(CNN) - The Republican Party needs to change - at least when it comes to its use of technology, Meghan McCain says.
In a column on the Daily Beast Web site, the daughter of Sen. John McCain says the GOP is likely to continue its decline in power unless members vastly improve their tech fluency.
"This has been a source of personal frustration for me for a very long time," said McCain of the party's seeming disconnect with technology. "Unless the GOP evolves as the party that can successfully utilize the Web, we'll continue to lose influence"
McCain, who authored a popular blog on her father's Web site while he was running for president, also recounts early pushback from Republican strategists when she first sought to establish the Web site.
"Many of the established Republican strategists told me that young people would not visit my web site," she wrote. "I used to categorize many of the advisors in my father's campaign into one of two groups: those that 'respected' the Internet and those who didn't. It was a running line between me and my friends who worked on my site."
McCain also suggested the party's lack of online savvy greatly contributed to her father's defeat last November.
"The Obama administration understands that my generation spends most of its day on a laptop or a BlackBerry, and that using the Web is easy way to communicate their ideas to their constituents," she said. "Until the Republican Party joins the twenty-first century and learns how to use the Internet, its members will keep getting older and the youth of America will just keep logging on to the other side."
Several Republicans appear to have gotten the message. According to TweetCongress.org, more Republicans are now on the popular social networking site Twitter than are Democrats. And the recent election for the Republican Party Chairman heavily revolved around who was best positioned to modernize the party's use of technology.
From CNN Politics
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertising practices | Advertise with us | About us | Work for us | Help
I laughed myself silly over this article. This Republican shows once again why the party was crushed in last fall's election. Instead of focusing on the idea that her dad represented the ideas of the elite and rich, she thinks that there is some other cause for the defeat. She is just stupid enough to be VP material for the Republicans in 2012.
Meghan...
I would have voted for your Dad in 2000. I might have considered him in 2008, however, he lost my vote when he just became another Republican pandering for the religious right's vote. He lost my respect when he picked Sarah Palin to be his second. Your father lost his way in his quest to be President. The Republican Party lost me when it lost its values of fiscal responsibility and then putting religious belief as they see it first and not the average American.
Disconnect with technology? How about a disconnect with reality?
Megan McCain is trying to restart a car engine that will not start. If she wants to get the GOP running she needs to get a whole new engine. Leave behind the rusty and broken parts and the ones that don't fit no matter how hard you tinker, (Sarah Palin). The Democratic party has a new engine tires suspension and runs %100 on electricity. It'll take some major replacements for the GOP to get on par with the Democrats.
to the bigoted hate-ful republiklans, saying NO is being tech savvy.
it's not technology that the racist republicans need, it's caring what we the people think, not filthy rich CEOs, it's not putting people down all the time, it's taking time to listen, we tried to tell them what a MISTAKE palin was, but they didn't listen, to this very day they won't admit what a horrible mistake that was.
It's not the technology that's missing from the republican party , honey. It's the lack of intellegence, drive and ideas to get the people back on
track...
Picking Palin, and many in the party still think she may be "the one",
was/is another blunder.
Get rid of the greedy as well!
Oh! THAT's what it is!
It's because they don't have the tech lingo, not because they are dead wrong and out of date on every other issue as well!
Thank God we have Whatshername McCain, otherwise the GOP might be in the dog house permanently. Oh wait...
But no worries! As soon as the economy will start improving thanks to the stimulus bill, the GOP's approval will soar because they were the ones who came up with it, and they all voted for it. Oh, wait.
if Meghan McCain thinks her daddy's defeat was due to his (and the GOP's) lack of tech savvy, then she's as deluded as the party leaders. The GOP and McCain lost because they offered nothing new for the American public; rather the old tired strain of tax cuts (while the economy was crumbling), abortion (the vast majority of Americans want abortion legal) and the horrible choice of extremist Sarah Pallin did in her daddy. But, hey, if she wants to continue thinking the only thing between the GOP and the White House is a website, then by all means..continue thinking that, Meghan. Get back to us after your party's slaughtered again in the midterms and Obama wins in a bigger landslide in 2012.
Obama spent over $600+M and McCain spent $80+M. All the technology in the world isn't going to overcome that differential. Heck, Obama spent more on his inaugural parties, $130+M, than McCain spent on his campaign. It's a horrible precedent that will lead to billion dollar campaigns in 2012...
The only Republican that understands the internet is Ron Paul.
And that is what he made 6 million fed notes in 1 day.Know that is
understanding the internet.
Hey look! A story about a Republican! Let's all ignore the content of the story and make sweeping generalizations about the Republican party! Maybe we can come up with some clever insults that we can morph into a derivative of the word Republican or someones name...that one never gets old!
Yeah!
The Republicans do neeed to get their message out to more people.
Spending $789 billion was a huge mistake. People need to know why.
This stimulus paln will fail. Republicans will be back in power in 2010 and 2012. With or without the internet.
Wow, what a pretty young lady you are.
And you're absolutely right in what you're saying to the RNC.
95% of the comments on this Blog are from absolute liberal morons!
You will all get what you deserve
Ok, Meghan! The GOP just needs to get tech savvy, and all Hitler needed was a new mustache! Right!
That's because the Republican party (although there are some exceptions) is the party of selfishness, I'm holier-than-thou, "different is bad" and "be afraid of change." It's no wonder the got trounced last election. The American people finally woke up!
Perhaps they can get savvy to the concept of evolution afterward.
The old fogies in the GOP will never become tech savvy...
Getting "tech savvy" won't do them the slightest bit of good as long as they keep up the same self-righteous, narrow-minded, bigoted, drivel they've been spouting for eight-years. It won't do them any good as long as they persist in their betrayal of true Conservatism by espousing Big Government, Big Spending, and Big Chip on the Shoulder foreign policy.
Meagan, the GOP has serious problems your father and the Idiot he chose as a Vice President being one of them, but being tech savvy is the least of Grand Old Party of the Klu Klux Klan. Get real.
If she sits and surf she won't have time for working out....
Look at her!
You Go Girl!!
Regaurdless of the party it is necessary for all to be capable of relating to this century's technology. You are a very good representation of the up and comming future, speaking you mind and being involved. Keep it going On!!
Best Wishes
J
I thought most of them didn't believe in evolution. They can't get here from there without it.
Even though I loathe John McCain, especially after wathing him turn into a monster during this past election, his daughter has a great point. The GOP DOES need to embrace technology to reach those of us who are plugged in. It's time they speed this up, and I'm glad she brought this to their attention.