That simple to-the-point slogan from Newt Gingrich and American Solutions has taken on a life of its own among the rightroots, those conservative bloggers who have been outnumbered by the lefty bloggers for years.
H/T to the Crystal Clear Conservative who pointed out this Politico post in which they, while analyzing the phenomenon, wonder if this is the catalyst that catapults the Right into competition with the Left.
In circulating a petition online for "Drill here," the goal of American Solutions was to have 1 million signatures by the 4th of July. They have already picked up 1.2 million with more coming in daily ... and the 4th of July is still three days away.
What happened? What shook up the laid-back conservative bloggers to rally around a cause, making experts question whether the rightroots could now rival the left in blogging power?
$4 a gallon for gasoline. That was the barrier when folks took notice. Even as they paid $2 a gallon, then $2.50, and then $3, no one spoke out. But the glass ceiling appears to be $4 a gallon ... and now America is waking up to the realization that they have slept the past 30 years while radical environmentalists have successfully lobbied to prevent drilling on American soil (or off-shore) and blocked the construction of new refineries. They, quite simply and literally, have America over a barrell.
Frustrated at the newfound information, many heard about the "Drill now. Drill here. Pay less" campaign from American Solutions and eagerly signed hard-copy and online petitions. Many slapped the bumper sticker with the slogan on their vehicles.
An outlet for the frustration had been found ... and with it an activism that is not often seen on the conservative side of the aisle.
Politico wrote:
It’s also inspired hope among the “rightroots,” the undersized kid brother of the left’s far more robust political Web presence, that this could be the moment and the issue that catalyze the emergence of online conservatism as a force in its own right.Jon Henke and Erick Erickson are well-known conservative bloggers who recognize what has occurred and, hopefully, will tap into it. This is an opportunity for the Right to get into the game and give legitimate competition to the Left.
"The left has been blocking domestic energy production for decades (drilling, refineries, nuclear, etc), so Newt Gingrich's ‘Drill here. Drill now. Pay less’ message tapped into a very simple frustration around which the right could rally,” said Jon Henke, a strategic manager of New Media Strategies and co-founder of The Next Right in an e-mail. “When you can tell a story about a unifying grievance, you can galvanize people online.”
...
The Drill Here Drill Now mantra that Newt came up with rapidly accelerated everyone coming together on the issue,” said Erick Erickson, who runs redstate.org, an influential conservative blog.
...
While McCain still opposes opening up Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, Erickson and other bloggers are hoping to change that: “I think you can bet on conservatives aggressively pushing John McCain to change his mind on ANWR.”
Message = audience = action = results. It's about time.
