- Raise Money
- Register Voters
- Communicate to members and voters
We've covered the current GOP leadership's deficiencies in #1 already, and certainly will again. Today I'd like to focus on #3- communication.
The Democrats are kicking our asses. At every level.
Websites
As of press time, the AZGOP website is pathetically outdated. It's currently advertising the State meeting on January 22, an awards banquet on January 21, and Randy Pullen's response to the January 8 shooting of Rep. Giffords.
Also, you'll notice that there is a prominent link to Chairman Randy Pullen's blog, last updated some time in July, and the "Leadership" page still does not reflect the Late January election of conservative savior Tom Morrissey.
By contrast, the Democrat website prominently features a video by new Chairman Andrei Cherny speaking about the party's chances now that Jon Kyl is not seeking re-election. They sure got that video up quickly.
The other day I tried to sign up for the AZ GOP's newsletter. The page didn't work. I see that function has since been removed from the site. Not so on the Dem site. It's right at the top of every page, like it should be.
The Democrats are kicking our asses. At every level.
Websites
As of press time, the AZGOP website is pathetically outdated. It's currently advertising the State meeting on January 22, an awards banquet on January 21, and Randy Pullen's response to the January 8 shooting of Rep. Giffords.
Also, you'll notice that there is a prominent link to Chairman Randy Pullen's blog, last updated some time in July, and the "Leadership" page still does not reflect the Late January election of conservative savior Tom Morrissey.
By contrast, the Democrat website prominently features a video by new Chairman Andrei Cherny speaking about the party's chances now that Jon Kyl is not seeking re-election. They sure got that video up quickly.
The other day I tried to sign up for the AZ GOP's newsletter. The page didn't work. I see that function has since been removed from the site. Not so on the Dem site. It's right at the top of every page, like it should be.
I guess the GOP doesn't allow you to sign up for their email list, because they simply don't have one.
Social Media
A quick review of the Dem's Twitter account sees that they've been actively engaging via Twitter over the past few days, posting information about bills being heard at the legislature and news articles that reflect their views. They were even starting shit with @azhousegop a few days ago.
The GOP Twitter page- hasn't been updated since Feb 10. The last thing they were doing was begging for volunteers to do office work.
On Facebook, it's the same story. The last post on the Dem's Facebook page: 34 minutes ago (as of right now). The GOP? Last updated Feb. 10, again begging for volunteers. But that's just the official page. Tom Morrissey's personal page hasn't been updated since Feb 3, and has all of 25 followers. I guess he's been too busy not raising money.
The Dems aren't quite so good on Flickr- it seems they haven't updated that since July, but if the GOP has a Flickr account, it's not listed on their website.
On YouTube, the most recent Dem activity is the aforementioned Cherny video, while the GOP's last entry is a "fun" tribute to Randy Pullen that has netted all of 57 views. Oh, and again, there's no link to the GOP YouTube page from their website, so if you find it at all, it is probably accidentally.
The Local Story
At the county and local level, the story is much the same.
If you want a good laugh, compare the county Dem site to the county GOP site. Which one looks like it was designed by someone's 10-year-old niece?
At least the Maricopa GOP is diligent about sending out their worthless daily Russell Pearce love-fest emails, complete with many links to Rob Haney's own website, and every negative article they can find about GOP elected officials not named "Russell Pearce". That's on days when "computer troubles" don't get in the way. Of course, if that's the best they can do, it's probably better if they don't say anything at all.
Tom Morrissey's home district website still reflects last year's board, while their twitter and facebook pages haven't been updated since January and December, respectively.
Pathetic
When Tom Morrissey ran for state chairman, he had this to say:
Social Media
A quick review of the Dem's Twitter account sees that they've been actively engaging via Twitter over the past few days, posting information about bills being heard at the legislature and news articles that reflect their views. They were even starting shit with @azhousegop a few days ago.
The GOP Twitter page- hasn't been updated since Feb 10. The last thing they were doing was begging for volunteers to do office work.
On Facebook, it's the same story. The last post on the Dem's Facebook page: 34 minutes ago (as of right now). The GOP? Last updated Feb. 10, again begging for volunteers. But that's just the official page. Tom Morrissey's personal page hasn't been updated since Feb 3, and has all of 25 followers. I guess he's been too busy not raising money.
The Dems aren't quite so good on Flickr- it seems they haven't updated that since July, but if the GOP has a Flickr account, it's not listed on their website.
On YouTube, the most recent Dem activity is the aforementioned Cherny video, while the GOP's last entry is a "fun" tribute to Randy Pullen that has netted all of 57 views. Oh, and again, there's no link to the GOP YouTube page from their website, so if you find it at all, it is probably accidentally.
The Local Story
At the county and local level, the story is much the same.
If you want a good laugh, compare the county Dem site to the county GOP site. Which one looks like it was designed by someone's 10-year-old niece?
At least the Maricopa GOP is diligent about sending out their worthless daily Russell Pearce love-fest emails, complete with many links to Rob Haney's own website, and every negative article they can find about GOP elected officials not named "Russell Pearce". That's on days when "computer troubles" don't get in the way. Of course, if that's the best they can do, it's probably better if they don't say anything at all.
Tom Morrissey's home district website still reflects last year's board, while their twitter and facebook pages haven't been updated since January and December, respectively.
Pathetic
When Tom Morrissey ran for state chairman, he had this to say:
I believe that a new and much more sophisticated communications strategy must be in place if we are to succeed in the next election. The old way of doing business of selling half-truths, calling in favors, and pulling out the same old last-minute tactics in a community that hardly knows us -- just won't cut it with today's skeptical voters. We must rely on the advances of technology, heavier community involvement and better methods of fundraising to even be in the game. I have a team in place and they have a model already built at the local level, which I believe meets those needs and even more importantly, can be implemented throughout the country.Emphasis mine.
His "Local Team", headed up by Pantless Mark Spinks and LD20 chair Jeni White (who ran on a platform of "polydirectional communication", whatever that means) have not "hit the ground running". They are dangerously behind, and we're ceding ground every day.
Anyone who knew the full story knew there was no chance that they would "hit the ground running". Hell, even a cursory check of the facts would tell you that Morrissey's team wasn't even in place locally. That was just wishful thinking, or an outright lie.
The results so far have been predictable.
I guess the question is- how long will Republicans allow their elected leadership at the local, county, and state levels to be so pathetically behind the times?
I used to think the GOP was the party of accountability and personal responsibility. I'm really not sure anymore.
To me it seems that the party, at least in Arizona, is merely becoming the party of incompetence.
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