Obstacle Removal

2005-12-02T10:59:00.000-05:00

And So We Beat On, Boats Against the Current

2005-07-26T16:32:00.000-05:00

The conclusion of The Anarchist in the Library gets straight to the heart of tectonic political and cultural shifts occurring around us. Sometimes, without a true frame of reference, we tend to idle along as if nothing is changing. This is the danger of old ideas and paradigms applied to the new problems and uncharted demands being placed on our comfortable political systems. Vaidhyanathan calls for boosting cultural democracy and civic republicanism in order to recast the framework for the 21st century.

There are examples of thriving cultural democracy. Look at the next generation of tape traders whose communities share and promote the live recordings of their favorite bands, with permission from the bands. Enabled by digital networks, these communities build and feed one another, and display all the qualities of a thriving cultural democracy. They have used these communities to be commercially successful as well, so it can work.

The effectiveness of civic republicanism, though, is being eroded. Lack of engagement, lack of community identities, lack of personal responsibility, and the manipulation of public trust for personal gain cripples the longstanding ability of civic republicanism to effectively function as a societal framework. In this respect Vaidhyanathan is right. Without reversing this erosion, our society is at risk from both the freeloaders (and nefarious, violent exploitation) and from knee-jerk reactions from the State.

In many ways we get lost chasing our tail. All too often we are unable to confront complex problems with the canned solutions that sometimes seem to be the only options forwarded by a Government held captive by the quick fix. This captivity is even more dangerous with a disengaged citizenry. Many of the most powerful tools that we can employ to combat 21st century problems are locked away by law and regulations that today serve only narrow interests. Many laws and regulations governing information have served a valuable public purpose, but most are anachronistic. We do need to look at all of these delicate balances through new eyes.

Ready to Go "Over the Top"

2005-07-26T09:00:00.000-05:00

Clearly the confluence of broadband technology and independent 527 political organizations has created a perfect storm of sorts for video on the internet. This spot has touched upon our class discussion, which identified online video as the next big thing for political campaigns. The same dynamics that led to that conclusion for official campaign organizations also apply to independently produced videos.

Looking at IPDI's report on online political videos in the full context of internet viewership, official campaign organizations risk being completely subsumed by the wave of videos produced by independent groups. There are a couple of key reasons why.

First, according to IPDI, 69% of online activists meet the criteria as "influentials". That means those who seek and provide the distribution function for online videos are disproportionately influential. Big deal, right? Well, it turns out that influentials are also "less likely than the norm to describe themselves as middle of the road" ideologically. What better way to please the "very conservative" or "very liberal" than to produce a video eviscerating a candidate or cause dear to the opposition. In short, play to the audience with the power to make your site visits soar.

Second, we can call to mind some of Sunstein's analysis of social psychology findings that support the idea of group polarization and describe an insularly nature inherent to online activism that embraces more extreme political views. Now, if Sunstein is correct, it will be very difficult for official campaign organizations to capture the hearts of online activists the way an unaccountable 527 can. After all, official campaigns can't typically afford to completely alienate or offend mainstream Americans.

It All Seems So Ridiculous

2005-07-25T22:18:00.000-05:00

It's always a bad sign for freedom when a country has a Ministry of Information. In China it is the Ministry of Information Industry. The MII, along with a myriad of other State organizations that serve to work at various layers (both legal and technological) to control what end users (or citizens) can access or distribute.

The legal framework can be construed to meet whatever State objective exists at the time. Let's take a look, from an American's perspective, at the nine categories of restricted information. Now, to be clear, information cannot be produced, copied, published or disseminated if it contains data

"1. Which are against the principles prescribed in the Constitution"
That's odd. Their constitution prescribes principles. Isn't our Constitution's Bill of Rights in place to eliminate any chance of the Government prescribing it's principles?

"2. Which endanger the security of the state, divulge the secrets of the state, overthrow the government, or damage the unification of the state"
Publishing data that damages the unification of the state...huh?

"3.Which harm the dignity and interest of the state"
Please don't harm the interest of so dignified a State.

"4. Which instigate hatred, discrimination among the ethnic groups, or destroy the unity of nationalities"
Don't destroy the unity of nationalities (notice plural)...oh wait, hopefully these nationalities are working in concert to avoid damaging the unification of the State

"5. Which break the religious policy of the state, spread evil cults or feudal superstition"
Evil cults? Try Communism.

"6. Which spread rumors, destroy the social order, and damage the social stability"
Sounds like we've banned all discussion of Tom Cruise

"7. Which spread pornography, sex, gambling, violence, murder, terrorism or abetment"
Without pornography and gambling, our e-commerce revenues are in a world of hurt

"8. Which insult or slander others and thus infringe upon others' lawful rights and interests"
This is a insult

"9. Which involve other contents prohibited by the laws and administrative rules"
The elastic clause!

All mocking aside, the range and sophistication of the Chinese State's filtering system is remarkable. Beyond restricting access to information by law or technology, the State has intimidated local or regional ISP's into self-censoring material that might otherwise be accessible. The excessive, business-destroying penalties imposed upon "violators" of the ridiculously vague legal restrictions make it perfectly understandable that ISPs avoid the grey area entirely.

The effort that it has clearly taken to employ the State's MII apparatus reflects the difficulty of restricting information in the information age. Hopefully technology will develop to the point where access to information will one day be impossible to restrict. In the meantime, one can only hope that if the Chinese insist on locking down access, they at least drain their treasury while doing so.

Video Convergence

2005-07-25T09:29:00.000-05:00

The Campaign Solutions folks who were kind enough to speak with the class are certainly onto something when they, without hesitation, indicated that the next big thing would be online video.

This spot has touched before on the failure of most internet content to convey emotion. Emotion is what television does really well. With the convergence of digital media (data, music, video), websites should be able to leverage the power of video, while maintaining the other advantages of interactivity that the internet provides.

While some of the same principles apply to online video, it is different from television in a couple of key ways. First, it is not bound by the restrictions of time, viewing market, or advance purchase requirements. Second, it can be viral, spreading much more efficiently and effectively throughout the audience.

Without the traditional restrictions, and with a premium placed on viral marketing, video on the internet will have much more variety than a 30 second spot on cable TV. We've seen John Edwards' video podcasting, a format that lends itself to longer videos. We've also seen (along with over 50 million other Americans) the JibJab video, which was short, humorous and viral. The beauty of video online is that it can fall under so many different criteria and be tailored to the audience.

Campaign professionals should avoid falling into the trap of simply hosting their campaign commercials online. While this provides important synergy, it is not enough to make an impact by itself. Online video needs to go above and beyond in providing a variety of choices that appeal to the diverse desires of the audience. On TV, political ads are force-fed to a captive audience. Visitors to political websites are a different kind of captive audience, one that is eager for information and willing to be engaged. It stands to reason that the videos they are able to see should be different as well.

Micropayments

2005-07-24T22:05:00.000-05:00

The most compelling point about micropayments that Neilsen makes in his 1998 article is that they offer a more flexible market of options for internet users. Rather than the all-or-nothing approach so common to the subscription model on the internet, micropayments offer an opportunity to selectively choose meaningful content and access that content without breaking the bank.

Some online media, such as the NY Times, provide a significant amount of free content to registered visitors to the site. Faced with a user population that has "grown up" with free NY Times Online content, it would be very difficult to transition to a subscription model, despite the fact that subscriptions have been the primary method to access NY Times content in print format for ages. Micropayments provide an avenue to generate some revenue from selected content without placing huge burden on the user's wallet.

With micropayments, some of the same cultural transition issues remain. However, the decision to spend 50 cents for a specific article or issue is generally easier than the decision to spend $50 dollars for a set period of unlimited access when you cannot possibly be sure what, if any, content will be put forward that is worth paying for.

I think micropayments have a lot of merit in providing more flexibility and choices in the way content is purchased. This is particularly true if purchases are made easy, and without forcing the user to fumble for his/her credit card. The micropayment model, frankly, tracks a lot closer to the behavioral patterns and culture of the internet than the stodgy subscription model. It may be a boon for blogs, too, if those blogs generating quality content can figure out a way to harness micropayments to pay their bills.

Podcasting Pioneers

2005-07-18T20:55:00.000-05:00

For those looking to devour your daily dose of Nancy Pelosi's manufactured alliteration, the House Democrats have announced the rollout of a new podcasting project. Podcasting, you'll remember, is like TiVo for your portable audio device. Democrats hope to use this technology to jump start a messaging machine that has difficulty getting out of the garage. The problem is, unlike rushing home to search the TiVo, it is doubtful that the American public is all that eager to sync up and hear the latest press conference from the House Democratic leadership. That goes for the RNC, too.

Podcasting has its place, and as it becomes more user-friendly and well known, it will be a neat opportunity to get news from primary resources. The circle of folks that is interested in hearing those messages, though, is limited. I'm not sure iPods are the jumper cables capable of getting the House Democrats' message machine humming, but kudos for trying.

Thought Police

2005-07-17T19:33:00.000-05:00

It says a lot about a society when the release of a movie is threatened because a car drives through an area resembling a courtyard whose design has been copyrighted. I'm sure the lawyers love it, but for the rest of us it is an extraordinary hassle that drains creativity, pocket books and erodes the will of citizens to resist.

Prior to reading Lawrence Lessig's exerpt, I had no idea the extent to which our legal system supports such creative straightjackets. Not that I am surprised, considering how cottage industries have sprung up across all forms of commerce whenever legal minds spot an opportunity to ply their trade by throwing up barriers to the trade of others.

The internet, on the other hand, has transformed the way intellectual property is defined, copied, purchased, or transferred, and is the wild west of copyright infringement. Copyright protection has been a major focus of the entertainment industry, as the RIAA and MPAA have sought legal remedies to combat software that enables consumers to steal rather than spend for artists' work. While there have been notable legal victories for industry, the real challenge lies in coping with technologies that make violating copyrights a snap, and create a culture that doesn't see anything particularly wrong with these violations.

So while the movie industry has matured to the point where every aspect of creativity is run through the lawyers, the internet is still relatively unpoliced. You can imagine the dollar signs that must be flashing through the heads of lawyers who see a regulatory gold rush ahead. This includes those who pore through election law and FEC advisory opinions, and impact how political voices are heard.

Luntz of the Left?

2005-07-15T16:36:00.000-05:00

In a preview of a piece set to appear in the New York Times Magazine on Sunday, we see that Democrats have recognized the value of language and its ability to favorably frame political debate. George Lakoff, the subject of the article, is compared with Frank Luntz, whose methodology, impact, and results we have read about and discussed in class.

Luntz' value to Republicans has been demonstrated time and again. The rhetorical upper hand can make a huge difference in how Americans respond to issues. Despite Luntz' success, the Democrats have not to-date countered with a language guru of their own. As a result, they frequently find themselves pinned in by the words that frame the debate.

As one example, look at the hot button issue of abortion. The act of aborting a fetus is an act nearly impossible to advocate, no matter ones position on the issue. Despite polls showing that a majority of Americans support a woman's ability to choose this course, Democrats lose on the issue because they cannot help but be on the defensive. Pro-choice candidates are characterized as favoring "abortion on demand" or worse. Anti-abortion candidates, meanwhile, run under the mantel of "pro-life", a vastly superior rhetorical position. If you follow DNC Chairman Howard Dean's statements, he has made a concerted effort to re-cast the language of the abortion debate. Hillary Clinton is attempting to position herself similarly.

In the end, language can't trump the actual positions being staked out, but it is a crucial feature in effectively communicating with voters. Beyond simple words, the work of Luntz and Lakoff is geared toward the context or framing of debate. This is their real impact on political messaging, as it defines how voters perceive issues. If Lakoff can match the work of Luntz, the subsequent rhetorical posturing of both sides will be dizzying. The risk is that such activity will ultimately put the public in a spot where reality is shielded by the nuance of language and metaphor.

Strategic Plan

2005-07-11T12:00:00.000-05:00

Looking at the Virginia Family Values PAC, you see a group that has really failed to leverage the web to impact debate on the issues. This failure is occurring despite the large amount of public attention and debate focused on issues important to them. Below are some highlights of VFVPAC's strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths:

The Virginia Family Values PAC is well positioned to impact debate in the Commonwealth of Virginia on social issues, particularly as these issues relate to the subjects of gay rights and sex education. VFVPAC has co-opted the "family values" label long used by their philosophical opponents. This bit of irony serves their message properly, as it demonstrates that not everyone agrees on the best definition for family values. It also dilutes the ability of its ideological opponents to monopolize favorable language on the issue.

Effectively neutralizing the social conservative block would go a long way in turning around the fortunes of Democrats in Virginia. In this way, VFVPAC is well positioned to serve as an organizing force, and could leverage its influence to gain financial or other (more tacit) support from the Democratic Party and progressive organizations. As a state-level organization, VFVPAC should be able to more effectively communicate with Virginians than a national organization that does not understand the political nuances of the Commonwealth. It is thus important that VFVPAC strive to be the public face on one side of these issues for Virginians.

It must be recognized, however, that this is an uphill climb. Demographic trends in Northern Virginia benefit VFVPAC by increasing the number of sympathetic Virginia voters, but the rural base of social conservatives is larger and more cohesive. VFVPAC faces the challenge of solidifying their base of support while not alienating mainstream Virginians by adopting too narrow a focus on divisive issues.

The fact that VFVPAC recognizes the need for an internet presence is a strength, but this isn't 1996, so it's not that much of a strength. Its quick and easy means for donating money or forwarding the URL to a friend are strong and should be better integrated. Just being online and taking donations is not enough to create a successful advocacy movement. The VFVPAC's online operation has much to improve upon.

Weaknesses:

Lack of clear, unmistakable, and understandable organizational objectives. The VFVPAC seems to focus its online efforts on the defeat of a handful of Delegates, but does not have a clear theme to any of its other activities and positions. You never want potential donors or volunteers to question what it is they are donating to, or why they would be needed to volunteer. It should be perfectly clear within seconds what the organizational objectives of VFVPAC are, but in its current state, discerning that is simply not possible.

The structural weakness detailed above leads to other weaknesses. The layout of the site is as aimless as the undefined organizational objectives. The layout is sloppy and ineffective, and does nothing to lead a visitor to crucial site areas that best align with the organization's strategic objectives.

The Blog is the primary content driver, and though a Blog is very important to this site, it should be only one component of fresh site content, and a component that highlights developments in other frequently updated content areas such as legislative action and news.

The site should be positioned for the long haul. It should focus more on maintaining registrants and volunteers. Now, only a newsletter option is offered, and that does nothing to foster the community atmosphere that is necessary to achieving coherent and lasting advocacy. VFVPAC should be the tool by which volunteer action is initiated, and there is currently no opportunity to volunteer. It should also prominently display features that allow visitors to forward the site or specific site content to sympathetic friends.

Digital Divide

2005-07-10T19:34:00.000-05:00

The Economist has it right in its identification of the mobile phone as the best near term option for addressing the digital deficit.

One key obstacle to successful spread of mobile phone technology is the lack of markets without moats. The U.N. should focus its services on creating market conditions that welcome private investment, and should work with developing countries to break through neglected and state-owned telecom systems and cushion their transition to the free market.

Sounds like the U.N. would prefer to dump loads of money into an inefficient set of programs with no real means to measure success or assign accountablity. Not shocking.

Mobile technology can be a transformational societal force. There is a real threat that transformative technology can destablize established order and the construct of power. This dynamic is critical to bear in mind in today's global threat environment, particularly as the fate of the developing world tracks much closer to the fate of our own.

Electronic Details

2005-07-09T22:52:00.000-05:00

During Watergate there were Nixon's secret White House recordings, documenting meetings and phone conversations for historical record. The tapes, of course, later became the key pieces of evidence indicating high level conspiracies surrounding the Watergate break-in and its subsequent investigation. Were it not for those tapes, there would have been no smoking gun.

Today, we see case after case of email being used as documentary evidence for investigations. The eyes of the Beltway have frequently fixed upon Jack Abramoff's email chains. And now, with special investigators looking into claims that elements within the White House leaked the identity of undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame, email trails have again taken center stage (in the form of documented conversations).

Email technology has created paper and electronic trails where none may have existed before. These records construct time frames, document conversations, and provide a history of interaction, even when that interaction took place behind the veil of double secret background.
Forget for a second the case of Karl Rove (or any other WH staff) and the Plame Affair. Plenty of blogs are already dissecting the legality and appropriateness of the White House's role, even if Joe Wilson managed to ably discredit himself without help from anyone else. There is enough righteous indignation to go around.

What is important to take note of is the way in which seemingly private email has the potential to become very public, and can fill evidentiary gaps more readily than any media in history save phone taps. Separate from the legal implications, loose emails can also cause great embarrassment.

I've always written emails as if I were cc'ing both my mother and the district attorney. As General Counsels across the government and industry come to grips with the best way to cope with this new reality, political managers should take note of policies that protect the candidate from legal or politically embarrassing troubles generated through email traffic.

Changes on the Horizon?

2005-07-05T13:02:00.000-05:00

I wanted to correct the record on a matter that was discussed in class last Tuesday.

After anthrax was discovered in the Congressional mailstream in October 2001, deliveries of mail to Congress were suspended for several months. Picture the impact. More than 30,000 pieces of mail per day were held in limbo until corrective security measures could be taken. Constituents were encouraged to contact their representatives in Washington by fax and email. Wary politicians sweated the inability to respond to their constituents.

After instituting the necessary security measures to sanitize mail and ensure its safety, mail delivderies resumed. There were ongoing jokes about Christmas cards delivered in August. In an effort to deal with a problem never before encountered, Congress initiated two pilot programs designed to change the way Congressional offices interact with their constituents.

The first program was an initiative to digitize incoming fax messages and integrate the delivery of those digital images with the public e-mail stream that arrives in each Congressional office. This pilot program has since expanded and is now a service offered to each House office that chooses to utilize it.

The state of the Digital Mail program in the House of Representatives was mischaracterized in class. The progam has not been discontinued and in fact is poised to expand from 20 House offices to 75 House offices. This program is a particularly interesting insight into the 21st century Congressional office operation.

The Digital Mail program scans incoming letters from a remote location and delivers them electronically, populating the images automatically (with metadata identifying address information) into the variety of correspondence management software used by idividual offices.

Both the inbound fax and digital mail programs will continue to grow in popularity with Congressional offices, particularly as the culture adapts to technology. Both programs cut drastically the staff time needed for handling correspondence and provide for greater efficiency and accountability for the interaction with constituents. Both programs also provide for continuity of operations, allowing offices the ability to communicate with constituents no matter their location or circumstance.

Circle the Wagons

2005-07-03T17:51:00.000-05:00

There's an interesting cover story in this week's National Journal magazine on the Internet Left. Focusing on the DailyKos and MoveOn, the piece objectively lays out the strategies and context for the progressive movement that has been so successful on the internet, and how it is shaping Democratic politics.

Core to the Internet Left's argument is that the Democrats in Washington simply have not yet come to terms with a minority party status that is reality. It is this context that has given rise to a pugnacious progressive movement trying to reshape and steer the party through internet-centered activity. This activist movement has embraced minority party status and seeks to shape it into an effective opposition.

Right now it is all show and no go. While pioneering effective tools to galvanize grassroots support independent of the Party structure, the Internet Left has reshaped the political battleground in the new media and quickly erased the progressive deficit identified by Frank Watson. But confluent with the movement's rise have been a series of stinging defeats to Democratic candidates at the polls. The root cause of those defeats is the battlefield for debate, and by taking on the establishment of the Democratic party, the Internet Left has engaged in a very high stakes battle of ideas that will ultimately require a reckoning.

There is a limited grace period for electoral defeat before the luster of the Internet Left's movement wears off and other factions of the Party employ similar tactics in the battle for ideological supremacy. Before they are further into the political wilderness in Washington, Democrats must make a sober assessment of who they really are or need to be. It took Republicans decades to truly find themselves and launch the effective and principled opposition that helped them to retake Congress in 1994.

The Internet Left seeks to coalesce the Democratic party around them, yet they have not achieved anything close to the critical mass of support that would enable that, and risk fracturing the party they are trying to direct. There can be no doubting that the movement is strong enough to truly influence debate. Will that influence be affected from inside the party structure or in a more combative struggle against that structure?

Follow the Money (Part II)

2005-07-02T12:19:00.000-05:00

With the informational background on campaign finance reform efforts out of the way (see Part I), we'll move on to the dynamics that impact how Members of Congress and the Parties respond when considering pending legislation.

Campaign regulation has to be viewed through the same self-survival perspective that inevitably forms the views of the Members and the Parties who consider it, namely, how to best ensure reelection and achieve and/or retain majority Party status.

For Republicans, who were largely blindsided by the depth, preparation, and the success that Democrats had in transitioning to shadow parties in the post-BCRA world, the primary objective would seem to be creating regulatory and legal conditions that make for a more level playing field between the established parties and the 527s. While 527s on the Right are influential, it is the left-leaning 527 groups that are carrying the water for Democrats, and Republicans know this. By tightly regulating and hamstringing the ability of 527 organizations to function as they have in the past, the Republicans would put themselves at a much greater advantage in upcoming election cycles. But such tight regulation runs counter to the prevailing principles of the Republican party's historic arguments in the realm of campaign finance. So, there is a tug of war between the short-term self interest and ideological consistency.

For Democrats, ideological consistency appears to have already lost a similar tug of war. In 2001, Democratic leadership and rank-and-file members fought to pass campaign finance legislation that would ban soft money from politics. At the time, Democrats relied heavily on soft money donations to operate the DNC, so such a stand was a victory for principals. Or maybe not. Almost immediately, 527 organizations headed by figures long involved in the Washington Democratic establishment sprung up and feasted on the same soft money donations recently and self-righteously decried (and banned). Now, Democrats are being forced to consider legislation that will no longer allow them to have their cake and eat it too. Though tight regulation of 527s in the spirit of BCRA tracks the ideological path of Democrats, such regulation would hugely damage their ability to compete in upcoming campaigns. Quite a conundrum. So far, self-interest has won out, as the Democrats have voted against any regulatory modifications without providing any alternative.

BCRA has enabled the proliferation of special interest 527 groups whose objectives are semi-aligned with the objectives of the Parties. The rise of the new media coincided with BCRA to allow these interests to compete with the messaging power of major Parties and Federal Candidates. The Parties should be wary, though, as these groups are accountable only to their membership and donors. In the coming age of online citizen activism, the narrower ideological focus of these groups leaves open to question whether their influence will continue to align with the broader platform positions of the Parties.

Follow the Money (Part I)

2005-07-01T22:08:00.000-05:00

There is a lot of activity in the 109th Congress on the subject of campaign finance reform. Frequently a hot topic inside the beltway, regulations of campaign activity impact Members of Congress very directly, so it is interesting to watch the policy positioning of both individual members and the Parties when legislative action is considered. When it comes to post-BCRA campaign regulations, it is not only the jobs of elected officials at stake, but also the risk that they will do jail time if found to be operating outside the web of regulation.

I will focus on the House here, because that has been the hotbed of recent Committee activity, but first a little background. In 2001, BCRA gained enough Republican backers to force floor action and was subsequently passed by the Congress and signed into law. The Supreme Court upheld most of BCRA, citing the opportunity for corruption or appearance thereof as justification for the limitation of free expression.

By staying within the letter of the existing law and falling outside of the Court's restrictions by virtue of their independence, 527 organizations proliferated in the 2004 election cycle. The key to the successful operation of 527 organizations is their ability to solicit and receive unlimited soft money donations.

The success of 527s has spawned two legislative approaches. The first approach, Pence-Wynn, seeks force disclosure regulations onto 527s. It would otherwise leave these organizations free to operate as they have in the past. It also seeks to level the playing field, by upping the aggregate limits for giving to political parties.

The second approach is forwarded by the original House co-sponsors of BCRA, Chris Shays and Marty Meehan, and seeks to subject the 527s to the giving limits and quarterly disclosure requirements that BCRA applies to federal candidates and political parties.

Both of these approaches have been separately passed out of Committee, and are now in line for floor consideration. They should be followed closely by political professionals for several reasons.
527s are huge business, and their existence in current form impacted all aspects of the 2004 Presidential campaign, specifically as it applied to synergy and GOTV efforts on the Democratic side.

If 527s are subjected to donation limitations, the business model changes. Born truly in the new media era, 527s have made great use of internet fundraising and messaging. Without the ability to get deep into the wallets of George Soros and Alex Spanos, the 527s will be forced to troll for smaller donations, and the internet is prime territory for such trolling.

Additionally, limiting soft money would empower smaller 527 organizations to compete with the larger 527 organizations whose lifeblood was soft money. The result would be a more diverse set of specific interests, organized as 527s, competing for donors and primacy.

Official Politics

2005-06-30T16:23:00.000-05:00

For elected officials, there is a line between official duties and political activity. But there is one area that is greyer than others in that distinction: party activity.

Party activity is focused on political positioning, message coordination, and advancing a party's agenda by winning votes. Much of these activities can be more efficiently achieved through the web. Further still, the best means to reach the narrow target band is by establishing an intranet. The Senate Republican Conference appears to have fully embraced intranet technology and associate applications, impressing Nielsen and generating buzz through innovative incorporation of mobile technology. Deep in content and features, the Conference site is a standard bearer for online party activity in the Congress.

Intranets are tricky, though. Politically sensitive information involving legislative strategy and policy positions is not information that either party would desire to be available for public consumption, yet it is crucial for effective party activity. Intranets are thus an ideal tool to reach a limited and relatively secure and known audience. However, the taxpayers foot the bill for the official expenses of this activity. Is there an obligation for to maintain public access to all party building activities conducted at the taxpayer's expense?

Where Does the Data Go?

2005-06-27T19:50:00.000-05:00

Campaigns are a snapshot in time. But the information that campaigns capture is highly valuable, and its value lasts well beyond the efforts of any single campaign. Modern campaigns utilize marketing and voter turnout techniques that are premised on access to loads of information. Therefore, continued access to this data is crucial if the Parties don't wish to continuously recreate efforts of the past.

The strategic importance of data continuity should be the placed above all other operational considerations faced by political parties. Data continuity feeds fundraising, maintains structures and volunteer organizations, and provides a foundation for introspective research and polling.

While the Bush campaign leveraged the RNC's data warehouse in 2004, tons of data was gathered by America Coming Together to help turn out the Democratic vote. So what happened to all of ACT's data on November 3rd? They can't simply give it to the DNC, nor can they store it in anticipation of giving it to the campaign of the 2008 contender (or any congressional candidates in the meantime). The current regulatory structure basically leaves an organization such as ACT with two options: fold up the tents and go home, or serve as a GOTV operation for democratic candidates in perpetuity.

ACT isn't going anywhere. For the Democrats, that means a continued challenge to achieve synergy among disparate and legally firewalled groups.

Ohio Thoughts

2005-06-26T21:11:00.000-05:00

I'm an Ohio native, and made it back to the State frequently prior to 11/02/2004. My impressions of life and activities in the battleground state of the 2004 Presidential Election vary, but they add some validation to the course material.

In one of the most complex and consequential Get Out The Vote efforts in the history of electoral politics, the poor citizens of the state of Ohio drank from a fire hose of campaign activity. There were ads, and the ads were inescapable. On your radio, in your mailbox, several times during each television commercial break. And when the mail man had come and gone, and you sat in silence, the telephone calls would begin. I always wondered who these "undecideds" were that were supposed to be the difference. You could not help but decide when bombarded like that, even if it were based simply upon who bothered you less.

In Columbus, ACT was everywhere. "Volunteers", mostly plucked from campus for an attractive hourly wage, were visible at most busy street corners. I don't know who they were persuading, though. It all seemed kind of aimless, and it was mostly anti-Bush rather than having anything to do with John Kerry.

I spent the week before the election in Southeastern Ohio, straddling the Republican-leaning rural communities and the staunchly Democratic decaying industrial cities on the Ohio river. There, as part of the Bush campaign, I saw the organization of local volunteers that was marshaled and deployed in the final push ahead of the election. There was no downtime. Call lists needed completed, door knocking started at 9am, and there was always literature to be dropped. ACT was there too, but they were outnumbered. The Bush campaign focused on the appeals most likely to resonate with the culturally conservative segments of the population, highlighting in particular the 2nd Amendment, gay marriage, and abortion.

The Bush campaign in SE Ohio was in frequent contact with headquarters, providing information upstream and reassessing targets and duties based on quality feedback.

With all the rhetorical energy from the defeat-Bush camp, I was surprised to read the accounts of outright incompetence. A little aimless and disjointed was the impression that I got. With the resources poured into the state, there should not have been an opportunity for gross incompetence on either side.

What Gets You Fired Up?

2005-06-25T19:04:00.000-05:00

This spot has discussed the RNC's Voter Vault system and the DNC's comparable DataMart/Demzilla structure. These sophisticated database technologies allow campaigns to identify, track, target, and communicate with voters. Supplemented by commercially available consumer data, these systems are the engine that drives the Parties' voter identification and motivation efforts.

Bush/Cheney 2004 campaign strategist Matthew Dowd estimated that because of their focus on data collection, the campaign was able to “quadruple the number” of Republican voters who could be targeted through direct mail, telemarketing, and door-to-door visits.

Republican strategic architect Karl Rove began his political consulting career in the direct mail business, gaining a deep understanding of how targeted population segments could be motivated by narrowcast messaging.

Narrowcasting, or micro targeting as it is alternately called, was essential to the 2004 Republican strategy. In a tight election, narrowcasting provided the best opportunity to cherry-pick prospective Republicans who lived in majority Democratic neighborhoods. The most noteworthy example of the Republican narrowcasting efforts in 2004 was the RNC's contract with TargetPoint Consulting. According to the Washington Post, TargetPoint was able to

“Delve into commercial databases that pinpointed consumer buying patterns and television-watching habits to unearth such information as Coors beer and bourbon drinkers skewing Republican, brandy and cognac drinkers tilting Democratic; college football TV viewers were more Republican than those who watch professional football; viewers of Fox News were overwhelmingly committed to vote for Bush; homes with telephone caller ID tended to be Republican; people interested in gambling, fashion and theater tended to be Democratic.
Surveys of people on these consumer data lists were then used to determine "anger points" (late-term abortion, trial lawyer fees, estate taxes) that coincided with the Bush agenda for as many as 32 categories of voters, each identifiable by income, magazine subscriptions, favorite television shows and other "flags." Merging this data, in turn, enabled those running direct mail, precinct walking and phone bank programs to target each voter with a tailored message.”

Wherever possible, the Bush/Cheney campaign attempted to exploit these individual issue biases and convert them into votes on Election Day. The strategy enabled the campaign to target individuals and households in a manner never before experienced in a presidential campaign. The Republican strategy would not have been possible, however, without loads of data and effective centralized control functions.

Structurally Unsound

2005-06-24T15:42:00.000-05:00

The Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act (BCRA) ushered in a new era and dramatically altered the landscape of the 2004 election cycle, particularly as it related to the Presidential ticket.

BCRA "banned" the soft money donations that the Democratic Party had relied so heavily upon for fundraising. Despite this, the effort to elect a Democratic candidate transitioned remarkably smoothly into this new era. The smooth transition is owed to the shadow Democratic Party, which included various 527 organizations, all of whom had specific tasks for the 2004 election. America Votes served as an umbrella organization of progressive entities determined to defeat George W. Bush. America Coming Together (ACT) was formed to focus on Get Out The Vote efforts. The Media Fund focused on broadcasting advertisements in support of the Democrat effort. The Thunder Road Group was a "rapid response organization" engaged in supporting the Democratic candidate. Finally, the Joint Victory Campaign served as a combined fundraising committee supporting the Democratic candidate.

While many other 527 organizations from across the political spectrum threw their weight behind each candidate in 2004, the efforts of the shadow Democratic party are the most important to dissect when conducting a post-mortem of the 2004 election.

It was assumed that any Democrat challenger would be at a financial disadvantage against the incumbent president. This financial gap would have to be bridged, and it was widely accepted that hard money donations to the candidate and the Democratic Party could not achieve that. That was where the shadow party stepped forward, filling the gap by virtue of 527 organizations' ability to raise unlimited amounts of soft money. As a result, many of the traditional Party functions dedicated to the election of a Democratic candidate were ceded to 527 organizations. ACT in particular served as the primary engine behind Democratic GOTV efforts in key battleground states such as Ohio.

It can be argued (and disputed) that the involvement of groups such as ACT was absolutely necessary in order for the Democratic candidate to compete on even ground with the Bush/Cheney campaign, but Democratic reliance on outside organizations to turn out the vote was a striking structural deficiency in the effort to elect John Kerry.

Because BCRA prohibited coordination between the official Kerry campaign and the DNC on one side, and ACT and the other 527s on the other, there was an inherent disconnect between the official campaign organizations and their ground operations. This disconnect was more profound when compared to the fully integrated, "centralized localization" strategy implemented by the Bush campaign that culminated in the 72 hour project.

In fact, it is a wonder (and a bit curious) that ACT and the Kerry campaign were able to function as seamlessly as they did.

Synergy is so important to electoral success. But this concept of synergy should not be restricted to merely online and offline strategies, but should encompass all efforts that serve to elect a candidate. For Kerry, true synergy was, by law, unachievable based on the structure of the Democratic campaign and its reliance on 527 organizations to GOTV.

New Tricks

2005-06-20T19:36:00.000-05:00

I have never utilized RSS or webfeeds. I use Drudge as my information salt lick, and dig through the stacks of stories on various online news outlets when I have the time. By tomorrow, I will be loading my plate with webfeeds, and I anticipate that life may be a little easier because of it.

Amy Gahran does a great service to the uninitiated in her concise 12 part coverage of all things webfeed. Among the highlights of webfeeds are the ability to manage information overload, clean up the clutter, and provide an internet communication tool without the spam.

The applications for campaigns are striking, particular when you consider the practical drawbacks of email newsletters (such as overly restrictive spam filters and cluttered inboxes).

Webfeeds also get beyond two key quandaries associated with email newsletters. The first is frequency. Webfeeds are always there, and though information is pushed to the user, it is ultimately at the user's discretion as to when the information is viewed.

The second is relevancy. With webfeeds information can be updated continuously and thus maintains relevance. Email newsletters pose a risk of arriving with stale information. Stale information is at best a nuisance.

Webfeeds haven't exploded yet, but they will.

It's Contagious

2005-06-19T22:00:00.000-05:00

The influentials are out there. Convince the influentials, and you're on your way toward critical mass.

They'll carry your message, supplement marketing efforts, generate buzz, and do all of this with a local and friendly flavor.

If a campaign's online success depends on the number of influentials working on its behalf, the organization must either strive to engage a high percentage of the Online Political Citizens, or allow those that aren't typically influentials to act as though they are. The best way to achieve the latter is through humor.

Nothing spreads on the internet like humor, and unlike most political discourse, its distribution travels uninhibited across ideological lines. Laughter is contagious, and humor's cascade effect on the internet is real and powerful.

Preaching CLV and CRM

2005-06-18T08:10:00.000-05:00

Costumer Relationship Management has been discussed here, and will continue to get its proper due in this spot. In order to compete as a major commercial organization it is essential to employ a strong, granular, customer and contact tracking system.

The idea is basic. Know your customer's history. Know the type and number of products purchased. Know the number and nature of billing disputes lodged. Know (and document centrally so that it's readily accessible) anything that can possibly improve the relationship with the customer. This is the objective of 21st century customer service, and applies directly, perhaps even more appropriately, to political campaigns.

There is an increased focus in the commercial world on the idea of achieving the greatest possible Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). The concept of CLV should be the heart of a coordinated political fundraising effort. Finite time and regulated limits allow for specific goals to be incorporated into political fundraising CLVs. The emphasis on fostering loyalty is extremely important to any politician who's in it for the long haul.

CRM software provides the ability to relate to each voter or donor as an individual, based on a real history. It also enables a campaign to track macro trends across all voters or donors that it comes into contact with. This is crucial in quickly identifying and responding to common problems and complaints.

Sign Up Here!

2005-06-16T20:00:00.000-05:00

There is a clear distinction between official activity and campaign activity, or at least that's the way it is supposed to be.

Electronic communications have changed the way political and official activity interact with one another and the voters. Websites are undoubtedly marketing tools for an incumbent's accomplishments or positions. Email newsletters allow incumbents to reach directly to constituents (and voters) with issue messaging.

In late 2003, the House amended its official regulations to address and define the acceptable use of email newsletters. These regulations apply permission-based marketing concepts and allow legitimate email communications to those who have solicited them.

In the Senate the rules are more restrictive, to the point of not allowing websites to be updated 60 days in advance of a primary or general election (with certain exceptions).

While cost is not a barrier to political competition as it relates to email newsletters, access to data is. To that end, incumbents have a huge advantage based on their ability to gather high quality email address data from interested constituents (or, again, voters). Rules prohibiting personal attacks and political activity still govern the content of all official communications, but the ability to reach potential voters by use of targeted email newsletters in a clear advantage of incumbency.

Is It Such an Inconvenience to Skip Over or Delete?

2005-06-15T22:16:00.000-05:00

Nielson's analysis of Bush and Kerry's email newsletters is interesting, though it does lack some of the macro level, results-oriented reporting that would really tie together an understanding of email newsletters. Many of Nielson's detailed critiques are completely worthwhile as a set of do's and don'ts when devising an email newsletter strategy.

I would challenge Nielson, however, to tie his research on the frequency of email newsletters to actual voter behavior. I think that the American public generally accepts the temporary nature of political campaigns, and as a result understands that for a brief period of time every couple of years, they are going to have to tolerate the marketing efforts of political candidates entering their TVs, radios, and email boxes.

The frequency graph is telling. It indicates that the Bush team had a frequency strategy, while the Kerry team was a little more chaotic.

With email newsletters the topic of focus this week, there are a number of other things to consider that may help fill in the forest for anyone stuck in Nielson's trees, including the role of official newsletters in benefiting incumbents, CRM systems, privacy, and microtargeting.

Emoticons

2005-06-14T21:02:00.000-05:00

The internet can be used to inspire. Can it engulf with emotion? Peter C. made the point in one of our earlier classes that the prevailing advantage of television advertising is its ability to evoke emotion.

It's tough to get away from the perception that the internet is a medium that conveys the message by text and the emotion by emoticons. The growing access to broadband has made multimedia distribution more realistic, with music, video and animation all working together through the internet to make an impact on the end user. Soon, multimedia will bring the internet to parity with television.

The real potential for the internet to exceed the emotional power of television is through interactivity. A give and take process, run against dynamic scripts, can build a crescendo of emotion that each member of the target audience is individually invested in. This would be a major new shift in the ability to connect with voters.

Globalization?

2005-06-13T19:35:00.000-05:00

527s, created by the need for soft money to find a home, played a highly influential and involved role in the 2004 Presidential campaign.

Foreign contributions have long been prohibited by the regulatory apparatus that shapes American political fundraising activity.

There is an understanding (reflected in pending legislation banning donations by foreign nationals to 527s) that the law needs to be consistent in its prohibition of foreign influence on political activity.

The Clinton scandals of the late '90s were appalling examples of foreign involvement in our campaign process. It isn't the only recent example, as MoveOn.org and Wesley Clark were each briefly embroiled in controversy in 2003.

But is it advisable in today's networked world to firewall foreign contributions? Is it even possible? Global challenges inspire global passion. Is it right to exclude foreign nationals as well as foreign Nations?

For a country that largely believes in free trade, and was built on the free exchange of ideas, it is an interesting dilemma. Global terrorism, poverty, HIV/AIDS certainly pay no attention to borders.

Watch Carefully

2005-06-12T20:34:00.000-05:00

Last week, the House passed out of Committee campaign finance-related legislation. Interesting provisions include a ban on donations by foreign nationals to 527 organizations, new reporting requirements for 527s, and a clarifying definition of "public communication".

The bill applies much needed sunshine to 527s and their contributors, and makes a clear prohibition on foreign donations. But it leaves the influential groups free to operate as is their right under the first amendment. Progress.

The provision of greatest impact applies to the internet. In the definition of "Public Communication" under governing law, the bill adds: "Such term shall not include communications over the internet." Broad. Definitive. The kind of language that, if signed into law, will allow the internet to be the alpha medium of political activity.

Voter Vault

2005-06-11T20:35:00.000-05:00

The Republican strategy in the 2004 Presidential Election focused on using technological tools and traditional marketing plans to establish central command and control functions that directed the efforts of volunteers on the ground. It was a “centralized localization” strategy modeled after Amway and supported by vast amounts of data and new technologies.

The Amway strategy involved a cascading torrent of volunteers, from region, to state, to county, to precinct. The volunteers on the ground floor registered voters, talked with their neighbors, and gathered information. Ground level volunteers then transmitted all of this data upstream to campaign headquarters, where it was added to the Republican National Committee’s Voter Vault database.

Work on the Voter Vault database began in the mid-1990’s and it was not until 2002 that it became operational in the field. The RNC system remains years ahead of the DNC.

Although neither party organization is willing to reveal much about their databases (the DNC database system equivalent is called Demzilla/DataMart), published reports indicate that Voter Vault combines publicly available data, such as voter registration and political contributions, with consumer data and personal information gathered from phone calls and door-to-door canvassing. All data in Voter Vault is continuously updated, and because the database records information in a common format and utilizes a web interface, it is universally accessible online to all elements of the coordinated campaign effort.

Seat 29E

2005-06-11T20:29:00.000-05:00

Stink Shield

This just needed to be posted for anyone who hadn't yet seen it...

JesseNet

2005-06-10T15:31:00.000-05:00

Jesse Ventura's gubernatorial bid in Minnesota was a watershed moment for use of the internet in a political campaign. Running as a third party candidate, Ventura relied heavily on a younger, anti-establishment demographic to get elected. In the initial stages of the campaign, Ventura did not even have a bricks and mortar campaign office. Instead, he used the internet as an organizing and fundraising tool. His success on the internet allowed him to build up a traditional campaign establishment, and his online presence remained a key element of his strategy once the campaign had solid footing. His online effort buttressed a relative lack of resources by allowing him to reach voters (and his targeted demographic) in an effective and low cost manner.

A classic insurgent campaign, Ventura's message and targeted audience were symbiotic with the people he reached online, and the organizing and fundraising impact of his online strategy was crucial to his election.

Online Fundraising: A Field of Dreams?

2005-06-09T17:57:00.000-05:00

Most Americans don't contribute to political campaigns. In 2004, a highly energized and record setting presidential election saw less than 600,000 citizens contribute $200 or more across all of the candidates. There are 296,324,505 Americans. The intrigue about online fundraising is the possibility that huge numbers of previously unengaged citizens will use the internet to cough up cash. The idea is that small donations, if flowing in high enough volume, can be very powerful.

Though it is a new frontier, online fundraising is not a Field of Dreams. You can't just build it and expect them to come. Citizens must first be engaged in the political process, and then in the candidate him/herself before there is much chance they will open their wallets. That's why fundraising, particularly online, must be integrated with internet campaign strategy in a way that is engaging, energizing, and appeals to as many people as possible. It is also crucial to incubate prospective voters (i.e. everyone who visits the site) through quality relationship management so that hesitant contributors can be brought along to the confirmation page at a later visit.

An Opposition Party?

2005-06-08T09:16:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile since the Democratic Party has been out of power in Washington, DC, but there doesn't seem to be a strong indication that they have embraced the idea of being the Opposition Party. That is a tough hump to get over. It took decades for Republicans toiling in the minority to reach the self-discovery phase that ultimately provided the ideological foundation for the Republican Revolution in 1994.

A true opposition movement is what is required to overturn a solid Republican majority in both houses of Congress. The internet culture embraces an anti-establishment, power-of-the-people philosophy that may be harnessed for political gain by a true opposition party intent on changing the way business is done in Washington. A few progressive organizations on the left understand this dynamic, and have been successful in attracting support (see MoveOn), though their support is not broad based. An intraparty struggle over the direction of the Democratic Party has left it listless and incoherent in its opposition. Rest assured, Republicans will use this to paint their opponents as obstructionists with no ideas or alternatives. Not a recipe for short term success.

Not Getting the Job Done

The Golden Mouse

2005-06-07T21:05:00.000-05:00

We touched a little bit upon the differences between strategic internet plans for challengers and incumbents.

Incumbents have always had a distinct advantage, from name recognition to franking privileges. The internet and websites provide incumbents with huge advantages by way of generating data and opening meaningful lines of communication to constituents.

Official in nature, Congressional web sites are first and foremost informational, and they lack the onus on fundraising that is present on campaign sites. If managed correctly, however, an official site enables Members of Congress and Senators to gather email addresses, phone numbers, mailing addresses, and issues of interest for countless constituents.

The Congressional Management Foundation's Congress Online Project provides best practices for Congressional web sites. Every couple of years they come out with the "Golden Mouse" awards, presented to the best web sites in the House and Senate. This may be a good resource for anyone putting together a strategic plan for an incumbent.

Not That I Visit the Huffington Post, But...

2005-06-05T20:40:00.000-05:00

There was a very interesting piece by former Colorado Senator Gary Hart on the disintegration of the traditional party system of politics. An astute analysis, I thought. The point is that the world has changed so fast and so dramatically that old structures for understanding and operating within the world are fast becoming anachronistic.

Evolving and dynamic coalitions of interest meet the needs of today's active citizenry much better than rigid party doctrine. As connectivity increases, so will the ease with which citizens join to advance a specific cause or interest.

One of the values of the major national Parties is their ability to exert a moderating influence on the political debate. But recently both the Republican and Democratic parties have veered fringe due to the disproportionate influence of the wingnuts on each side.

If this erosion of moderating influence continues, the respective "bases" will be all that is left. Not that there is anything wrong with that. But it would certainly be a far cry from the party machines of previous centuries.

Vous les idiots contemptable prendrez votre direction du Politburo et l'aimerez

2005-06-05T00:34:00.000-05:00

You contemtable idiots will take your direction from the Politburo and like it. I've been asking anyone who would indulge me, or who might have an understanding of the dynamics, why I should ever have wanted the people of France or the Netherlands to ratify the EU Constitution.

I haven't found someone able to convince me that it is a good thing for citizens of these countries to empower a bureaucratic elite light years removed from their daily concerns or any meaningful accountability.

The EU trend, which to date has been in favor of consolidating power in Brussels, may be in for a reversal. The individual western European has grown rightfully accustomed to self determination and a power to do something about perceived problems. The power of the individual pervades society and culture and has only grown with the internet. However, this social and cultural trend runs completely contrary to the political trend of the last 5 years that has moved the levers of power farther and farther from the individual.

So maybe the political leadership in Europe can ramrod this Constitution through. The recent referendae are a clear setback, but in all fairness, it is the first time the people were asked for their opinion.

Pervert of the Day

2005-06-03T09:02:00.000-05:00

24 hour news networks are reaching to fill their coverage. Scott Peterson, runaway brides, the vaseline card in the Jacko case...

Isn't there demand out there for actual news, maybe from a legitimate (and named) primary source or two? The problem with the internet is its vastness. There are too many sites and resources to dig through. A lot of information is bogus. The blending of opinion into news is not restricted to one medium. It is a pervasive trend that subjugates reality in the interest of entertainment.

Because the internet is constantly expanding, it is imperative that surfers be able to sift through the garbage and find reliable and truthful accounts of world events. As British Boy so aptly described in his account of coverage in the DailyKos, the Bloggers who fancy themselves watchdogs of the MSM may be a fox in sheep's clothing.

R U READY

2005-06-02T20:07:00.000-05:00

I never really "got" text messaging. Too much work. The concept of m-commerce, though, and the power of reaching individuals anywhere, anytime I can get. I've seen the CrackBerry epidemic ravage Washington, DC. The Capital (and Capitol) is in the throes of addiction. I carry my work BlackBerry and can tell you just how possible it is to be reached anywhere, anytime.

What you see in China, the streets of Cairo and rural South Africa, is the use of SMS to organize, direct and orchestrate activity. The technology and consumer market in the USA allow organizers and advertisers to build on these SMS tactics and dive much deeper into m-commerce.

The convergence of voice, email, SMS, web, and mobile computing onto one simple device makes that particular device indispensable to the individual carrying it. Stands to reason that a corporation or campaign would like to have its product or a Get Out To Vote message get through to that device.

Trust Me

2005-06-01T12:15:00.000-05:00

It wouldn't be a New Media if the internet and World Wide Web worked the same way as every other media. The challenges of campaigning in the New Media should be faced with the understanding that the marketing approach for television/radio is largely incongruent with what is necessary to be successful on the internet.

Seth Godin managed to distill the paradigm shift required for success on the internet in his work Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers. Seth was a little overzealous in predicting the speed and depth of the permission marketing impact, but history will prove his concepts prescient.

Marketers and major corporations are fast catching on to the theory of Trust-Based Marketing, as supported by Glen Urban's extensive research. Campaigns are at their essence a marketing exercise, and future successful campaigns will leverage the lessons of corporate e-marketing.

Campaign internet strategy should take advantage of the interactive tools and behavior available only through the New Media, and should leave the sledgehammer of one-way communication to their television and radio ad buys. Howard Dean's Open Source strategy in 2004 demonstrated the power of Trust-Based Marketing to energize and directly engage the electorate. His and other candidates' use of the internet to maintain and foster a base of support through Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems is another example of corporate e-marketing best practices applied to the political field. (Note to incumbents: A CRM system based on the proprietary data gleaned from your work in office is the strongest present day advantage of incumbency.)

Go to school on the commercial sector. The New Media differs from the Old, and there are plenty of examples of how to use it effectively to spur action, engender loyalty, and better meet the needs of both the candidate and voter.

Keep Your Dirty Toe Out Of My Pristine Pool

2005-05-31T17:20:00.000-05:00

Some efforts just don't meet the giggle test. In this spirit, the Federal Election Commission has decided to dip its dirty toe into the freewheeling frontier of political discourse on the internet. Newly proposed regulations seek to apply to the internet many of the same crippling standards that exist for paid electioneering communications and political ads on television and radio.

The American political system, already an indecipherable mass of freedom-stunting, ineffective regulation, now stands on the crest of a new wave of heavy-handed rulemaking. Spurred by court order, the FEC's proposed rules, if formally adopted, will undoubtedly send both regulator and regulated chasing their tails in an attempt to control electioneering activity in a sphere where the sheer size and diffusion of activity make regulation wholly impractical.

An elegantly designed Constitution set forth the most effective form of political regulation 10 score and 18 years ago when it empowered the citizenry as the ultimate arbiters of the behavior and actions of its elected representatives.

Sadly, the Good Government movement has been co-opted not by those who believe in the citizen's market as the best regulator of behavior, but by those who believe that free speech and political activity can and should be limited.

I sure hope this entry isn't construed as an in-kind contribution of over $2K. I wouldn't want to exceed my allotted freedom of expression.

To Stand Aside...

2005-05-31T10:39:00.000-05:00

Was the action of prudence as the remover of obstacles sauntered into the blogosphere...