Tea Partier Cruz Uses Social Media Expert to Redefine Politics Bert Atkinson Jr. August 1, 2012 12:21 pm
Barack Obama, with less than a decade of any political experience and less than a full term in office at a federal level, gained support in 2008 like no other candidate had before: through the use of the Internet and social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
In 2012, Tea Partier and now Texas Senate Candidate Ted Cruz and his team of social media experts, including Vincent Harris of Harris Media, have begun to redefine the landscape of political campaigns forever with his victory over Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst yesterday in a run-off to decide the Republican candidate for a Texas Senate seat.
According to Politico, Cruz, guided by Harris, his digital campaign strategist, made weekly calls with supportive bloggers, had two full-time staffers dedicated to social media content, built a website that “empowered volunteers to take on tasks and print out campaign literature,” and subsequently ended up with a mailing list Harris called “bigger than most of the failed Republican candidates for president.”
Why wait to convey your message in an interview or appearance when you can respond to any piece of news instantaneously? In doing just this, Cruz went from obscure Tea Partier to champion of the Republican runoff for a Texas Senate seat.
Think the Obama campaign did a great job with his campaign artwork in 2008? Instead of force-feeding trendy ‘Hope’ or ‘Change’ propaganda-style posters down the throats of blind followers, Cruz let an online poll decide his bumper sticker art; ‘the people’ will always know what ‘the people’ want better than some guy sitting in an office with a marketing degree on the wall.
With 25,000 Twitter followers and 84,000 Facebook fans (to Dewhurst’s 4,200 and 42,000, respectively), Cruz was able to raise more money than he ever dreamed because he could reach out to his internet fan base and respond to anything Dewhurst did or said and raise money before his opponent could even reach for his flip-phone.
Gone are the days in which liberal news publications provide a misleading narrative for politics. Now, if you don’t like to read the dilapidated New York Times to get your news (with a terribly liberal slant on it), you don’t have to read it – you can just hop on your computer, read what you believe to be relevant and accurate, and share it with your friends by clicking buttons that appear just below the article. If you don’t believe me, just look at NY Times’ stock summary since 1996 to see that they are being removed from their pedestal as media’s liberal leaning dictators.
America undoubtedly see a transformation as this relatively new ‘social networking’ idea further cements itself in culture for good, and half-assed liberal media reports that refuse to give proper coverage to issues like Fast and Furious will become radical as opposed to the norm. Innovation has repeatedly brought the best interests of America to the forefront over and over again, and for this current transformation, we have guys like Ted Cruz and Vincent Harris to thank |
