Introducing The Next Right
by Patrick Ruffini :: May 7th, 2008 2:35 pm
Today, we’re giving a sneak peek into something new on the right side of the blogosphere: an online community for change-minded activists and hardcore political junkies in the conservative movement. We’re calling it The Next Right. We’ll be launching in a few weeks, and you can sign up to get an email when we do.
My partners in this endeavor are already well known to you if you’re a fan of savvy, fact-driven political blogging: Jon Henke of QandO and recently a consultant to the Fred Thompson campaign, and Soren Dayton of RedState and Eye on ‘08 fame and all too briefly of the McCain campaign.
Here’s why we’re doing this, and here’s why it’s different.
It’s no secret that the right operates at a severe disadvantage to the left when it comes to building online political infrastructure. People point to ActBlue and Obama’s massive fundraising advantage, but the problem cuts deeper: netroots activists on the left have built critical mass around an idea that regular people on the Internet can get their hands dirty and remix Democratic politics. They not only raise money. They recruit candidates. They fund full-time investigative journalism to ambush Republicans. They act as a party whip, creating consequences for Democrats who, in their view, don’t act like Democrats. They volunteer and flock to states with key races. The right can build all the tools it wants, but without a narrative and a rallying point for action, it will be for naught.
Part of the problem is structural. When the conservative blogosphere first emerged, we were in the midst of a political upswing, with back-to-back-to-back victories in 2000, 2002, and 2004. Political activism wasn’t going to be a comparative advantage for the right online. Most were content just being pundits or media critics. This trend was reinforced by the blogosphere’s success in scalping Dan Rather, part of a series of new media-driven events that arguably changed the trajectory of the 2004 election.
Ever since then, a radically different set of circumstances has dominated our politics. It’s one that requires a substantially different response — one that requires us to stop being pundits and start being change agents.
Put simply, the party, and in many cases, the movement, has lost its moorings. Earmarks exploded ten-fold, and it wasn’t under a Democratic Congress. In this winter’s primary, we saw the once mighty fiscal-social-national conservative coalition turned in on itself, with economic conservatives pitted against social conservatives. And too many of the “experts” in the Presidential campaigns this cycle failed to modernize the way the party does business, clinging to the old top-down rostrums of direct mail and fundraising-by-cocktail-party in an increasingly networked and crowdsourced world.
It’s no wonder that Joe Conservative outside the Beltway feels that none of his self appointed “leaders” are listening to him. He looks to Washington and sees a leadership class that is too often arrogant, timid, divided, and technologically behind the curve. It’s no wonder why this year more than most his wallet has been sealed shut when it comes to supporting Republican candidates — even the good ones.
We’re calling the site The Next Right because much of this story will be written in the future tense. Our analysis will be as much about looking ten and fifteen years down the road as it will be about dissecting the mechanics of the 2008 contest. What are the coalitions, strategies, and tactics the right needs to win again? How does the party need to change to attract a generation of voters who could very well be lost to us if we don’t move fast? Where do we find the candidates who will lead a resurgent right in the 2010 and 2012 elections and beyond? The vibrant discussion Soren, Jon, and many others had about the future of the movement last spring and summer would be perfect fodder for this new venture.
If you’re looking for pure-play opinion and link bait on sundry topics from Ann Coulter to Jimmy Carter/Hamas, you won’t find it here. What you will find is in-depth (often unabashedly technical) writing about the election, the polls, the strategy, and the issues. Our analysis will track truth and stay true to the numbers. But it will self-consciously serve a greater purpose — educating YOU to be your own political strategist and start doing something — whether that’s blogging about your local Congressional race or Democratic corruption in your state, organizing fundraising drives, and maybe even managing races or running for office yourself. Only a revival of civic engagement at the grassroots level will create a conservative future we want: one that is pork-free and robust in the defense of our country and its values. We can’t call a switchboard and wait for Washington to fix the mess. We have to do it ourselves, from the ground up, in every state.
In that spirit, we’re opening the doors to anyone who wants to blog on The Next Right. Users will be able to create their own blogs on the site, an ability only a handful of conservative sites offer today. We’re also looking for a great stable of front-page writers who can write smart, savvy analysis on a consistent basis — email us if you think you fit the bill. We want to open this up as much as possible. It can’t just be about the three of us, or it will fail.
I’m pumped about this new venture. The last few months have seen a considerable amount of backchannel discussion between the thought leaders about the sorry state of online activism on the right — often with great agreement on a direction moving forward. The good news is that the talent is there. I’ve long relied on Soren and Jon for high-level political analysis, and by bringing it under one roof and opening the door to more people, we hope this quickly becomes a hub right-leaning junkies like you.
We don’t think this alone will solve the activism gap. Anyone who tells you that they alone have the answer is fooling you. This is not “the Daily Kos of the right.” What we’re hoping to do is create momentum and an intellectual framework for action — because action ultimately starts with narratives and ideas. We want grassroots conservatives and libertarians to start believing that they can make a difference again — a sense all too many have lost. Only you – and not some well-funded 527 — can bring the movement into the future. Only when grassroots conservative have a direct stake in the future of the party are we effective. The Next Right is about creating a vision for a 21st century Republican Party and conservative movement.
On a personal note, you should finally see me blogging more, though not at PatrickRuffini.com. I’ve committed to moving all my purely political content to The Next Right, and will be setting up my RSS feed to automagically redirect you to my writings there. I’ll still keep some personal and tech stuff here, but most of my stuff will be there.
We hope you’ll join us in taking the next right.
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Sounds wankerific.
I thought about doing this with this exact same domain name(thenextright.com) right after the 2004 election. It was quite apparent then what the future problems were going to be. I didn’t go through because I really didn’t want to deal with the party, I’m really not all that political, and I had other projects.
Please oh pretty please, on the “The Next Right” have the comments sections completely turned off. They are counter-productive. Force people to use trackbacks and their own personal blog. Doing that would force people to put more thought into their words and keep the snark at bay.
This isn’t going to be like the Half Hour News Hour, is it?
Because that was the last time I remember someone on the right trying to mimic what the left is quite adept at, and it stunk.
Evidently, it is, cause old ninjaboy up there is afraid of Teh Snark.
Boo, hoo, turn off the comments. Those lefties are so mean!
Good Luck, guys…
“..if you’re a fan of savvy, fact-driven political blogging…”
Ever wonder that the right blogosphere’s penchant for anything but the facts might have something to do with the continuing failure to build an online rightwing political infrastructure? I’d say people who are savvy enough to think, read and engage in ideas aren’t likely to flock to a site that has the level of thought, reading skills, and nuance of a “community” like, oh say Redstate.
Which is probably why radio fits the right better, and why right-wing talk radio is so successful. The medium suits them. The people most receptive to it don’t want to have to think, don’t have to analyze or heavens forbid! engage in a debate. They get told what to think, it’s a one-way transmission. And they likes it like that. There’s a reason they’re called Dittoheads, ya know.
Consider ninjapirate’s comment. He wants the comments in any such “Next Right” online community turned off. He doesn’t seem to understand that commenting is part of what makes a lot of progressive sites so successful. That’s part of how people engage. You have an uphill slog building a community if you make it harder to for people get together and engage the ideas of the site and each other.
Of course, if your political base tends to have a significant number of people who are easily gulled, lack critical thinking skills, and predictibly spout filth with ALL CAPS RANTS AGAINST TEH GODLESS ISLAMOHOMOFASCITS LIEBRULS TRAITORS WHO ONLY WANT US DEFEATED BY STABBIN US IN BACK AND MAKE US ALL FORCED GAY MARRIAGE AND ABORTIONS WITH THEIR LEFT COAST VALUES, well, I’d say yes it’s going to be really counter-productive when the world gets a glimpse of what’s going on inside their heads.
But I’d suggest it’s more a function of who your party attracts than the communication technology used.
Good luck, Pat, and keep up the search for The Next Right, because such a search can never end.
Because Conservatism cannot fail; it can only be failed.
Lucy. Football. Charlie Brown. Will the trick work yet again?
Can the latest try at an influential conservative blog perform any better than the shattered and burned relics we have seen over the last few years?
The reason these blog projects have performed so abysmally is that they started with the hype, and then failed to live up to it. (A lot like GWB)
Ask yourself this: In 2003 did Markos invite people to take a look at his new blog that would change politics?
Nope, he changed politics, and no one could ignore him any more. Now he gets to brag all he wants.
Start with the achievement before committing the bragging to print. Just a thought.
“Here’s why we’re doing this, and here’s why it’s different.”
So, it’s different because you want to do what the Democrats are doing?
Sounds a bit like you’re selling a pyramid scheme to me… 
LOL. Look at the Nutroots monkeys flinging poo. Aren’t they witty?
Irony: morons whose greatest contribution to public policy is leaving steaming piles of feces in conservative blog comments, babbling brainless gibberish about how this will be ineffective. Priceless!
I liked this site better when it was called RightRoots.com. Or was that RedState? Maybe Pajamas Media…
Unless comments can be rigorously moderated, turn them off.
How’s Senator Lamont doing these days?
Maybe the Left Roots ought to chill a bit on the haughtiness. We’ve seen they can assemble mobs to enforce ideological discipline, and separate aging hippies and youthful DINK’s with disposable income from their money. But win general elections with their chosen candidates? Not happening as often as the hype would suggest.
Rebuilding a political party and movement takes a bit longer than launching a dot com in the last decade…and yes, the percentage of fully successful efforts is likely to be just about as high, too. We don’t hear much about lefty efforts that fail, now do we?
Ironman…perhaps you should revisit November 2006. What started in 2003 as a disorganized group of frustrated, downright angry bloggers finally coalesced into a very powerful political movement that finally saw success in the 2006 general election. They didn’t start off trying to revolutionize anything; they just used to blogosphere as a place to get together and (1) vent, (2) share ideas. You continue to discount their efforts at your political peril.
Yeah, that’s right, it’s a shame that the one and only candidate the netroots ever supported, Ned Lamont, didn’t beat Lieberman. Despite that all the polls in CT now show that the voters have seen what a lying tard he was regarding most of his campaign claims and now have buyers remorse.
But candidates like Sen. Jon Tester in Montana, Bill Foster in Illinois (who recently won ex-speaker Dennis Hastert’s seat), Sen. Jim Webb of VA, Donna Edwards who beat party-supported incumbent Al Wynn in Md, etc etc etc, all received no support from the netroots whatsoever. Or at least if you don’t count them under the Clinton rules, where they don’t count because, um… why again?
I tried going to thenextright.com from work which has very tight proxy settings and got blocked. I work for a large multinational org and we purchase our proxy lists, but who knows from where. Before you go live I’d recommend getting this resolved:
Here is the message:
You cannot access the following Web address:
http://www.thenextright.com/
The site you requested is blocked due to a Malicious Web Reputation.
In my business, which is the moving of pianos, now and then I meet people who plan to move their own pianos. We always ask them to let us know when they are going to do it, because we want to bring some folding chairs and sell tickets. Moving pianos is not for those who do not have the skills, experience, or the capability, and it is highly entertaining for those of us who can do it to watch those who are incapable while they make the attempt.
The reason that liberal blogs are successful is the same reason liberals have not generally done well against conservatives since 1980. Liberal bloggers squabble with each other, while conservatives all link to each other with the same story. Conservatives expect the orders to come from the top, while liberals tend to think for themselves, which puts them all over the map, fragments them, and makes them vulnerable to a coordinated campaign.
The liberal blogs seem to have leveled that particular playing field, and the netroots broke the 2006 election open with Tester, Webb, and a slew of representatives. In recent special elections the Democrats have taken two seats held by the GOP for decades, including that of the former Speaker of the House. (Insert beer-belly joke here.)
So give it a shot, please, while we assemble the folding chairs.
I’m not discounting the Lefty blogs. They’ve done a lot. But let’s look at what been said here on their behalf:
a) It took three years for them to effect the process in a material fashion
b) They quarrel a lot amongst themselves (when Republicans do this the Left claims the GOP is falling apart, BTW)
c) They may have been effective in putting Webb and Tester over the top in close races. Of course, both candidates were facing Republicans who thought hari-kari was a campaign platform and both candidates had serious “off-line” credentials.(State Senate Minority Leader and former Secretary of the Navy)
So, let’s see after the ‘10 and ‘12 campaigns how the Right is doing in cyberspace.
Re: the “folding chairs” comment. Once Detroit scoffed at the idea that the Japanese would bother importing small tinny cars to the US. I sense the same arrogance is quickly permeating Democratic ranks.
Let me make my minor point again. Bragging about what you are GOING to do is asking to look like a fool.
Do something, be successful, and then I invite you to rub my face in it.
Until then, I’m betting the odds based on previous failed attempts accompanied by similar hype.
Notice how “Ironman” conveniently neglects some of the other cited examples like Bill Foster, who won in an R+6 leaning district, in a race that the RNCC poured loads of cash into? And Donna Edwards, supported almost entirely by grass roots, against an incumbent fully supported by the party apparatus? Also kind of overlooking the millions poured in against Tester by out-of-state wingnut millionaire Bob Perry? Are all of these only because they were against “hari-kari” opponents?
And if so, could Ironman please elucidate from where exactly the Republican party plans to pull all the strong principled conservatives who will be able to run more effective races that that of the former Republican House Speaker’s district? Not to mention where they will be getting their campaign money from, since Repub fundraising has been somewhere between anemic and pathetic for the last couple years?
It is incrediblity naive to believe that any sort of organization tool or internet gimmick is ever going to make up for having too many incompetent fools in the Republican Party. Conservatives organized to stop immigration amnesty and sent a clear message that conservatives do not want open borders and unlimited immigration. Yet, the long term result is that the republican party’s presidential candidate is a proponent of open borders and unlimited immigration.
Does anyone think that idiot politicians who added six trillion dollars to the national debt withouth any thought to the long term consequence will care at all what a few Karl Rove wannabes are doing ton the internet.
“Are all of these only because they were against “hari-kari” opponents?”
It sure helped you guys immensely. Denying that isn;t “reality-based”, now is it?
“having too many incompetent fools in the Republican Party.”
SD, as long as you keep posting I’ll know we haven’t run out of them
Yet, the long term result is that the republican party’s presidential candidate is a proponent of open borders and unlimited immigration.
HAHAHAHAHA! Wow, you’re an idiot. Keep using that precise language there, chief. Open borders and unlimited immigration! LOL.
Ironman, I think you can add “superdestroyer” to that list of incompetent fools not in the Republican party.
Add Repack Rider as well, considering he’s made it his mission to troll all the blogs talking about this to take a dump in the comments with the same brilliant gibberish.
Beth, who is the bigger fool, the Karl Rove wannabes who believes that Hispanics can be convinced to vote for Republicans or the people who understand the current demographic trends in the U.S. will make the Republicans irrelevant in the future?
Beth,
I didn’t call anyone names, but you called me a fool. My lifetime record of accomplishment, which you can read about on my website and which includes my service in the US Army, suggests otherwise. I’m dying to know what you have done that qualifies you to insult me like that.
If you want to take issue with something I said, rather than just call names, be my guest, but apparently, “Nya-nya,” is as deep as your argument goes.
Long long ago, in the dark days of the Clinton Administration, I had high hopes for the Republican party. But I must admit, these last 8 years have left a pretty bad taste in my mouth. Here’s hoping that this endeavor can make politics on the American right improve, as there is much improvement needed.
Glad to see a new try at making the playing field equal.
The problem as I see it with our party or conservative movement is that all to often it is aimed not at the middle class or blue collar worker but to the elite group of recent grads from university and grad school and does not take in the grass roots or inner city conservative that is working hard to make that dollar. If you are going to do what move on did for the dems/libs. Which is get the word out, you have to do it by not just using fifty cent words. Right now there is not much left of the Republican party for the above reasons.
I never thought that there would be a Presidential election that I would not have a person running that I would have a hard time supporting.
Gentlemen,
I have filled in numerous polls by the RNC. They have generally been super leading questions that almost ANY ONE would answer “correctly”. But, I have a problem:
There are 545 people (persons in our government and the courts) that run this country, These 545 are both Democrats and Republicans and both complain about many things in this country, but HAVE NOT, WILL NOT, DO ANYTHING about them for decades.
As a conservative soul when I hear the politicians talk about how bad our “energy crisis” and other crises’ are, I have only these questions for each:
1. Why is there not an overwhelming scream about drilling for oil and calling on the environmentalists to back off? Why, for the past 3+ decades have we not started on a program to provide an alternative such as nuclear? Manhattan? Moon landing? Ten years to get oil? Manhattan took 5 years. We went to the moon in less than ten years!
2. Congress goes on vacation, why are they not called back to vote on drilling for oil?
3. Why have we allowed the words “Trust Fund” for social security repository when it is in fact just a place in name only that politicians can use to spend and spend? Privatizing OUR MONEY? Why not, now SS money is just the politicians to spend.
4. Stupid and friveless lawsuits abound and there is apparently no way to bring local judges to simply dismiss the obvious shams that we all end up paying for? It should be illegal to hold office as a lawyer, a loophole finder! Think “justice” not loopholes.
5. School funding means cut the teachers pay or jobs even, while the tuition rates go up and up and bureaucrats seem to be immune. Why not gyms and calisthenics instead of exercise rooms? When did we last fire such as the ”college professors” that hate America and our system that has benefited the most people the world has ever seen?
6. Why do our “leaders” never seem to bring up issues that Bill Cosby does so well, that ex-Governor Lamm and others do that a vast majority of people would accept in a minute?
7. Where is the “bully pulpit” that we can agree with? Where is the President when the NYT outs a Secret document? When I was in that world I would have been put in jail but they get a pass. Sorry, but I don’t understand.
8. Where is the screaming about 80,000 (or is it 300,000?) abortions a year? We lose 4,000 soldiers in 5 years and scream. I have heard NO rebuttals. DCA, LA and DTW are worse than Baghdad. Where are the screams, segments on TV or in the paper?
As a Republican I’m getting VERY frustrated. We have no LEADERS, no Statesmen, (in either major party), we have girley men. We seem to be afraid to stand up and be counted, PC run amuck! Obama boasts “change”, but to what? Hillary ditto. McCain? What history shows is their change will be to socialism and ever-larger government at a minimum. America where have you gone? Back to Europe? Why would I pay for them to do nothing?
Frustrated? you bet. Ed
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[…] Jon and I will be joining Patrick Ruffini on a new project, The Next Right. I think that all of us have slightly different views of the project. But here’s where I am coming from. […]
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[…] Patrick introduces the mission of The Next Right today in a sneak peek on his blog: I’m pumped about this new venture. The last few months have seen a considerable amount of backchannel discussion between the thought leaders about the sorry state of online activism on the right — often with great agreement on a direction moving forward. The good news is that the talent is there. I’ve long relied on Soren and Jon for high-level political analysis, and by bringing it under one roof and opening the door to more people, we hope this quickly becomes a hub right-leaning junkies like you. […]
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[…] For those on the political right who have bemoaned the lack of any real grassroots, online activism in support of Republican(ish) causes, there is a new project in the works just for you. Political blogging mavens Jon Henke, Patrick Ruffini, and Soren Dayton are getting ready to launch The Next Right. Ruffini describes this new project in comparison to those on the left: It’s no secret that the right operates at a severe disadvantage to the left when it comes to building online political infrastructure. People point to ActBlue and Obama’s massive fundraising advantage, but the problem cuts deeper: netroots activists on the left have built critical mass around an idea that regular people on the Internet can get their hands dirty and remix Democratic politics. They not only raise money. They recruit candidates. They fund full-time investigative journalism to ambush Republicans. They act as a party whip, creating consequences for Democrats who, in their view, don’t act like Democrats. They volunteer and flock to states with key races. The right can build all the tools it wants, but without a narrative and a rallying point for action, it will be for naught. […]
The Next Right…
Jon Henke, Patrick Ruffini, and Soren Dayton are launching a new initiative they’ve dubbed “The New Right.” It’s apparently yet another attempt to create a right-of-center counterpart of the Netroots. Not yet launched, it purp…
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[…] Well, Ruffini, Soren Dayton, and Jon Henke have teamed up to do just that. With a new project called The Next Right. They intend to fulfill the role of furthering the agenda like so many liberal blogs already do for their side. […]
Forum to Save the Right…
If you put a gun to my head right now and asked me if I was a Democrat or Republican, I would have to say Republican begrudgingly….
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