Data, data everywhere...
Here's an ugly political secret...Republicans understand technology better than Democrats. Not just Xbox games, TiVos and Treos, but the stuff that really counts--databases. The GOP was first with really understanding direct mail (a la Richard Viguerie) and they appear poised to dominate the upcoming 2008 war of the Internet minds. It's no accident that the Republicans were so effective in voter mobilization in 2004, they know how to reach people and what they want to hear.
Now Harold Ickes, Dep Chief of Staff in the Clinton White House has started a new company called Data Warehouse. According to the Washington Post, they have raised $7.5 in venture money for their new company, whose purpose is to level the playing field with the Republicans by building a Dem-friendly database company.
So, good luck. A dem is a different creature than a republican. Republicans are all about forming into large flying wedges. They are the party of the scrum. Dems are about amplifying the differences, almost basking in the bickering. The resulting confusion is as natural to the blue party as the veldt to a gazelle.
A super great database system could fix this by narrowly segmenting dems into special interest areas. This narrowcasting approach is the future of politics. In the case of the Dems, they become a coalition party forming an alliance between multiple special interest groups. Right now, this ugly matchup happens post-convention after 6 months of ugly name-callling and interest-bashing in the primaries.
I hope this works. One piece of advice for the founders, though...opt-in, okay, guys? A privacy-friendly Democratic data base would be a beautiful thing.
Posted on March 08, 2006
