Grass-roots politics starts on a keyboard

The campaign Web sites of the main presidential candidates run the gamut. On one end is the impressive Web juggernaut behind Illinois Sen. Barack Obama; on the other is the energetic, no-nonsense site backing Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who uses the Web more effectively than any other candidate this year, pundits say.

Smack in the middle, thanks to two highly capable Oregon teens, is Hucksarmy, a grass-roots Web effort to boost former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee from challenger to party nominee.

Identical 19-year-old twins Brett and Alex Harris, of Gresham, launched Hucksarmy.com last fall after meeting Huckabee at a political event. They concluded he was the most capable candidate and decided to mobilize a Web effort on his behalf.

The turning point came late last year when they bulk e-mailed 300 close friends. One of those people happened to be visiting actor Chuck Norris. Norris looked at the e-mail and decided to make Huckabee his main man. The actor now makes regular whistle-stops with Huckabee and shakes hands with thousands of supporters who got involved through Hucksarmy.com.

Since Norris came on board, Hucksarmy has swelled with volunteer members; at last count more than 15,000 people had signed up to work for the candidate.

Homeschooled and raised in Alabama, the Harris brothers were Web wunderkinds even before they conceived of Hucksarmy. They also created TheRebelution.com, dedicated to sharing religious ministry with teens across North America.

Their book, “Do the Hard Thing,” is about to be published. They lead busy lives working on the Huckabee campaign and keeping other activities in balance.

“The Web site has definitely gotten bigger than we expected, and it’s taken time away from other things,” Alex Harris said in an interview. “But we believe that this is a critical election. Huckabee is the guy we need in the White House.”

Politics comes easy for the brothers, he added. They were raised by evangelical parents who introduced them to doorbelling and phone calling when they were preteens.

The two Harrises don’t deal with the appearance of the site. Once they had launched a primitive version of Hucksarmy, volunteers offered to help refine its design. They turned to a friend, Canadian David Boskovic, to oversee the site’s visual presentation.

They say the site in the next few weeks will become easier to use, with more video segments and handy information tabs on the main issues.

In general, candidate sites provide two services: raising cash and generating upbeat news releases about the campaign. Hucksarmy’s mission is to provide volunteers a one-stop interactive site. It has dozens of forums in which organizers and volunteers share thousands of messages on how to get involved in local efforts.

Washington residents often get help there from Olympia resident Tricia Farr, who is involved with the washingtonforhuckabee.com site. The Hucksarmy site makes her job easier, Farr said: “I enjoy organizing via the Internet and keeping supporters informed of the happenings with the campaign.”

While not formally connected to the official Huckabee campaign, Hucksarmy works closely with campaign directors, Alex Harris said.

“We try to focus on what the campaign is focusing on,” he said. “If the campaign people tell us they need us to make calls to voters in Florida, we do that. We get our volunteers to ramp up efforts there.”

Huckabee appreciates their effort. He’s referred to Hucksarmy as “our secret weapon,” according to Alex Harris.

The brothers are unsure what happens after the election. They plan to continue their Web ministry, and they’ll see how people respond to their book. “We’re both definitely interested in politics and will continue to dabble in it,” he said.

They take their cue, he added, from the book title.

“We do really believe that things that are important are not easy. We do believe in doing hard things.”