Does #dontgo matter?

05 Aug, 2008 by Katie Favazza

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How do you make Congress #dontgo? Many of you have likely heard about the uproar from House Republicans seeking to address energy costs. How did Republicans and online activists create this uproar, when video cameras were forbidden, the lights were turned off and the House was formally sent off on their taxpayer-funded vacation? It’s all about technology.

In addition to the link above, read this post from Patrick Ruffini and this one from Kristen Soltis, both from The Next Right. Both succinctly explain why they believe the “#dontgo movement” matters. Ruffini suggests that the Right can (finally!) on of the offense:

Could #dontgo usher in an era of Republican technological dominance in the post-blogging world? Should we cede the blogosphere to the left, and focus on leapfrogging them in the use of tools most necessary to real-time political action? The answer could be yes.

#dontgo is creating a perfect storm where the emergence of a new technology is married to a pressing need to do something. Republicans had the use of the tools down, but had no pressing to-dos in the early 2000s. As Matt Stoller reminded me in a joint radio appearance yesterday, Democrats had impeachment, the recount, and the Iraq War. We had to defend all these things. And online, it’s a lot easier to be on offense than on defense.

In her post, Soltis concludes:

What makes “#dontgo” special is that it felt organic, spontaneous. In a world where pre-planned press events involve advance teams and prepared remarks and canned talking points, suddenly the rules appeared to be thrown out the window. This was the real deal. People let their hair down and said what was really on their minds. And it’s that excitement that is just the shot in the arm a lot of the GOP needs to get in gear for November.

What do you think? Vote in the poll below, post a comment or send an email to katie@katiefavazza.com with your thoughts.

Cross-posted at KatieFavazza.com.