Andy Barkett, an engineer with over a decade of Silicon Valley experience who has worked at Facebook since 2011, has been named the new Chief Technology Officer of the RNC.

“I am excited to announce that Andy Barkett will be leading the effort to expand our data and digital capabilities as our Chief Technology Officer,” said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. “I am confident that with Andy’s experience and our continued efforts to build meaningful relationships with experts in Silicon Valley, we’ll see the changes to this part of our operation that we all agree are both important and necessary to winning elections in the future.”

The creation of the CTO position was a key part of the RNC’s “Growth & Opportunity Project” report that came out of the party’s recent defeat in the 2012 Presidential election. The sprawling report detailed many of of the problems Republicans face and highlighted some proposed solutions.

“Perhaps the area of campaign 2012 that received the most interest from a media standpoint is the “digital divide” that existed between the GOP and the Democrats as a result of the Obamacampaign’s signifcant commitment to building an in-house tech and digital team and sharing data resources across multiple entities within the campaign,” said the report.

The report proposed the recruitment of a new “chief technology and digital officer” for the RNC.

It appears that the national committee has found their man in Barkett.

“It’s essential that the Republican Party has the resources to drive voter turnout as we look toward the elections of 2014, 2016 and beyond,” said Barkett. “Silicon Valley welcomes the party’s efforts to be more creative and innovative, and I look forward to helping the party accomplish these goals.”

[Photo via Facebook]

“I love my state,” said Steele. “I think that the potential in Maryland is huge. I look at the last 8 years, I look at the tax increases, I look at some of the things they’ve done to drive jobs away and opportunity out the door. And you just kind of say, ‘Ok, can you contribute something?’ So, we’ll weigh it, we’ll see.”

This week, Steele further confirmed that he is seriously considering a run for governor. Steele, who stepped down from his position as RNC chairman in 2011, is now a political analyst for MSNBC. He appeared this week on MSNBC’s The Daily Rundown, and stated again that he’s “looking at it.” He was then asked why he wants to run for office.

“Well, because I love the idea of service,” said Steele. “I think we can move the state in a different direction. I mean, you know, we’ve lost 30,000 employers over the last eight years. You know, our economy is not competitive in the region anymore.”

Steele stated he would make a decision on whether or not to run by the end of the year.

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In a sign of the times, Beutler announced that she is expecting on her Facebook page. She stated that she and her husband are “blessed” and “excited” to be able to give their parents grandchildren.

The Facebook note, in full:

A few years ago when I was newly married and recently elected to Congress, I remember fielding some speculation as to whether or not I was “expecting.” Well… my husband Dan and I are thrilled to announce that this fall, there will be yet another person in Southwest Washington who will – for their entire adult life – get to explain “No, no, it’s pronounced Butler.” That’s right – we’re expecting a baby!

Not only are we blessed to begin building our family, we’re also pretty excited to be giving Dan’s parents, Paul and Patti Beutler of Salem, their first grandchild and to be giving my parents, Armando and Candice Herrera of Camas, a grandchild to visit only a few miles away. I am thankful for the close proximity to both sets of grandparents because like any new parents, I’m sure we’ll need the help!

Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and encouragement.

Jaime and Daniel

Beutler isn’t the first congresswoman to be pregnant, though the event is rare. Eight other women have become pregnant during their terms in office. Most recently, another Washington congresswoman, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, gave birth to a daughter in December 2010, making her the first congresswoman to give birth twice in office. Her first time giving birth in office was in April 2007. Similar to Beutler, Rodgers also announced her pregnancy through her Facebook page.

According to a report from The Dallas Morning News, Perry died in his sleep on Saturday night or Sunday morning at his home in Houston. The cause of the death has not been released

In the late 1960s, Perry started a homebuilding business in Houston called Perry Homes. The company is now one of the largest home builders in the U.S.

With the success of Perry Homes, Perry became wealthy, and used his wealth to support conservative political causes. He was a major donor for both George W. Bush and Rick Perry (no relation) during their campaigns for Governor of Texas. Perry was also reportedly donated over $900,000 to the Texas Republican Party in 2002.

During the 2004 election, Perry was the largest single donor to the 527 group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, donating over $4.4 million to the group. Since that time, Perry has donated millions to organizations dedicated to electing Republican candidates, including 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

According to sources quotes by the San Francisco Chronicle, Zuckerberg has already pledged as much as $20 million into the new group – and has already gotten others to pledge a few million dollars of their own.

The group looks to be leaning heavy to the right (at least in its initial leadership), according to the reports. The group will include a well-known Republican strategist, Jon Lerner, who is tied to Grover Norquist (of the no tax pledge) as well as Rob Jesmer, who previously worked with Republican Senator John Cornyn. Apparently, the whole thing was set into motion by Zuckerberg’s old Harvard roommate Joe Green (co-founder of Causes and NationBuilder).

As you may remember, Zuckerberg was among 100 tech presidents, CEOs, and chairmen who penned a letter to President Obama and Congressional leadership earlier this month asking for them to move on comprehensive immigration reform. They argued that immigrant entrepreneurs have founded thousands of companies, and that our outdated system is forcing out highly-skilled, great minds. Basically, better immigration policy is good for business.

The letter was also signed by Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, HP CEO Meg Whitman, and Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer.

This new SuperPAC won’t be an immigration-minded entity, however. Sources say that the group’s focus will be “more far-ranging and deal with an agenda of topics related to economic growth and vitality.”

Zuckerberg, who up until recently had not made huge waves in the political arena, hosted a big fundraiser for Republican Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie as his Palo Alto home.

The first mention of the internet in the platform is to state that there should be no regulation of political speech on the internet. Next, an entire section is devoted to the topic titled “Protecting Internet Freedom.” The GOP has chosen to go with its free market sensibilities in regard to the topic, and states that it generally wants things to stay as they are. From the relevant section:

The Internet has unleashed innovation, enabled growth, and inspired freedom more rapidly and extensively than any other technological advance inhuman history. Its independence is its power. The Internet offers a communications system uniquely free from government intervention. We will remove regulatory barriers that protect outdated technologies and business plans from innovation and competition,while preventing legacy regulation from interfering with new and disruptive technologies such as mobile delivery of voice video data [sic] as they become crucial components of the Internet ecosystem. We will resist any effort to shift control away from the successful multi-stakeholder approach of Internet governance and toward governance by international or other intergovernmental organizations. We will ensure that personal data receives full constitutional protection from government overreach and that individuals retain the right to control the use of their data by third parties; the only way to safeguard or improve these systems is through the private sector.

The platform mentions in several other places that the GOP opposes any diplomatic measures that would put the internet under some sort of international regulatory control, such as the UN. It also states that Republicans want to auction off any surplus spectrum to help spread broadband access and dismisses the FCC’s net neutrality stance as government micromanagement.

The Republican platform, however, is not wholly libertarian with regard to the internet. There is another section in the document titled “Making the Internet Family-Friendly.” It details the GOP position that internet gambling should be illegal and pays lip-service to having “service providers” protect children from internet predators.

The full text of the 2012 Republican Platform can be seen on the GOP website.

“This clock reminds every delegate and every American why we are here in Tampa – because America can and must do better,” said Priebus. “Every American’s share of the national debt has increased by approximately $16,000 during the current administration.”

Priebus added that Mitt Romney would be able to “turn this fiscal mess around.”

The activation of the debt clock will be the only official event of the Republican National Convention on Monday. A full speaking lineup was originally scheduled, but worries about Tropical Storm Isaac caused convention organizers to rearrange the schedule. Nearly the entire convention will now take place in three days instead of four.

A full current schedule for the convention can be found on the Republican National Convention’s website. Some of the speakers to be featured during the convention include Speaker of the House John Boehner, former senator Rick Santorum, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (who recently became the first woman to join Augusta National), and, of course, Mitt Romney.

The 2012 campaign has seen basically the same thing. Mostly due to the fantastic job the Democratic party did last time to build up their good social media karma, they are still riding high. As you can see from the infographic below, even with all of the Republican Presidential hopefuls put together, they don’t even make a dent into what is an enormous social media advantage for Obama.

Thanks to Overdrive Interactive for this great Infographic!

This kind of forward thinking has allowed the Obama reelection people to focus on promoting their ideals and beliefs, and not spending time to build a social media presence. This is where the ‘Life of Julia‘ slideshow comes in. In something that resembles a Google product release video, ‘Life of Julia’ follows a fictional woman who, throughout different stages of her life, is benefitting from the entitlements given to her by President Barack Obama.

“Julia starts her own web business. She qualifies for a Small Business Administration loan, giving her the money she needs to invest in her business. President Obama’s tax cuts for small businesses like Julia’s help her to get started. She’s able to hire employees, creating new jobs in her town and helping to grow the local economy.” This kind of political showcase is how and where the Democrats have a chance at getting Obama reelected. The Republicans will have a huge unknown factor unless they can do something to show that they know how to run a social media campaign that is effective.

Obama did not just win the Presidential election in 2008, he dominated it. One of the biggest factors as to how he was able to do that, was that he is the first President in history to really nail down the proper way to use social media as a campaign tool. Not only does it reach the masses way faster than any other form of traditional advertising, but it is in most occasions completely free.

Today the Republican party has finally started to get on board with this idea that social media is a viable option for voter connection and they have released the Social Victory Center App for Facebook. The app, which is brought to you by the Republican National Committee, features a lot of ways for either potential, or existing Republican voters to get a little more involved in things.

The social media app features 4 main sections:

News

The news section gives you a one stop place for all the news that the GOP feels you need to know. Kind of pigeon holes you into one set of ideas, but i’m pretty sure you won’t be at this site unless you are a fairly ardent conservative. You have the option of choosing national or local news stories. There is also a videos section, which at this time is populated by political campaign ads.

Events

The events section is where you can find all the national or local events to participate during the upcoming campaign. There are listings that you can RSVP to such as phone banks and county meetups. They also organize door to door and get togethers on election days.

Volunteer

The volunteer tab is an interesting one. There are 2 distinct parts to this section. One part just gives you the names and addresses of the Republican Party offices in each state. The second part allows you to call potential voters and poll them on things that are important right now. All you do is enter your number and you get a phone call from a New York City number that immediately redirects you to the potential voter you are polling.

This is a very cool option, but it also has the potential to backfire, as anyone can do this if they want to.

Discussions

The discussions tab is basically the forum of the site. The big problem is that you cannot submit your own topics for discussion, which is probably done to keep out the extremists. There are a wide range of topics to discuss with people from Obamanomics to Solyndra to the Fast and Furious scandal.

It is obviously way to early to tell if something like this will have the ability to sway voters, or even reassure voters. This election will be one of the hardest and nastiest elections since the early 1800′s when candidates use to accuse each other of having sex with farm animals and cross dressing. It looks like the Republicans are in for the long haul and are ready for the challenge.

He went on to say the “vision” portrayed by the Ryan budget “is of an America where everybody is fending for themselves, a few are doing very well at the top, and everybody else is struggling to get by.” Obama obviously has a vision for how the government needs to interact with it’s citizens. His vision includes an all encompassing federal government and a diminished state government. His “European Spending” includes providing everything for it’s citizens including healthcare, jobs, and housing.

“I believe in investing in basic research and science because I understand that all these extraordinary companies that are these enormous wealth-generators — many of them would have never been there; Google, Facebook would not exist, had it not been for investments that we made as a country in basic science and research,” Obama said. “I understand that makes us all better off.”

What he doesn’t say, is that these technologies came from military programs, that then branched out to the private sectors. They did not come from the Federal government investing in companies that they feel push their vision of the country. This is one of the reasons that the military has had a historically massive budget, because of the fact they spend more on research and development than any other entity(govt or private) than anyone in the world. The DOD will spend $77 billion next year on R&D, the highest private company is Merck & Co Inc which will spend $10 billion. The DoD will in fact spend more on R&D than the top 10 companies put together.

Republicans have their own ideas of what should be done with the Federal government and they say that Obama is distorting the facts while he is trying to get reelected.

“Chairman Ryan, passed a responsible budget that would help put Americans back to work, protect our seniors, close President Obama’s massive budget deficits, and do ‘all of the above’ to address high gas prices,” House Speaker John Boehner said. “It makes the tough choices the president refuses to make to address the staggering deficits and debt that are slowing our economic recovery, costing jobs, and threatening to destroy the American dream.”