The Internet and the growth of grassroots groups is shifting power from backrooms in Washington to the American people, FreedomWorks President and CEO Matt Kibbe said Saturday morning at Civitas’ Conservative Leadership Conference CLC.
Consider ride-sharing services such as Uber, through which he got a ride from the airport to CLC at the Embassy Suites in Cary.
“This is the democratization of capitalism,” he said.
But the same model provides for the democratization of political power, he said. Such disruptive change is shaking up the “duopoly” of Republican/Democratic power, especially in Washington.
The Internet gives conservatives a greater social intelligence, he said. Whether it’s getting a ride from the airport or winning votes, “the customer has better information and is better able to organize.”
A prime example is the 2010 popular uproar over the Affordable Care Act. Members of Congress came home to town halls only to find that their constituents had read more of the bill than they had, and the voters were furious. The same holds true for political debate on all topics now.
As Barack Obama disrupted the Democratic Party, conservatives may transform the GOP. “The Republican Party has nominated Bob Dole again and again and again. It’s like ‘Groundhog Day,’ he said. “It’s not going to happen again.”
“We don’t have to accept what the Republican establishment thinks is an appropriate candidate for office,” he said.
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