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DEL.ICIO.USThe technological gap between Republican and Democrat in Georgia
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Evidence at the house on Tuesday night revealed a huge technological gap between the Republican and Democratic campaign here.
In olden days, Republicans were the first to grasp new thinking — the blending of direct mail and computers, the analysis of voter returns and performance.
What a difference a few presidential cycles can make.
At the house yesterday, the mail carrier brought a flyer paid for by the state Republican party and the U.S. Senate campaign of Saxby Chambliss.
The mailer featured John McCain and Sarah Palin. But basically it was — just seven days before Election Day — an invitation to apply for an absentee ballot that would be mailed to the house. A perforated form was attached. A stamp was required.
With effort, and a great deal of luck, the request and an absentee ballot might make the three-course trip before Nov. 4: The request from the house to the Cobb County voter registrar, a ballot back to the house, which would then have to scurry from the house to the Board of Elections by Tuesday.
So there’s that.
By comparison, at 7:25 p.m. Tuesday, an e-mail came over the BlackBerry from Antwaun Griffin, head of the Democratic presidential campaign of Barack Obama in Georgia.
Griffin’s message announced that the second stage of early voting had commenced, and that numerous polling stations — not just one — were now open.
The e-mail, which mentioned me by name, gave the address of the nearest polling station, only two miles away, and suggested that I head that way.
The wholesale yet personalized message cost virtually nothing, though the program to match e-mail to address no doubt required much work. No postage required, no dependence on the U.S. Postal Service.
That’s a generational difference.
Comments
By Galloway Nailed us Again
October 29, 2008 10:27 AM | Link to this
You hand selected 2 instances of direct marketing approaches, but does that mean that Democrats never use direct mail? Does that mean that Republicans never use email as a means of direct marketing?
You got us again: Democrats are smart, Republicans are dumb. Therefore we should vote for Democrats.
This is getting old.
By Taxpayer
October 29, 2008 10:32 AM | Link to this
Indeed. That’s why the Republican generation may well go down in the history books as the lost generation — in more ways than one. Republicans — they had a chance to do right by the people and they chose not to. So, I choose not to vote for them and good riddance.
By Galloway Nailed us Again
October 29, 2008 10:46 AM | Link to this
Obama pulled his paid advertising from Georgia several weeks ago—but current polls show he is competitive in Georgia. Was that a blunder on Obama’s part? Is he out of touch with the people of Georgia? Is this indicative of a bumbling Obama presidency?
Funny how you never see the other side—because you don’t look for it.
Working for a media company, you should realize that the different direct marketing approaches yield different results. If cost minimization were the only criterion, then political candidates would cease television advertising. That the timing of the direct mail piece was off reflects on the project management capabilities of the sender—not of the medium itself.
I know that so-called journalists don’t study business, economics, marketing, advertising (or apparently very many things at all), but can’t you find someone to ask who knows about such things? That’s the difference between doing a job and doing a professional job.
By Galloway Nailed us Again
October 29, 2008 10:58 AM | Link to this
Here’s another thing you didn’t consider: Perhaps the “dumb Republicans” mailed solicitations to known Democrat voters (such as you) just days before the election hoping that they would be incensed by the dastardly Republican mailing and they would be motivated to vote for Obama by absentee ballot.
But since their ballot would probably not arrive to be counted until after the election, they nullified an Obama vote.
See, if you had taken that angle then you could charge Republicans with some kind of voter fraud or evil intent. (But then you’d have to give them partial credit for being crafty. On second thought, just stick with calling them dumb.)
You could add Dick Cheney’s “secret” meeting with oil executives as a bonus—oh, but then you’d have to explain why the price of oil is down 57% from its high a year ago. Just leave that part out. Your readers aren’t interested in economics anyway.
By Why Not Get Free Milk?
October 29, 2008 11:35 AM | Link to this
Why should Republicans embrace new technologies when they can just say they have new technologies and embrace the imaginary ones?
When you construct your own reality, its far cheaper to simply invent that things are going well.
By UgaDog
October 29, 2008 11:41 AM | Link to this
Both candidates have largely ignored Georgia, but that does not change the fact that Barack Obama will take more of a percentage here than any Democrat in recent years. Some polls suggest he might even win in Georgia. Regardless, it means Republicans will have to fight much harder in the future to hold on to what they thought was a given.
By UgaDog
October 29, 2008 11:45 AM | Link to this
Both candidates have largely ignored Georgia, but that does not change the fact that Barack Obama will take more of a percentage here than any Democrat in recent years. Some polls suggest he might even win in Georgia. Regardless, it means Republicans will have to fight much harder in the future to hold on to what they thought was a given.
By Sissy Saxby
October 29, 2008 1:33 PM | Link to this
The Republican governor of Florida extended early voting hours to make it easier for Floridians to vote. Thank God we have good Partisan officials like Gov. Perdoofus and Karen Handel - they won’t do anything to make it any easier!
By sOcialist named Obama
October 29, 2008 2:53 PM | Link to this
When you construct your own reality, its far cheaper to simply invent that things are going well.
Do mean like claiming to invent the Internet?
Or is that an inconvenient truth?
By sOcialist named Obama
October 29, 2008 3:00 PM | Link to this
The Republican governor of Florida extended early voting hours to make it easier for Floridians to vote. Thank God we have good Partisan officials like Gov. Perdoofus and Karen Handel - they won’t do anything to make it any easier!
“Handel said Georgia law includes no such mechanism that would allow her, or Gov. Sonny Perdue, to extend early voting. ” (Source: ajc.com)
To Left Wing sOcialists, the law doesn’t matter. The Constitution doesn’t matter. Original intent doesn’t matter. All that matters is how you feel.
Idiots, all of you.
By FultonGOPer
October 29, 2008 3:43 PM | Link to this
Karen Handel is showing further incompetence in her handling of this election just as she did while at Fulton County. Moreover, her know it all attitude came through in her recent TV interview when she was snippy with the reporter. She was right in what she was saying but her tone was typical “I know it all” Handel. She is not one to work well with others and she has no management skills as evidenced by her neglect of Fulton’s infrastucture while serving as Chair.