As political battles are increasingly waged online, Republicans have become alarmed with the dearth of conservative web programmers. Cyrus Krohn, in a farewell notice he wrote upon leaving his role as the RNC’s eCampaign manager, said:
Change comes quickly online and the tide will turn again in favor of the GOP, once we hone our message and harness emerging technologies. To do that, we must match Democrats, programmer-for-programmer. Regrettably, we’re in terribly short supply of professionals focused solely on building platforms and applications. This is where we got dot bombed in 2006 and 2008. Maybe we should start providing computer science scholarships in exchange for a commitment to serve our party? Rob Willington, the executive director of the Massachusetts Republican Party and overseer of Rebuild the Party, has a plan to help close that gap. Last night he launched Code Red, a website that he hopes will connect those programmers with the campaigns and committees that need them.”I saw that demand and wanted to be able to provide that supply,” says Willington, who conceived on the website as soon as he read Krohn’s post. “It’s sort of a spur-of-the-moment thing.”Willington said the site will be a “two-way street,” allowing him to pass on info about programmers to campaigns and about campaigns to interested programmers. Among other information, he asks for the programmers’ zip codes—allowing campaigns to find programmers within their region—and special skill sets, as well as an open-ended question that allows programmers to say “what’s on their mind.”The website arrives in the midst of a big push for technological answers to the GOP’s woes. Last month, the RNC held a Tech Summit where it opened its doors to whatever ideas attendees could provide. Willington agrees, though, with those who caution an overemphasis on technology at the expense of message.”It’s an important part for making the machine run properly,” he says, “but it’s not the machine itself.”