Congressional websites

I have posted on the topic of congressional websites before. While their government sites vary from great to poor, my experience has been that congressional campaign sites are generally of lower quality than official sites. This is probably due to the fact that on capitol hill, members of Congress and the Senate are given full time support for their website at taxpayer expense. On the campaign, they would actually have to know how to do it themselves or god forbid, hire a webmaster which would take away from their valuale money for items such as nail files, bumper stickers, and refrigirator magnets (all proven to deliver a message and persuade votes). Considering that the average congressman is an idiotic old white man . .. i don't see this changing soon.

Narrowcasting: TV Message, Field Money

The Article about Narrowcasting in Ohio brings to light a great strategy used by ACT canvassers. While I had friends working for ACT in PA and in WI and was in fact roomates with one, I was legally prohibited from discussing their campaign tactics prior to the election since I was working for a Congressional race. Narrowcasting is simply put. . .pretty fuckin cool.
The advantage to running TV ads is that they are extremely persuasive and can move numbers real fast. The advantage to field work is that it is higher impact and more easily targeted. Narrocasting with PDA's combines the advantages of the two. Not only can you target the voter you want to reach but also the message that is most likely to persuade them. This saved a great deal of effort in mesaging and field work. Not to mention the fact that TV ads cost a lot more money than volunteers and field staff pounding the pavement. Of course, now we should consider the startup costs for the infrastructure. . .

Leslie Byrne for Lt. Governor Website

On June 14th, Leslie Byrne won the Democratic nomination for Lt. Governor of Virginia in a tough 4 way primary. Her general election battle against Bill Bolling will not be any easier. There are several things about the website that have been very effective and several others that could use some improvement. In addition, the overall online campaign would be wise to start a blog and reach out to southern VA as well as southwestern VA.
One thing the Byrne for Lt. Governor site does extremely well is its pitch for fundraising. They don't throw it in your face as soon as you enter the site, but if you click on the contribute button, you don't simply get an address or a link, but a full contribution pitch complete with their weekly fundraising goal, their overall goal, and their progress in achieving it (though instead of the bat, they use the thermometer). Another great concept on the Byrne for Lt. Governor website is the e-card that supporters can send to their friends. Since a race for Lt. Governor is not at the top of everyone's minds like a presidential race, much of the campaigning will be person to person. By allowing supporters to easily send e-cards about issues like health care and education to their friends and co-workers, the Byrne campaign will be reaching a greater number of voters at a much earlier time than her opponent.
Even with a good contribution page and a smart person to person strategy, there is still work that needs to be done on Leslie Byrne's campaign site. First of all she has no issue references to rural and southern VA concerns. The site seems centered on northern VA even after the primary. There are several links on the side that you click on (including "events") that result in a page that says "coming soon". I also feel that in general, there is just too much text on the website. Even where users click on the link for issue information or a biography, the campaign would be wise to present the information in bullets instead of just a big blob of text.
While the e-cards are a good way to ask supporters to reach out to gain more votes, a regionalized blog will be an very good idea for this campaign since their candidate is so grounded in northern VA and so unknown in the rest of the state. IN order to do this, they must first start a blog and activate supporters from each community to begin posting supportive comments about Sen. Byrne. With this set up, it would be easy to allow others to join in and create a new link on the site saying "Come see who else from XXXXXX is supporting Leslie". This would also let the campaign gain greater insight from supporters about what the hot button issues are in each region and locality. The fact that she and her campaign have been grounded in Northern VA is Leslie Byrne's greatest weakness right now. This is something she can definitly overcome, its just going to take a bit of work. Reaching out over the web is a good place to start.

Incompetance and Stupidity

Reading the Salon.com article about disorganization in the Kerry campaign strikes several chords. First of all, he was shitty ass candidate. God knows why voters in the Democratic Primary chose him. Anything that George Bush said about John Kerry was first said by Howard Dean . .. the only legit candidate who would actually stand up to GWB. Thats whey the Kerry campaign were all Bush haters. . .because no one could get excited about Kerry. The Democrats could only get people riled up about hating Bush.
Now the writer of this Salon article (i don't really feel like reloading the page to find his name again) is obviously ignorant when talking about lack of coordination between Kerry and other liberal groups such as act. THATS ILLEGAL. 527's are new versions of soft money and any coordination between the Kerry campaign, ACT, and Moveon would have landed people in jail. Think before you write.

And you just realized this?

The Matt Bai article about the Multi-level marketing of a President was writtend during the campaign and meant to show the intensity of the GOP field operation. Basically, their system of precinct captains whas what Democrats have been using since Tammany Hall. Anybody who thinks the Bush field operation is some new innovative idea is a fucking moron. Karl Rove simply studied the tactics of Boss Tweed and George Washington Plunkitt.
IN Nov 00, Bush led by an average of 3-5 points the day before the election in most polls. . .and he lost (at least the vote where the people choose the president). In 2004, he also led by 3-5 points in most pre-election polls up to the day before . . but this time had a field operation that the GOP spent two years bulding .. . and he won by 2 points. Good job GOP. . . youre field operation managed to ONLY BLOW A THIRD OF YOUR LEAD.
Granted, it got the job done and the chimp gets 4 more years (not that there was no corruption at voting boots and intimidation of students which most likely if investigated would prove a second stolen election). Point is. . .volunteers knocking doors and turning out the vote is nothing new. Now if only the Democrats can get their heads out of their asses and realize they can't win on field alone anymore. Dont hold your breath.

Email and Spam

How do you build a large email list, communicate to them effectivly, and not be considered spam? In the Chisholm articel about building an email list, she suggests having friends on the emila list use their own initiative ot expand it. Also, at every possible opportunity one should be give the chance to sign up for the newsletter. However, even if it is not spam, many users will treat mass emails in such a way. Even worse, there are spam filters that will screen out non-spam emails simply because of certain trigger words in the subject line. In order to avoid this, Kari Chisholm's article is linked to another which guides email senders to prevent their message from being confused with spam: http://www.mandatemedia.com/cgi-bin/display.cgi?page=emailprimer

I know I still don't like opening mass emails. . . especially if they say they're from John Kerry or from some staff minion at the DNC or DCCC. . . but there are some that I can be persuaded to open. I don't know why or on what criteria. . .but I suppose that it works out to a law of averages. IF you send me 10 emails, chances are i'll open 1.

Email Updates and Listserves

Ok, so I just wrote a really good post and accidently deleted it while trying to spell check. So I'm sorry, but you're all getting the abridge version since I have many more important things to do on sundays than spit back class readings over the internet. But here goes:

Looking at the Ireland/Nash reading on emial newsletters and listserves. Email updates are an extremely effective way for campaigns to keep their supporters and volunteers involved . . .provided it is used right. Emials should not be sent more than once per day under any circumstances and should be kept to 2-3/week unless there is a really good reason. With that said, emial updates and newsletters are great for getting supporters to come in for a phone bank, canvass or even to promote a special event like a fundraiser, rally, or press conference. A newsletter can also be used to rope these events in with a candidate's message.

Listsevers on the other hand I have never had a positive experience with . . .especially those that are discussion based. Someone who wants to hear announcements and throw in an occasional remark are not happy when they find 27 emails sent to them in the course of a few hours simply becuase some zealots on the listserve decided they had to share their irrelevant and useless knowledge. Those people always exist and they are always on listserves and they are the ones who scare the normal people off. So here is my analysis:

Newsletter: good
Email: good (unless its overdone)
Listserve: bad . .take me off!!!

Congressional Websites

While not specifically from the reading, this just came out and is too good not to blog about. In Pennsylvania, www.politicspa.com is the most popular website among political hacks. As a former hack in said state, I still check it out once in a while. They have just come out with a report card grading the websites of the PA congressional delegation

The websites are graded in 4 categories, Ease of use, Timelyness, Usefulness, and Aesthetics. Only 3 members of the Delegation received straight A's (Senators Specter and Santorum and Congressowman Allyson Schwartz (D-PA 13). Interestingly enough, the Repulbicans pretty much got A's and B's across the board. The Democrats ran the gamut from Schwartz's straight A's to Jack Murtha's D- average. My former boss Tim Holden received 3 C's amd an F. One thing I do know about those two districts is that they are not very caught up technologically (many dont' have internet in parts of Holden's district and most of those who do are still using dail up. However this is still not a good statement for about members of congress. When will the Democrats catch on? I know Tim Holden is a great congressman and he would be well served to communicate that more effectivly through the web.

Where's my checkbook?

I barely use it, like most people I know. I pay everything online or over the phone. People like me do the same thing in campaigns - we contribute online or in cash. All the political contributions I made last cycle were through a website or a cover charge for one of the many Bar Nights for Random Liberals. I asked a few random people on my buddy list who I knew gave money to campaigns, they all gave online. Only one had written a check, and that's because the rep he wanted to give $50 didn't take money over his website last summer. Now he does. Online contributions can be made anytime, from anywhere No one from the campaign has to smile graciously and bullshit about the donor's pet issue or why the yard signs aren't up yet. It saves the campaign money, even with the 5% or whatever processing fee. Best of all, it lets people give in any amount, even money they don't have. Max out your credit card giving money to the DKos Dozen or some other candidate of the moment and still have beer money. It's fuckin' genius.

Why the Bat Works

Howard Dean's fundraising was tromendously successful because of his internet fundraising strategy. This led to a great deal of media attention for his campaign and his final peak in late 2003. What allowed Dean to raise so much over the internet? In my belief it was how the website motivated its supporters to keep giving even at the lowest contribution levels. He had graphic of a baseball bat on his website showing how close he was to reaching a fundraising goal and how much time was left before the deadline. By setting out a specific goal for his supporters and creating an artificial or real time limit (such as a filing deadline) for when it must be reached, donors were able to feel like they were participating in the process by watching their dollars along with many others gradually move up the red shading to fill the baseball bat. This is what got Dean noticed in June 2003, days after he officially announced his candidacy. The June 30th filing deadline was coming up, and within the last few days, Dean managed to get $7million in his campaign account. This sent the media into a frenzy and we all know what happened over the next 8 months.

Newsletter Usability

Jakob Nielsen compared the usability of the Bush and Kerry Campaign newsletters with the Washington Post's "Weekly Campaign Report" in September 2004. His analysis showed that the Post easily outscored both campaigns when it came to the topic of usability. While campaign newsletters and a publication from a major daily paper are two different animals, there are some things the campaigns could have learned from The Post. Most disturbing to me was the Kerry and Bush campaigns scoring 33% on the users ability to differentiate their newsletter from junk mail. Now I don't know what that translates into for opening rates, but i know that by any yardstick, it is unacceptable. A campaign needs to communicate effectivly with voters and a campaign newsletter is one such medium. However, those receiving a campaign newsletter are most likely supporters. Now if a supporter is mistaking the newsletter for junk mail. . .god knows what the undecided voter thinks of it!!

Another reason the Democrats are Retarded

Reading over Jakob Nielsen's article about usability of campaign newsletters in the last week of the Presidential election is extremely telling. Bush and the Republicans focused their efforts on mobilizing thier supporters and getting them to contact like minded friends and neigbors out to vote. Now in my opinion, this is a sad excuse for a field program as there is no way to make sure the calls are being made and doors are being knocked. However, my harshest words are reserved for Kerry and the Democrats. In the last week of the election, 57 goddamn fucking percent of their e-newsletters were solicitations for raising more money. What in god's holy hell were they raising money for in the last week of the campaign? Didn't they have public financing? No fucking wonder your supporters don't want to open your goddamn emails! With a week to go, the time for fundraising is over, its time for Get your ass out to vote.

With 57% of their e-communcation in the last week being about fundraising they must have needed the money pretty bad. So wonderful that they had millions of dollars left in the account after election day? Just fucking brilliant. No wonder we can't win a goddamn election in this country. Why do we vote for these assholes again? Is this seriously the best America can do to stand up to the Republicans. God help us

Miracle of Kos

During the 2004 election cycle, I relied a great deal on Daily Kos to get my information about the campaign as well as to gauge the feelings of the online Democratic community. The site is populated by the left wing of the Democratic party. . none of who were in love with John Kerry but all of whom wanted him to win. Some knew what they were talking about, and some were complete morons. . .but that is too be expected. Kos used his website to raise money for candidates that he had strong feelings for . . . especially those not getting attention from the national party. These included Jan Schnieder (running in FL 13 against Katherine Harris), Jim Morrison (running against Tom Delay . . . need I say more?) as well as a slew of other underdog. I truly believe Kos can take credit for injecting a spirit of energy and strength to those campaigns by nationalizing their support.
Perhaps the greatest online fundraising accomplishment occurred not during the campaign, but days after the election. With the high likelihood of illegal activity on the Republican side in Ohio (lets face it. . That's how republicans win close elections b/c Democrats will always own their asses in the field) , of course John Kerry did not have the balls to request a recount. Therefore the libertarian and Green candidates who had nothing to lose took up the torch. They needed to raise over $100k within a few days to pay for the recount. Within several days with the activism shown through Kos, over $300k was raised.

However, with all my respect for Kos, had all those bloggers been knocking doors in Ohio instead of scratching their balls in front of a computer. . . we wouldn't have needed a recount and John Kerry would be president.

Stifling their own stance.

In the world of compromise politics, it seems that the true believers are relegated to the sidelines on the Democratic side. Republicans put spokesmen for their values front and center. .. Democrats relegate theirs to the blogosphere. A perfect example of this was Howard Dean. He rose from a blogocentric campaign to become Chair of the DNC after John Kerry proved that compromise politics doesn't work.

In 2003-4, I was a Deaniac. I read the blog (even though I thought bloggers were morons and I still believe most are), I gave money over the web, and felt inspired by his rhetoric. I even attended a few meetups. Howard Dean gave me a new faith in the Democratic Party after mainstream Democrats just caved during the war, the tax cuts, and the 2002 elections.

Now Howard Dean is chairman of the DNC and being told to tone down his rhetoric about the blantant abused of the Republican dominated government. He makes comments about Republicans that were made time and time again about Democrats while Clinton was in power. Now Chairman Dean, the leader of the party is being scolded not by the Republicans . . . .or even the corporate media. . but by Democrats. Where are all the Democrats standing with Gov. Dean who is doing exactly what he said he would . . . stand up to the fucking Republicans??

Just as the mainstream media won't stand up to the Republican government, the Democratic party is now fearful of the so called "liberal media". Just as stated in previous posts, the blogs stand as the last remaining source of information not controlled by government and corporate media spinners. This is why I left politics and no longer even consider myself a Democrat. . . (considering I"m not even registered to vote anymore). When there is a party that will start standing up to the Republican machine of corporate greedmongers and racist puritan hypocrite . . .Talk to me then.

For now, I'll get my news from Kos (when I feel like reading about what is going on in this pathetic corrupt world at all that is).

2004 Internet Election Nostalgia

In the summer of 2004, just about everyone involved in the political campaign world (unless they were living under a rock) got a shot of humor when Jib Jab hit the netwaves and airwaves with "This Land is Your Land". Interestingly enough, they guys at Jib Jab had been creating cartoon jingles mocking politicians since 2000, but had never been noticed. This parody was so good it spread through the interenet like wildfire .. . to the point where the mainstream media could no longer ignore it. My apolitical friends an technically inept mother even managed to get onto www.jibjab.com to view "This Land is Your Land".
I would argue that it is not the internet that spread the musical piece of work, but the quality of the humor itself. OF course. . .the technology was the whole basis of the cartoon as it was, after all, a Flash presentation.

Voter Contact and the Web

It will be interesting to see how the internet enters the role of traditional campaign voter contact field programs. There are a list of reasons why the internet can never be used to replace field programs.

An email can never identify if a voter is a supporter.
We don't know if the message received the intended recipient
We cannot gauge the voters body language or voice tone over the internet (though tones in the extreme will be apparent when offered)
The internet cannot clear deceased and moved voters off of lists
The internet cannot make sure someone has gone out to vote
The internet cannot verify addresses and phone numbers

With that said, in many cases with populations that are either younger or highly professional, the internet can be a far more effective method of turning out voters. Some voters are never home and do not have land lines . .. and those are usually the ones who check their email 4-5 times a day.

State Parties and the Web

Though not directly related to this course, it is important to look at how the internet has changed state party organizations. State parties pretty much all have websites and they range from very good to terrible. Voters can go on and view profiles of the elected officials of the party in the state, party officers, read the platform and find out what campaigns are hot in their areas. This however can only occur if the websites are properly maintained as there are many state parties (including some with full-time Webmaster) that leave their websites stagnate. This can be demoralizing to an activist and a show of mediocrity to a voter.
One major breakthrough on the Democratic side at least in my opinion has been the use of web-based voter files run by state parties. In this way, campaigns can scan in their voter data to a master database at the state party and retrieve the information they need when necessary. The other advantage is that this data can be carried over from election cycle to cycle and different types of voters can be tracked in various areas. Over a few cycles, one can run a query of ID's in the area and figure out who is truly a swing voter, a behavioral Dem or behavioral Republican.

However, what happens if the server crashes 2 days before election when everyone is printing GOTV lists?

Blogs and a free press

Looking at the Downing Street Memo as well as Congressman Conyers' post on Daily Kos, it appears that the current administration is using intimidation tactics to prevent critical stories about them in the mainstream media. They did this by blaming Newsweek for deaths abroad by reporting on interrogation tactics at Gtmo Bay. This is where the blogosphere comes in. Let them try to shut down and intimidate someone who posts their information on a blog. In this forum, I am free to criticize the president or anyone I wish to and anyone who wishes is free to read my criticisms. Now, if I uncover information about corruption in the administration and decide to spread it widely and successful, the spinster may have some discomfort. In that case, here is my challenge . .. Bring it on.

Goddamn . . .I really do feel like a blogger now.

What about the Blackberry?

Campaigns have advanced greatly in the use of technology. The internet is now an important communication tool (though I still argue it does not replace field work). We must also evaluate new ways to improve simple efficiency within the campaign. I have already discussed text messaging for different communication purposes. The coming about of the blackberry has put phone, text, and email communication in one's pocket. Is it possible to send out email ads over the blackberry network. . .or should we just reserve it for intra-campaign communication.
While not specifically mentioned in the readings, I can describe several different instigated where a blackberry has come in handy during campaign season. While I do not own one, I have observed and spoken to those who do. First, a friend of mine working at a polling firm found it helpful to keep in touch with his boss and other clients when working with a client in rural Missouri (internet and cell reception were not available).
The Democratic Caucus of the Pennsylvania House issues most of its staff blackberry so they are readily available to the Leadership (Minority Leader and Whip) when they are either home or on the road doing opposition research or on a campaign.

Big Brother gone digital

Our friend Russel Buckley from across the Atlantic discusses the increased opportunity for corporate and government interference into private lives through new technologies in "The Death Knell of Privacy". He decries businesses used tracking devices to track their employees internet usage. He broadens the discussion into one about privacy including the debate of carrying National ID cards in theUK that had also surfaced here in the states. The installation of cameras in public locations as well as the availability of camera phones has also reduced peoples personal privacy.
The question this raises in my mind is one of government intrusion. Can the government track my internet usage? can they see where I have taken my cell phone? Whenever I use E-Z pass to pay a toll, can they get those records to see where I've been? We get so wrapped up in the convenience of technology but seem to forget that were leaving a paper trail. Now, I"m not saying the government cares about a what I've been doing in all of the above scenarios. . . I just simply am scared of the day that for some odd reason they do start caring.

With that said, when I drive to work on Monday and pass through the toll booths. . . I"m still using my EZ pass.

The Irony of the New Media

Sylvester Brown raises an interesting point in his article for the St. Louis Times Dispatch "Conyers looks for News in the Wrong Places". We all know that the corporate mainstream media is a business out to serve its own financial interests much more than it is the public interest. Michael Jackson and the Runaway Bride become sagas that consume our daily lives and conversations while conspiracies between American and British governments that led to the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives get covered up because they aren't sexy enough.
IT takes new and alternative media sources to uncover the important issues that don't pay to report. IT takes bloggers like Daily Kos and filmmakers like Michael Moore to try to bring some truth to the world we live in. Sadly and Ironically, they have less credibility than the mainstream media while their work is more genuine and their product is more worthwhile than the corporate media we have been conditioned to believe.

GOTV text messages ? . . . . . YES!!!

I closed my thoughts yesterday with posing the question about using text messages from GOTV. The more I think about it. . . the more I think it could work. A website could be a great organizing tool to gather information for text messages to be sent in the future. In addition, this can be used increasingly effectively in student wards. I am not a tech guy. . .but there has to be a way to send mass text messages in a certain area at not cost to the recipient. Its not nearly as high impact as a phone call . .. so lets not pretend that it is (neither is an email folks). . .but it is a creative alternative worth discussing. . . .any thoughts?

Hi - Tech Protests

The March 2003 CNN story "Anti-War protesters Go Digital" brings back some fond memories. I remember very clearly the month of March 2003. Up until a few weeks before it started, I didn't actually believe we would go to war. It seemed like a distant horror. I was a senior in college, isolated in the frozen hell that is Ithaca, New York. I drank a lot of beer, rum, and vodka while smoking a hell of a lot of dope and was therefore generally oblivious to what was going on politically (since I wasn't on a campaign at the time, it didn't really matter to me) .
It was through internet activist communities that I really became aware, educated, and activated against Bush's war. Yes, Cornell is a pretentious university filled with a bunch of wannabee hippie snobs who protest everything the hear about by chanting in a drum circle . . . but that was really never my style. I'd rather do nothing than simply whine and complain about about an issue. I distinctly remember the moment I took action. It was when I got an email with a series of pictures attached to it. Each picture was of a mass protest from a different world city: London, New York, Moscow, Buenos Aires, Tel Aviv etc. . . and I realized how huge the issue really was. I forwarded the email to other apathetic friends. It was a small step, but still a step. Then I signed an email petition to my congressmen and Senators. Then I actually called.
I was always persuaded that the war was wrong, but was never persuaded to take action on it. It was the online community of activists that got me involved. I never text messaged anyone. I physically attended only 1 protest (and it was a counter-protest to the right wing pro-war rally), but I felt invovled. . . and all of a sudden. . . I cared.
it's safe to say that e-organizing has its uses. . . if I. . Mr. Anti-blog was persuaded to take action by the internet, through the internet, and on the internet I'm sure there is plenty more that can be done.

GOTV Text messages anyone. . . . .?

Persuasion on the Internet: Positives and Negatives

Its no surprise that I don't believe the internet should be used as a campaigns primary method of persuading voters in an election. However, there are some cases when it may be effective. Any voter who is reading a candidate's website is likely one of 3 things: A supporter reaffirming their beliefs, a truly undecided voter doing their research on the candidates and issues, or an opponent's supporter doing opposition research or commenting cynically. The group we want to focus on is of course the second.
As I mentioned in class, there is no way to force a voter to a candidates website and there is no real way to ensure repetition of your message. However, the positive is that anyone viewing a website is highly engaged and is likely going to vote. Therefore repetition is not necessary as they will return when seeking more information.
The problem lies in that this type of voter is such a small proportion of the undecided voter population or the party's base voter that needs to be turned out. Anyone checking through candidates websites is most likely going to vote. Those who aren't as engaged are the ones that a campaign really needs to target through repetition. They need to see the commercial 10x before the message sinks in. They need at least 6 mail pieces to form an opinion and have the name and message instilled in them . .. and they often need the 3-4 Get out the Vote phone calls to remind them to get out to the polls. So the moral of the story is have a good website, be persuasive on it, engage the engaged voter. . .but don't' let it cut into your budget for traditional media and field work. Those who do so. . .will do so at their peril. While you are trying to persuade 100 undecided voters, your opponent will have turned out 300 of his base vote who wouldn't have voted otherwise.