Opinion

Republicans entering Century 21

"It's the wave of the future!” Jared Woodfill tells a brave, mostly gray crowd squeezed into a Greenway-area office space amid paraphernalia ranging from life-size cutouts of Ronald Reagan and the Presidents Bush, a Goldwater campaign poster and an Ann Coulter action figure.

They drove from Kingwood and from Clear Lake and from just down the street. Armed with legal pads, they came to learn how to effectively penetrate what's become, at least in politics, the domain of mostly whippersnapper Obamaphiles.

Welcome to Facebook 101, Harris County Republican Party-style.

Upon arrival, the more than 50 attendees receive a how-to packet featuring The Simpsons character centenarian Mr. Burns, his palms connivingly parallel, fingers in mid-drum.

Woodfill, the party's chairman, sees the series of workshops as the first step in moving the local party, especially its older members, into the current century, where, he concedes, the D-side has been for a while.

“We don't agree with them on anything,” Woodfill says of the Obama machine amid groans at the mere mention of the president's name. “But one thing they did well is use social networking to their advantage.”

Welcome to the ‘wake'

The first workshop last week was a hit, prompting Woodfill to plan future sessions to accommodate those turned away. It's a welcome sign of life for an organization battling a shrinking base, financial woes, a leadership crisis and a philosophical schism among its members.

“Welcome to the Harris County Republican Party wake,” the party's social networks chairman, Bill Kneer, announces to laughter. “I heard it was dead and I see now that it's not.”

Kneer tells the group there's no better place than Facebook to voice opinions on conservative issues or even their frustration at some Republican elected officials: “If we want to get our party back, we have to do it ourselves.”

Woodfill asks the crowd how many have signed on to Facebook and about a third put their hands up. An inquiry into how many still “don't have a clue how to work it,” draws the same response.

Then, the youngest guy in the room, 20-something Austin consultant Luke Dyer, a soft-spoken redhead with shades propped atop his messily hip hairstyle, jets through the lesson with jargony abandon.

“Louder!” a woman yells from the back. As Luke drops terms like “upload” and “newsfeed,” hands sprout from the crowd.

“Do you have to use your real name?”

“Do you just let everybody in?”

“Do you have to put your correct birthday?”

“Does the person you're unfriending get a message you're unfriending them?”

Some seem to catch on quickly: “It's kind of like a three-dimensional e-mail,” one woman observed to the person next to her.

Others struggle. A bewildered-looking woman with short gray hair flees for the exit before Luke can even explain how to fill out the profile page: “This is so over my head,” she mutters.

Security concerns

Luke attempts to assure the crowd about security: “I wouldn't say your identity is going to get hacked if you have a Facebook account,” he says.

But some persist with security concerns: IT consultant Mike Bercu ponders whether he could be deposed if a Facebook “friend” posts about illegal activities: “I may be drug up to Alaska for a deposition,” says Bercu, who said later he was partly kidding.

Others worry about protecting themselves from evil-doers, such as the ACLU.

Richard Dillon, precinct chair and chairman of the party's “Rapid Response Team,” pipes up: “The best way to minimize the effect of the ACLU finding you is to have a bunch of conservative friends.”

But Kneer interjects: “I want the ACLU to find me,” he says, adding that maybe they could learn something from reading his page.

‘Let's wake up'

Eighty-year-old Ruth Hasty of Spring Branch got the message loud and clear. She came for education and got it.

“I've heard of Facebook. I get these messages and I would like to know what it's all about,” she said. “I probably will sign up. I think it's a pretty good venue.”

Jack O'Connor, 61, of Houston, agreed, saying if Obama can e-mail people from Europe during the campaign, Republicans can organize over Facebook, although he acknowledges the age obstacle.

“As you can see, there's not many people under 40 here,” he says. “I think this is re-enfranchising people who are over 40. And I think that's good. Let's wake up.”

lisa.falkenberg@chron.com