Monty Python, laser sharks add quirk to grassroots GOP outreach. GOP policy site nets wacky ideas

What happens when the marketplace of ideas meets the free-for-all medium of the Internet?

Republicans might be learning the hard way.


House GOP members this week launched a website called America Speaking Out, which encourages visitors to suggest policy initiatives on issues ranging from national security to fiscal accountability — and to vote on the best ideas.

But the site suddenly took on the vibe of a "Saturday Night Live" script.

The fourth most popular idea for improving national security is “we need to employ some of those invincible black knights from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

Another hot idea was that “all Americans should bathe in Nuclear Waste. This has been shown to be an effective tactic in the past of transforming the human body into something more powerful and superhuman. With a nation of powerful mutants, not only would we prevent ourselves from being invaded, we would have a wildly powerful offense with millions able to fly, shoot lasers from their eyes and take bullets.”

One poster advises that “The Republicans need to get as far away from Socialism as possible. Therefor [sic], they need to shed associations with one of the most socialist figures in our country: Jesus Christ! Yes, this man took from the rich and gave to the poor.” Separately, a number of visitors seem to favor legalizing marijuana.

Their promotion of America Speaking Out, the Republican lawmaker edge on Twitter and a new initiative called YouCut indicate that Republicans think they’ve taken the lead leveraging social media for grassroots outreach. Rank-and-file members are touting the initiative on websites from Red State to the Huffington Post and on local political blogs, and GOP leadership made it the subject of their weekly Republican address.

“We still have more than our share of dinosaurs, but we are dragging our members into the 21st century kicking and screaming,” says Jason Chaffetz, a Utah freshman who has found his own creative ways to use new media, including recording video chats beside the cot he sleeps on while legislating in Washington. “These are the new innovative ways that we have to do both politically and in the Congress. … Twenty-four months ago, a lot of people weren’t thinking of this stuff, but it’s imperative if you’re going to communicate with the masses.”

Yet, liberals have been having a field day with the barrage of inane ideas on the America Speaking Out site.

The America Speaks Out project — designed as sort of an crowd-sourced precursor to a 2010 version of Contract with America — is only the latest Republican effort to leverage social media.

Republican Whip Eric Cantor’s effort to get Americans to vote for spending cuts, YouCut, has also run into a few obstacles. The DNC is calling it a gimmick and suggesting Americans go on YouCut and vote to end America Speaking Out, saying that its “electoral purposes … violate ethics laws in using taxpayer dollars for partisan gain.”

But if Republicans are feeling the heat from the unwanted attention, they aren’t showing it. In fact, Republicans have used YouCut voting results to force House floor votes on a federal pay freeze and cuts to welfare.

“We always said from the very beginning that we believe in civil discourse,” chief deputy whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who is in charge of America Speaking Out, told POLITICO. “Just like with somebody in a town hall meeting, anything that’s constructive, they can disagree with our ideas, we’ll allow that.”

Republican staffers are now keeping an eye on the posts on America Speaking Out, spokesman Brendan Buck said, “to make sure it passes the nonsense test.” Visitors are still able to argue for policies the party doesn’t usually agree with — and, indeed, some of the posts call for universal health care or abortion rights, but the wacky missives seemed to be subsiding in recent days.

“We’re very open, as you can see, to having everyone in there. But we want to keep it focused on the debate,” McCarthy said.

Political observers agree that Republicans have caught up on their social media outreach, and that there are electoral implications for the party in power.

“Democrats did a great job on new technology in 2008, but Republicans have really caught up this year,” says Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution. “It reflects what’s going on at a grass-roots level — in '08 it was progressive groups that were really upset, got organized and elected a president. Now the anger is on the right, and those people are being very aggressive about making their voices heard. The Republicans are the beneficiary of what’s happening at the grass-roots level.”

Of course, some of those grass-roots are still warning that “sharks with laser beams” attached to their heads are a grave threat to America.