by digby
It took them a while, but they did it:
In the last four years, ForAmerica has quietly amassed what it likes to call a “digital army” on Facebook—a force that that now numbers more than 7 million. The group’s spectacular growth can be explained in part by the paid acquisition of its members through targeted advertising. But thanks to a daily stream of savvy and snackable red-meat messaging, these mercenaries have become loyal conservative digital soldiers whose engagement is attracting new recruits. These days, a routine post on ForAmerica’s page reaches more than 2 million people, achieves more than 100,000 “likes,” and has tens of thousands of people repost and comment.
But shutting down the White House switchboard this summer was just a warm-up act. Bozell and his father, Brent Bozell, the group’s chairman and a fixture in the hard-liner wing of GOP politics, have been positioning their troops for a bigger battle: policing the 2016 Republican presidential race.
“Anybody who runs as a conservative,” Brent Bozell declared, “is going to have to satisfy our army.”
Already, the Bozells have proved willing—if not eager—to direct their army’s rage against fellow Republicans. They jammed the lines of Mitch McConnell’s campaign office in the final days of his crucial reelection contest, accusing the senator of sounding wobbly on repealing Obamacare. Just last week ForAmerica urged its members to dial up House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and demand he toe the conservative line on immigration. These pressure campaigns are orchestrated by the Bozells, but executed by their group’s excitable, activist base.
For a long time the left was way ahead of the right on the internet. And I’d guess they still are in some respects. But there was no way the right wouldn’t figure out how to harness the grassroots through this new medium. They were the ones who invented direct mail, which built the conservative movement over decades.
And whatever medium they use, they are extremely good at getting their message across to their base and keeping them active and engaged. They changed the face of American politics.
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