The web is taking another step toward politics, and this time it is the bloggers.
Liberal bloggers are creating a political action committee (PAC) to recruit more liberal candidates for elections. This is being done in conjunction with MoveOn.org, a extremely leftist organization that funnels money from rich supporters to the Democratic cause. This could serve as an indicator that some on the left are not too pleased with some of President Obama’s concessions to the right. The committee has already raised $500,000 and will target districts “out of touch.”
Sunstein’s case would be that those who read the liberal blogs will then be more convinced in liberal ideologies. If the bloggers say it’s the right thing to do, then they will believe it is because of no other points of view. The other more positive reaction to this new creation is that blogging and the internet has succeeded in leveling the playing field. While most popular bloggers were already well respected, this illustrates the level of power that anyone can attain through the internet. These people saw what they thought was wrong within their own political party and sought a way to remedy it. It can be assumed that they were not friends before their common ground in blogging united them around a cause. The internet was the medium of connection. They have also raised a considerable amount of money through soliciting donations on their blogs. The internet gave them means that may have not been otherwise available.
In the end, this is a case of the internet positively affecting the American political scene. Through proper utilization, users (who could have been anybody) addressed a particular concern of theirs. They harnessed the web’s connecting and empowering attributes, allowing the small to act large. This leveling of the playing field is a key positive characteristic of the internet that will change the way politics is conducted and the level of equality in this country.
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Source for this post:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/27/us/politics/27liberal.html?_r=1&ref=politics"
This wasn't the first time that I've stumbled upon MoveOn. I have heard it come up numerous times in the political sector, but I never really knew what they did. Logically, I turned to Wikipedia...
It turns out MoveOn is comprised of two non-profit entities: one that focuses on educating and advocating for Democrats on particular national issues, and the other a PAC which helps selected Democratic officials get into office. MoveOn humbly originated back in the late 90's through email lists. Today it has evolved into a political powerhouse with millions of dollars behind it.
Without looking carefully, this seems like another Internet success story. It's hard to deny what Sunstein (and Ross) are saying here: the Internet does afford people to mobilize around particular issues that would have otherwise been overlooked. At the same time however, the narrow-mindedness that defines MoveOn borders extremism. The Web’s ability to connect individuals ultimately clashes with the Daily Me- meaning that people are only perpetuating their own notions rather than embracing others. Fox News commentators, Sean Hannity, and Bill O’Reilly, have spoken out about MoveOn’s stance on major issues and have condemned the Democratic Party for letting it take control of their platform. It’s been said that MoveOn “owns” the Democrats. You can’t help but marvel at the success of MoveOn, but you can’t forget that the Internet is routde in its own idealism. When this idealism begins to take hold of one of America’s political platforms, it is important that you take a step back and question if the Internet should be regarded with such high esteem…
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