It’s easy, it’s fast, and it’s accessible to
anyone who has an Internet connection.
Political involvement has been brought into the realm of the
every-day Web surfer over the past couple years by Web-based
technology.
Students are finding Web resources provide the connections and
information they need to get involved. Not only are they able to
find up-to-date information on legislation, but contact information
for government officials is readily available as well.
The Democratic primary candidates are also discovering the
potential strength of Web-based technology as they have better
resources available to share policies and ideas with their
constituents. Campaign involvement is no longer limited to party
activists when candidates offer opportunities to help out in their
campaigns.
With the advantages of Web-based technology, however, come the
dangers of relying too heavily upon it. Every aspect of the media
contributes to the candidates’ overall image, making it
important that no aspect is left unattended.
The Internet is an important source of information, especially
in the lives of students. With increasingly advanced connections
available for free on college campuses, students tend to spend much
of their time communicating and surfing on the Web.
“I think it’s easier to get (political) information,
and I get more information than I usually would,” said Amy
Jamison, a first-year graduate student in the history department.
“It is much easier to communicate with the campaign and with
each other.”
Reaching the grassroots population is easier for candidates if
they understand how to utilize resources made available through the
latest technology.
The Democratic presidential primary candidates have campaign Web
sites that highlight their stances on issues such as higher
education and the war in Iraq, and resources are available for
visitors to join in their campaign.
Primary front-runner John Kerry, retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark
and Howard Dean have used Meetup.com to mobilize supporters across
the country.
Such opportunities have opened the political world to the
grassroots population, especially students, many of whom would
otherwise not be involved. While many people may desire to engage
in politics, campaigning can prove to be a daunting task.
“Going on my experience with the (Al) Gore campaign, I
tried to get involved with that campaign and could not even figure
out how to,” said Cameron King, a fifth-year theater student.
“Now it’s really easy for students to jump in and do
something.”
Through Meetup.com, King is currently the organizer for meetups
for candidate Howard Dean at UCLA, allowing King to get involved
and bring the campaign to students.
“It enabled Dean to reach Democratic activists and to get
support for him in a way that it wouldn’t have been possible
without the Internet,” said John Zaller, a political science
professor.
But Dean is now struggling in the primaries largely because he
was not as strong in other campaigning venues.
“The most important part (of campaigning) is to have
enormous amounts of money to buy time for television
advertising,” said Howard Rheingold, author of “Smart
Mobs: The Next Social Revolution,” which addresses the
Internet’s role in changing how people organize.
“That is by far the most effective part of campaigning,
and the Internet won’t ever replace that,” he said.
The interactive ability the Internet gives students is one
advantage television lacks. Students do not have to look far on the
Internet to find opportunities to get involved, and without it many
students would be hard pressed to find ways to participate.
MoveOn.org is one Web site that utilizes not only the Internet,
but e-mail and phones to get people involved as well.
“I think a lot of people began their political involvement
in the last year with MoveOn,” said Joan Blades, a co-founder
of MoveOn.org. “A lot of the people who have been getting
involved have been sending out e-mails to let us know that it has
been very gratifying to be involved, and I imagine they will stay
involved.”
Blades’ organization is just one of many Web sites
providing grassroots individuals the chance to join the political
process on a national level.
Originally founded Sept. 18, 1998, in response to the focus on
former President Clinton’s impeachment, MoveOn.org is one of
the first influential Web sites of its kind. It quickly attracted
thousands of supporters.
“We had very few expectations when we started
MoveOn.org,” Blades said. “We were just very
immediately concerned about the ongoing focus on the impeachment
when there were other critical issues that had to be looked
at.”
Through the years, MoveOn.org has run a variety of campaigns,
involving campaign finance reform, the war in Iraq and media
reform.
Most recently, MoveOn.org ran a campaign to run ads on national
television titled “Bush in 30 Seconds.” The Web site
raised funds and supported a competition for members to submit ads
to be possibly displayed on television.
Though it received numerous ad submissions and funding, CBS
declined to air the ads.
“We were trying to get the ad on during the Super Bowl,
but people aren’t gong to allow them to air it,”
Jamison said. “They say it’s a bit too controversial
for them.”
MoveOn.org provides phone numbers and e-mail addresses for
senators and congressmen. Petitions are also made available to sign
and there is opportunity to contribute funds if need be.
There is no distinct schedule for when new campaigns are
launched, or for how long they run.
“The wonderful thing about Web-based technology is that
it’s very responsive,” Blades said. “You can go
out tomorrow with a message that is saying, “˜Join us in x, y
or z,’ and this is an important advantage for our members,
too.”
The left-leaning MoveOn.org isn’t the only site exploring
the advantages of the Internet. Conservative Web sites include
youngrepublicans.com and yaf.com. One Web site, Grassfire.org,
seems to be a direct response to the liberal MoveOn.org.
Grassfire.org runs campaigns calling for the federal government
to secure national borders against illegal immigrants and a
petition supporting the pledge of allegiance. In addition, the Web
site posts messages calling for members to expose the radical
nature of Moveon.org and encouraging Democrats to denounce the Web
site.
Founded by Steve Elliott in fall 2000, Grassfire.org is focused
on giving members the opportunity to take action in the political
spectrum.
Already, Grassfire.org has 320,000 signers for a petition
supporting the president and over 404,000 signers to stop Internet
porn.
Such Web sites are especially important in bringing people
together who share similar interests. Groups brought together
through new technology are known as “smart mobs,” a
term coined in Rheingold’s book.
Smart mobs, as defined by Rheingold, are groups of people able
to organize because they utilize the advantages provided by
advanced technology.
Smart mobs are having an increasingly influential role in the
realm of politics. On Jan. 20, 2001, former Philippines President
Joseph Estrada resigned after one million Manila residents
mobilized using text messages for coordination.
More recent examples of smart mobs are meetup groups Kerry,
Clark and Dean use to mobilize supporters through Meetup.com.
Meetup.com is based on the philosophy that the American
community was decomposing because human contact was being replaced
by digital communication. The site became a digital device to bring
people together.
Topics for meetups range from book-trading and movie interests
to careers and politics. Political meetups, which attract the most
members, account for about 25 percent of all meetups.
Meetups are set up in various communities around the country by
volunteer hosts like the one organized by King for Dean’s
campaign.
“For grassroots involvement on the Democratic side, I
think it is a major plus,” King said. “For the last 10
to 20 years the right-wing movement in America has been very well
organized, and meetup’s structure has mimicked that very
well.”
King also noted that Meetups.com gave Dean a good head start in
his campaigning, and it wasn’t until eight months had passed
that the other candidates followed suit.
This head start on the Internet has waned, however, pointing to
the fact that television remains the strongest form of
campaigning.
“TV reaches more people; there is no question of
that,” said UC Berkeley political science Professor Merrill
Shanks, who focuses on presidential elections and voting behavior.
“It is more personal. The closer the contact, the more
powerful it can be.”
While television advertising remains the most powerful form of
campaigning, the Internet does provide for new dialogue.
“If candidates use the medium the way we do, they will be
listening more closely to their constituents,” Blades of
MoveOn.org said. “It will be a be a win-win situation. For
politicians to connect in a more meaningful manner with the people
that support them, that is precisely what we want.”