How Republicans intend to close the tech talent gap

Liberals involved in President Obama's reelection campaign tend to downplay what's been reported as a revolution in political technology. The 2012 campaign's use of data and analytics to target voters wasn't novel, they insist -- just a logical extension of lessons learned over years of experimentation. More important, they believe, is a Democratic talent pool that keeps getting bigger and more sophisticated with every cycle. Fancy tools are meaningless, after all, without the right people to wield them. Conservatives agree -- which is why some, in a bid to catch up with the left, are now moving to ramp up the technology training being given to the rank and file. Part of that effort will involve a series of workshops at the yearly right-wing conference known as the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). The sessions are being organized by Republican strategist Patrick Ruffini and the one-year-old organization Empower Action Group, which is billed as the right's answer to liberal organizations that teach progressives how to send effective e-mail blasts, canvass voters with customized scripts and other techniques of the trade.