Sen. George Allen was the unintentional creator of the Macaca moment -- and it sank him. GOP issues rules to avoid Macaca moments

The Macaca moment has morphed into an official learning tool for the Republican establishment.


It's right there, on pages 18 and 22 of an Internet guide from the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee that its chairman, Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), hopes will become scripture for the 2008 candidates.

Always assume you're being recorded, and always record your opponent. The blogs -- oh, scratch that -- the Republican blogs are your friends, so use them for rapid response in good times and bad.

"The paradigmatic example of failure to do so is the 'macaca' moment," reads the guidebook ( excerpted here), referring to a remark last year by former Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) that was captured on video and sunk his reelection campaign.

And btw, the mainstream media are so, uh, 2006. The first stop for press secretaries, according to the guidebook, should be bloggers who can create "buzz" and inevitably trigger stories in the drippy MSM.

The guidebook, 39 pages long and distributed last week to GOP Senate campaigns, underscores attempts by Republicans to level the Web-based playing field after Democrats, in Ensign's view, leveraged their Internet savvy into electoral wins. Republicans remain almost haunted by their 2006 missteps, particularly the way the macaca incident exposed chasms in their new media campaign strategy.

"It is critical that Republicans not let Democrats continue the edge," Ensign said. "They have had an edge on us."

The NRSC has hired two press secretaries for blogger outreach, and an in-house Web designer and video producer to assist campaigns. The committee also built a production studio in its basement for candidates to cut Web ads and trained campaign aides.

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," said Matthew Miller, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. "I'm glad the NRSC discovered the Internet in 2007."

Miller said the committee hired an online communications director two years ago, and has been training Senate candidates for months on Web strategy. "This isn't new for us," he said.

So you don't have to, we combed the Republican guide book to write up this truncated guide to the strategies that will shape the GOP's 2008 Senate campaigns:

Live on film. This is perhaps the single biggest lesson learned from 2006. Video -- and the ease with which it's distributed, usually via YouTube -- can be a candidate's greatest friend, or foe.

"Every campaign should film their candidate and record his/her every move at any event that is open to the public," the guide states. "Campaigns should also remind their candidate that they should assume there is a camera on them at all times and act accordingly. It is also recommended that campaigns film their opponents' public events as well."

Not only that, candidates must appear in videos on their websites. They need to talk about issues. They need to make personal appeals for money ("Not only are supporters often more inclined to give if they are urged do so by the candidate, but a video placed right on the donation page often increases the amount they give."). They need to go Oprah-style and get personal in a video blog, or vlog.

Don't be antisocial. Yes, that crazy thing the kids are doing these days -- posting their life details on social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook -- can be good for candidates, too. The NRSC calls it "the next big thing in politics." So candidates need to step to it and start talking about their favorite ice cream flavors and such. Will TMI (too much information) be MIA in 2008?

Open the campaign checkbook. Hire at least one staff member, but hopefully three, to lasso the wild Web. Basically, the Internet can't be a payroll afterthought. Campaigns must have people who constantly update the website, manage postings on YouTube and MySpace, and monitor the hundreds, if not thousands, of chattering bloggers.

Remember the top blog dogs. Speaking of which, get in good with five of the best-read national conservative bloggers. The guide names names: Instapundit, Michelle Malkin, Captain's Quarters, Power Line and Hugh Hewitt. Do the same locally. Do an interview with "one friendly blogger," and interest from other local bloggers should follow.

Make blogs your first point of contact. It used to be that campaigns checked in with newspaper reporters, then everybody else. Now, friendly blogs should be the first point of contact. (The NRSC bumped the mainstream media to step eight on its nine-step plan for communicating the campaign's message to the public.)

The non-friendly blogs, i.e. "hostile, liberal blogs," should never be engaged directly by campaigns. "Doing so only legitimizes them," the guide states. Leave that up to surrogates. Instead, monitor the critical sites for inaccuracies that can be "useful down the road to delegitimize these blogs as a source for reliable information to the mainstream media."

But really, bloggers are no different from the MSM. OK, so maybe they have at least two things in common: They both like scoops and feeling special.

"Bloggers, particular national bloggers who've developed a reputation, have no interest in being BCC'd on a press release," the guide states. "They do, however, eagerly desire inside information about rapidly developing storylines of interest to their audiences. Personalized attention is important. Quick, personal response to any questions or concerns they may have about the information that you give them is also important."

Blogs are your canary. Treat them "as an 'early warning system' to help discern if an opponent's attacks are gaining traction," the guide reads, using Allen's campaign as an example. "Conservative blogs, who had long been lauding Sen. George Allen, were annoyed by shifting justifications and turned on Allen with a vengeance. Sen. Allen was never able to regain his status with bloggers, many of whom, at the time, were still touting Allen for President."

Blog yourself. They are an essential tool, the guide states, to thank donors and update supporters on the campaign.

The NRSC, however, could serve as a cautionary tale. It recently tried something different on its blog, removing the veneer of party unity and giving voice to critics of the Senate's bipartisan immigration bill. It caused a stir, and the site is no longer available. An NRSC spokeswoman said the site "was never fully launched.''

One last thing: Don't get sued. There are copyrights, trademarks and privacy laws. Be careful, give credit and pay the fees to use a photo. It's worth it to do so, the guide states, "rather than taking the chance of defending your actions in court."