I don't know about you, but “octopus with a thousand tentacles” doesn't strike me as an inviting metaphor, no offense to octopuses. That's not to say it's inaccurate—I can't think of a better visualization of what their "outreach" really means for people than being enveloped by a bunch of sucker-clad tentacles.
That will incorporate everything. That includes the best of all data, the best of all state-party-operations ideas: GOTV, digital, campaign infrastructure — everything you can put together to be the best possible party.
The. Best. Of. Everything.
I don't blame him for his sales-pitch enthusiasm—he's got some major appeasement work to do. Since he was too busy fixing the financial problems left by his predecessor Michael Steele to win elections during his first term, he's undoubtedly a little desperate for a second chance. Leaving behind a legacy of success, rather than the failure he's currently saddled with, means he'd better get busy—time and demographics aren't on his side. And in order to get busy, those donors need some serious stroking before they drop any more money into the RNC's hands—they want reassurance they'll be getting something in return next time around.
Particularly amusing is the sudden change-of-heart regarding data. Apparently the accuracy of those "gut-feeling polls" left little to be desired. The RNC has its work cut-out for it across-the-board, however, when it comes to modernizing the GOP. Vincent Harris, a GOP strategist who ran digital campaigns for Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich, sums it up:
“Everyone in the party is frustrated. I haven’t talked to one person who thinks that the Republicans were more successful online in 2012 [than in 2008 or 2010].”
So as it stands now, the OctoPriebus is a few tentacles short of a thousand. Have no fear, Priebus is here, selling common sense as innovation:
That’s the idea, to create the best infrastructure, the best party operation possible. That means political people, non-political people, Republicans, libertarians, the Tea Party, and everyone in between, they’re all at the table. Hispanics, African Americans, Asian Americans, everyone. That’s the idea, we want to be the best.
It seems a telling indication of the GOP's priorities that Hispanics, African-Americans, and Asian-Americans are almost after-thoughts in Reince Priebus' mind.
Some things never change.
(My emphasis in any blockquotes)
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