GOP Goes Digital

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A little less than a year ago, Barack Obama's stunning election victory over John McCain shed light on just how bad the Republican brand was with, well, almost every demographic group.
 
Of course, the electoral college numbers make for pleasant viewing if you're a Democrat, but the official demographic breakdown that was released earlier this summer highlights just how emphatic the victory truly was--especially amongst the young (18-24). Although the youth vote continued to make up the lowest voting rate they "were the only age group to show a statistically significant increase in turnout."
 
Time called 2008 the "Year of the Youth Vote" and the Arizona Republic noted that "long-term, perhaps the most consequential Democratic gains were among voters under 30. According to exit polls, 54 percent of these voters voted for Kerry in 2004. This year, they voted for Obama by a 2-1 ratio." The article went on to conclude that if "younger voters had split their votes evenly, as they did in 2000, Obama would likely not have been elected."
 
The President continues to enjoy robust support from the 18-29 demographic, although this has plummeted due to the miserable unemployment numbers among youth. The fall in the bracket was "the sharpest decline of any age demographic."
 
So, was the surge in the youth vote an anomaly? Perhaps. Will the Democrats start losing the youth vote to Republicans? Probably not. That being said Republicans do have an opportunity to make up for lost time and engage more with the younger voters.
 
Some analysts have stated Obama's successful 2008 run can be attributed to his campaign's utilization of new media and the Internet, a source of voter mobilization that perhaps the GOP has failed to fully exploit. And with the Internet likely to become a common campaign tool for voters in every age bracket, its full potential has yet to be realized. But now, with the launch of the new GOP.org, Republicans seem to be signaling their intent to address the situation.
 
Having looked at GOP.org it's clear the Republican Party has considered a number of lessons from its 2008 debacle. Members have the opportunity to organize events, plan fundraisers, join campaigns and liaise with their fellow card-carrying Republicans.
 
The informative side, however, is less useful. A cynic would be forgiven for highlighting that Theodore Roosevelt, Barry Goldwater and Robert Taft fail to make it on the 'Republican Heroes' page. Sure, users are invited to nominate their own 'Heroes' but leaving out ol' TR is a little like the Democratic Party ignoring Harry Truman, for example.
 
Furthermore, the list of Republican 'Accomplishments' stops at 2004. One might come to the conclusion that this indicates the GOP's attempts to airbrush a large piece of the Bush Presidency from it's party's history. For example, Operation Iraq Freedom makes it on the list, but No Child Left Behind is, well, left behind. That said, I would be somewhat surprised if the American people--particularly independents--saw OIF as an 'Accomplishment.' I struggle to fathom why it was included. Is the Republican Party really striving to take ownership of this issue? Doesn't citing Iraq as an 'Accomplishment' smack of President Bush's infamous banner aboard the USS Ronald Reagan?
 
A lot of the website has teething problems and in a number of instances still lacks content. This may be deliberate to encourage party members and users to add meat to the bones to make the Web site a fully effective personalized campaigning tool. Of course, therein lies a potential hazard for their site. When utilizing new media and attracting new members through the Internet you give, by definition, the kooks a digital soap box. On the other hand, if you retain too much control, your website is doomed to failure.
 
Still, it's a start.
 
The GOP, usually so quick on the draw with new technology, has lost a great deal of yardage to the Democrats in terms of online mobilization of the younger demographic. But with even a small spike in the number of disgruntled youth voters who supported Obama last year, the party has an ideal opportunity to kick this new online strategy into action. The level of content on GOP.org in the next twelve months may well give some indication as to whether this is strategy has come to fruition.
 
(Image by Jonathan McIntosh)
 
Read more stories at YPNation, America's young professionals network.