNC should be flogged for this hire...this guy is probably gonna dine out on this stupidity for the rest of his wretched life...
I am so pissed about this I can’t stand it...WTF makes us hire guys like this??? it’s like hiring Gergen to be an insider advisor...WTF, seriously, just WTFF...
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