techPresident - New From The NRCC: TheRealDemocratStory.com - Comments

The Downside of Early Childhood Education

Michael Turk — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 16:04:23 -0400

Micah -

I hear your concern, but I have to report on the site that is, rather than the site that should be. As a serious player, they should be above such things.

That said, since I got called out on that same point, even though it was completely unintentional, I will again make the point that they start teaching that particular slur to Republicans when we're still in the womb. By this point in my life, I have 36 years of training that I am fighting against.

It's silly and stupid, I agree. However, it's also deep-seated and comes out without thinking sometimes.

Agree with Turk...

David All — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 14:30:33 -0400

The NRCC is working to have a much more aggressive online presence and this is a step in the right direction.

Sure, it's neither perfect nor how I would have handled it, but the research is there for conservative state bloggers to run with (when they're ready). At this stage in the game, that's the most important part.

I think the NRCC senior staff has a good grasp on their role as a committee so I expect a lot of interesting things in the near future. Now, the biggest struggle our side is going to have is placing actual value in the individual campaign's online world instead of "tossing it to the intern."

(Full Disclosure: I serve on an informal NRCC communications advisory panel but had no input on this project.)
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David All
The David All Group
http://davidallgroup.com
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Why can't the NRCC spel?

Micah L. Sifry — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 13:22:58 -0400

Mike--

No problem covering what the national committees are up to online; while our focus is the presidential race, it would be silly for us to draw a bright line and ignore other important online political efforts on the national stage. Plus you write such good site reviews; I'd be stupid to take this one down.

That said, it's hard for me to ignore one very annoying element to the NRCC's site, which is the "Democrat" rather than "Democratic" slur. It's well known in DC that this is a deliberate "bitch slap" deployed by many Republicans (Tom DeLay being one of the most prominent) and while I am not a partisan D I find this stuff really childish. I guess this comment has nothing to do with evaluating the site's value as a web property, but since names and urls are really central to branding it's hard to ignore.

Micah

New From The NRCC: TheRealDemocratStory.com

Michael Turk — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 11:01:59 -0400

I'm not normally a big fan of microsites. I tend to look at online efforts as a marketing campaign, rather than a communications tool. My problem with microsites in that context is they distance themselves from your branding rather than extending it.

I've also not been too impressed with the stuff the NRCC puts out, but I have to say I like this site. Content aside, the layout is clean, it's very focused, it looks sharp, and it clearly conveys what they want you to know.