Bloggers play a growing role in local elections
by Kate Prahlad
Five years ago, a "blogger" might have been a techie loner, typing in
his bathrobe and ranting from a virtual soapbox. But as Web log (or "blog") technology has moved into the mainstream, everyday users have adopted blogs as online journals and discussion forums.
The Voice features several blogs from our website, three of which contain political commentary.
Click on any of the following links to visit our broadening blog community. We'd love to hear your voice.
Granola Park. GP's author and originator, Gilbert (a pseudonym borrowed from one of Takoma Park's forefathers) looks at the lighter side of local politics. This lively blog began with analysis of the 2005 mayoral election but members of its lively readership— many of whom post comments regularly— begged Gilbert to stay active. Lots of links to relevant blogs and websites.
Editor's Blog. Technically the author of this blog is the Voice's own editor and publisher, Eric Bond. But readers notice a good portion of postings are letters to the editor received at the Voice that seem like good seeds for discussion. Topics are mainly political, but often get beyond city and county issues. The sidebar "Also of Linkerest" contains the editor's choice of political blogs worth checking out.
Sustainability. This blog's authorship is shared by several, but the topic is focus on sustainable living in regards to the environment. Plug in to this blog to learn about ways to save energy and have a greener lifestyle.
Eclectic Ear. This blog is just getting off the ground. A local community dedicated to sharing personal reviews of music and artists. You can't live on politics alone— so please, check it out. |
According to estimates from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, about 12 million Americans maintain a blog, and about 11 percent of them are blogging about politics and government.
And as many political junkies have found out, blogs are the ideal medium for e-campaigning and debate. Perhaps more than any election year to date, 2006 could prove to be powered by blog.
Who's to say how much influence blogs had on the September primary? Montgomery County bloggers generally supported candidates who eschewed corporate funding--especially funds from developers. They tended to favor idealistic candidates like Ike Leggett, Marc Elrich, and Jamie Raskin over current office-holders. Many made endorsements, just like any news publication.
Leggett, Elrich, and Raskin won. Did the bloggers reflect the county mood, or did they help drive votes to those candidates?
Although they might not affect national politics, local blogs do hold a certain sway over "micropolitics," says Thomas Nephew, a Takoma Park resident who runs Newsrack Blog. Nephew uses that term to describe the "neighbor-to-neighbor, person-to-person discussion" of politics that can both inform and change minds.
Although Nephew normally writes personal impressions and synopses of national issues, the response he got from local readers encouraged him to cover more local politics, especially involving the primary elections, he said. His posts inspired Takoma Park residents to organize a barbeque-cum-town hall meeting, where he met neighbors with whom he had never spoken before.
Newsrack also invited a number of local candidates to join an online forum about the Fair Share Health Care bill (also known as the "Wal-Mart bill") that had been overturned in federal court. Several candidates participated, including Maryland Delegate Gareth Murray and challengers Lucinda Lessley, Aaron Klein, and Diane Nixon; and Maryland Senator Ida Ruben and challenger Jamie Raskin.
Nixon agrees with Nephew on the importance of promoting discussion among neighbors and voters. She has a blog on her Web site ("I haven't done much with it," she acknowledged) and says that although she doesn't believe that blogs had a major effect on local elections, they could begin to catch on as a political tool.
Depending on one's perspective, blogs offer the opportunity to either spread political hearsay or disprove it. Newsrack aims to provide "fair and balanced news and opinion commentary," according to its tagline. And Nephew seeks the same factual cleanliness in the posts he writes and receives.
"I know I either try to correct mistakes I made or clear up misconceptions I've heard about elsewhere," Nephew says.
Thanks to such conscientiousness by local bloggers, the overall credibility of blogs as campaign and political tools is growing. In some higher-profile races, however, blog technology is simply a new approach to old, dirty rules of engagement.
In a key U.S. Senate race in Virginia, Republican Sen. George Allen and Democratic challenger James Webb are both employing paid bloggers. In a September 17 Washington Post article by Michael D. Shear and Tim Craig, these campaign officials -- with the title of "new media coordinators"-- are aiming to "deluge online political journals with positive tidbits about their candidate and draw attention to the most negative news about their opponent... [and] spread gossip generated by others."
Shear and Craig said that liberal bloggers pounced on Senator Allen's now-infamous "macaca" racial slur regarding a Webb volunteer, and that Allen's double-digit lead in public polls was narrowed by bloggers' continued hype of the incident.
Statistical evidence also shows the increasing political reach of the Internet. A survey released by the Pew Internet and American Life Project indicates that in August 2006, more than 26 million Americans turned to the Internet to read political news and information, compared to 21 million during the November 2004 elections.
With each passing year, weblog technology is allowing more and more people with an opinion and a keyboard to access an audience. And blog pioneers like Nephew will be there, too, moderating the fray and bringing politics home through the global reach of weblogs.
"They shed some light," he said. "And maybe help people make good decisions."
No comments have been posted to this article.
Want to post a comment to this article? Click here.
|
