It all began as a quest to discover something – anything – about the elusive Armistead C. Freeman III, Republican candidate for Washington County Quorum Court, a man who seems to have left no virtual footprints anywhere, let alone a carbon footprint.

Years ago, writing for the alternative weekly Grapevine, I produced a column about running a fictitious android in the mayor’s race; has the local GOP – after so many years – taken up my suggestion?

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No, I didn’t think so, either.

And yet, my search for any online information at all about Comrade Freeman yielded nothing at all.

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In frustration, I finally turned to the website of the Washington County Republican Party:

http://www.washingtoncountyargop.com/

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Considering that an election is coming up (surely they must have heard about it?) there is not actually anything at all on the site about the election, or about anyone of a GOP nature who might be running for office.

Oh, the 2014 Lincoln Day Dinner, with the theme “In Defense of America” is promoted, but that was way, ay back in October.

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Furyjher investigation seemed to be in order.

Atop the page is one of those lovely pictures which one can find anywhere of a group of sexy, attractive, incredibly happy looking looking folk who represent the true diversity of America. It seemed such an all-inclusive group that it almost made me want to join this happy-go-lucky group of young professionals, until I realized the one demographic not represented in the photo.

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Old people.

In fact, maybe the Asian guy in the middle might be pushing 40 in a few years, but that’s as old as we’ll get here.

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And none of these folks look like they’ve been anywhere near a Tea Party rally, except maybe to give somebody a ride.

But the real fun starts when you try to find out some election news. You can find out all about Candidate Filing Fees, but nothing about actual candidates.

There is some real disconnect here.

Well, the Internet has only been around for a couple of years now. I’m sure they’ll catch up.

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The local GOP Facebook page is not much better.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Washington-County-Republican-Committee/133894229783

In fact, the last announcement on the page is about the February 12 State of the Union watch Party.

Due to the general loneliness of he page, what with no one leaving any comments, I felt compelled to leave a tiny one of my own.

In 2012, to somewhat great fanfare, a post announced the new website of the Washington County Republican Party. That post should probably be taken down, since if you click on it, you get:

Sorry, the website www.wcgopar.com cannot be found.

But as I say, it’s still early days for the Internet. I am sure that some whiz kid out there can whip these sites into shape in no time at all.

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Quote of the day

To grow older is a new venture in itself – Goethe

rsdrake@cox.net