The "Obama-TechnoPolitical Impact" : When the POTUS has a Blackberry --that won't leave his hands--- we are now in a whole new TechnoPolitical world.

The tools of politics have been greatly  changed by technology during the last decade. How people communicate has changed dramatically as well, with email and cell phones, Blackberrys, iPhones and all else.

But even with the election of Barack Obama as POTUS -- a moderate-center-liberal Democrat -- the power centers of politics in the USA has not really been changed by the Internet. It is still Democrats and Republicans.

Fifty years from now will the discussions in political science classes be: Why has the Digital Age and the Internet failed to produce any great change in Democracy?

Or: Why was it watershed for better Democracy in the United States (and/or other nations)? [36]

There are also those who assert that Democracy will loose out ---and is loosing out--- to the Globalization of the Government and Corporate Techno-Powers.[37] Seeing the distribution of academic and political information, news and views on the Web as dominated by a few mega-corporations[38] some believe the question political-science students will be asked on exams is: “Why and how has the Internet changed democracy for the worst?”

Richard Davis, a Professor of Political Science at Brigham Young University, in his book The Web of Politics rightly points out that “each innovation in mass communications” instead of creating new power centers, has simply reinforced the existing Government and media power structures.[39] Davis highlights how the hope of television as a positive force of democratization was torpedoed by the enactment of the of the Equal Time Provision (ETP) by Congress during the 1950’s.[40] Because the ETP required broadcasters to give “equal access” for free time, but not equal access for paid time, broadcasters limited the amount of free time they allowed to be accessed. With their money Republican and Democratic campaigns could easily buy political advertisements, but smaller third-parties who generally lack substantial funds became all but locked out of television till today.[41] Even high profile third-party candidates such as Pat Buchanan and Ralph Nader could not directly debate with Democrat Al Gore and Republican George Bush during the 2000 presidential election, nor could they get their campaigns the broadcast publicity needed to make a serious run. The ETP instead of adding to the diversity of public discourse has just galvanized the status quo with American television politics becoming dominated by Democrats and Republicans.

A similar situation is developing with the Internet. Democrats and Republicans are co-opting the Internet into an overall political strategy and are doing with the Web as they did with television in dominating the election campaign dialogue of the medium. Cyber-space has of yet to cause a mushrooming of alternative political parties and candidates in the United States.

Nor have the sources of mass news consumption been changed by the Internet age. The most trafficked Internet news sites are dominated by the same broadcast and print media giants that have ruled the airwaves and news-stands for the past generation. According to Jupiter Media Metrix [42] a website ratings group, the September 2001 -- which as you see are basically unchanged now in 2009--- ratings of Internet news sites showed the top 10 to be:

1] CNN.com

2] MSNBC.com

3] Time.com

4] ABCNews.com

5] New York Times.com

6] Washington Post.com

7] USA Today.com

8] Slate.com (which is a division MSNBC)

9] FoxNews.com

10] Los Angles Times.com

So as of today in 2009 -- and as in 2002 when this just above was first posted ---the Digital Internet Age has not produced any major change in the sources of news and views nor a diversification of electoral and political issue discourse in the Untied States, and as you  shall read throughout this blog , in my humble opinion,  the Internet does not at all seem poised to facilitate the forming of  any major new political parties  in the USA anytime in the near future. 

So as to our question as to whether the Digital Age is good or bad for American democracy; it as of now seems to be a big sum zero impact. 

 For while the Political Spheres that make up the  USA's body politic have incorperated the Internet & Digital Technologies into them,  they are still basically the same political ball they  were  ten or twenty or even thirty years ago.

 Now, though , if President Barak Obama can use the internet to harness the power of the people, to help forward his agenda, then we will see what will be the "Obama-TechonoPolitical Impact" on politics in the USA.

Because when the POTUS has a Blackberry --that won't leave his hands--- we are now in a whole new TechnoPolitical world.  

The Obama Experience

With the November 2008 election of President Barak Obama,

the world of TechnoPolitics has entered a new era.

The Obama election campaign team completely mastered the use of the Internet & Digital Communications in the 2008 primary & general elections , and Team Obama has forever changed how the sport of electoral politics is played. And also how the technological tools & grassroots of politics are used in issue lobbying.

The National Obama Experiance and the Internet

has been well documented by the mass media for the past three years.

When I started this academic project of the study of the "Internet & Politics" back in 1999, the topic was very niche. I really had to dig for research information.( And I have preserved much of the obscure early-Political -Internet-history here on this blog site.)

Today in 2009 , some TechnoPolitical message spills in to my email's inbox hourly; even from President Obama himself, as well as other Democrats , many Republicans and from everyone else on down, whom I

give --or who gets-- my email address

And today in 2009
http://www.whitehouse.gov/

is a major website in its own right.

It will -- and has already --become a daily stop online for many
if not most cyber-broad-banded Americans.

I mean the POTUS posting his NCAA Basketball picks, amazing !

While there maybe you will read some policy papers. Then again , maybe you won't.

Conservative Christians Criticize Republicans - New York Times

~~ But can the Democrats capitalize on the Republican discord ?

The Dems still have no unified voice, and to me, come acrross as timid and pandering.

I would prefer to see them offering the leadership and inovation that marked the Clinton years.

Unless the Democratic leadership can excite their base, Dem voters ---and religious -right voters too, as we see here--- might just sit out the this year's mid-term elections for Congress & etc. Which more than likely would help the incumbents, thus keeping the GOP in charge of congress.
~
~~ `technopolitical
======================

5/15/06 :Conservative Christians Criticize Republicans - New York Times: "There is a growing feeling among conservatives that the only way to cure the problem is for Republicans to lose the Congressional elections this fall," said Richard Viguerie, a conservative direct-mail pioneer. I can't tell you how much anger there is at the Republican leadership,' Mr. Viguerie said. 'I have never seen anything like it.'"

Proposed FEC Rules Would Exempt Most Political Activity on Internet

~`Clearly good news for Internet Political Junkies like me. Bring on the Elections!!
I predict now that in 2008 it will be Sen. McCain vs . Sen Clinton for the POTUS.
And that McCain will win.
{ I also picked the New York Jets to win last year's Super Bowl brfore the
last season started, just so you know .}
~~ TP
-----------------

Proposed FEC Rules Would Exempt Most Political Activity on Internet:

by Zachary A. Goldfarb and Thomas B. Edsall Washington Post Staff Writers

Saturday, March 25, 2006; Page A04

"The Federal Election Commission last night released proposed new rules that leave almost all Internet political activity unregulated except for the purchase of campaign ads on Web site"

Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts - New York Times

~~~ The NY Times has an extensive article today on the Bush team again forgetting that a Democracy is a place where the Government does not spy on its citizens with out first getting a Court order. This is major news , but unless Congress raises a stink and starts hearings , it will pass under the radar of most voters.

I have to keep saying to myself -

-- "Just three more years,, Just three more years".

Anybody will be better than the Bushies in 2008. 

{ Assuming that Team Bush does not find 

some way to cancel the 2008 American elections.] ~~~ TP
-----------------------------------------

Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts
By JAMES RISEN and ERIC LICHTBLAU

"WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 - Months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials"

Could blogs trump stumping in Iowa? | csmonitor.com

~~ No !!!!

Handshakes, kissing babies ,, and meet face to face with the Big $$$$, will ALWAYS win elections.

Internet is not local . All Politics Are Local .

---------------------------

Could blogs trump stumping in Iowa? | csmonitor.com: "The power of the Internet has led the Pew Center's Michael Cornfield and others to say that we should now speak of a much more visible 'virtual primary.'

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R), Sen. Russ Feingold (D) of Wisconsin, Sen. Evan Bayh (D) of Indiana, and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D) of New York all blog or occasionally post on prominent blogs.

Senate majority leader Bill Frist just started a blog. Last week House Republicans initiated a 'Capitol Hill Blog Row,' inviting a number of bloggers to meetings and briefings."

The defeat of election-law aid for bloggers | CNET News.com

Democrats defeat election-law aid for bloggers | CNET News.com: "Democrats on Wednesday managed to defeat a bill aimed at amending U.S. election laws to immunize bloggers from hundreds of pages of federal regulations."

I am only blogging this under protest !!

Advertising in the Age of the Empowered Voter - A View from Washington

~ I Got this by e-mail.
This event wil explore lobbying and activisim from a TechnPolitical view.

~~~ enjoy ~` TP ~~ `

=================

"Advertising in the Age of the Empowered Voter - A View from Washington"
When:Wednesday, September 21, 2005 1:00 PM - 7:00 PM

How do mobile, blogs, and podcasts change political and advocacy communications?

E-Voter Institute is hosting bipartisan events to delve into the ways in which these and other new technologies are changing the political landscape.

Join campaign strategists, online pioneers, researchers, journalists, and media experts for the first of three lively discussions about the role of Internet and wireless technology for politics and advocacy.

Wednesday, September 21, 2005 1:00 PM - 7:00 PM

CNN.com - Pataki calls for federal probe over audiotapes - Aug 23, 2005

~~~ Just a hunch,, but I think this will torpedo any chance Pataki
had for the 2008 GOP Presidential nod.
{Not that he stood a chance anyway.] ~~ TP

CNN.com - Pataki calls for federal probe over audiotapes - Aug 23, 2005

"Even if these tapes were illegally made -- and we don't know yet that they were -- we believe the Supreme Court of the United States has affirmed our right to publish the contents of the tapes," Col Allan, editor-in-chief of the Post, said in a statement." ~~~ Interesting Point ~~ TP

ALBANY, New York (AP) -- Gov. George Pataki called Monday for a federal investigation after transcripts of taped telephone conversations he had with an aide appeared in a newspaper.

The New York Post reported that the conversations appear to have taken place during Pataki's first term, probably in 1996 and possibly in 1997.

The newspaper said it anonymously received a tape recording of the telephone conversations, which include a former Pataki aide complaining about administration commissioners not hiring the patronage appointees he had recommended to them quickly enough.

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Suppress the Vote? , By BOB HERBERT

August 16, 2004

OP-ED COLUMNIST http://www.nytco.com/

Suppress the Vote?

By BOB HERBERT

he big story out of Florida over the weekend was the tragic devastation caused by Hurricane Charley. But there's another story from Florida that deserves our attention.

State police officers have gone into the homes of elderly black voters in Orlando and interrogated them as part of an odd "investigation" that has frightened many voters, intimidated elderly volunteers and thrown a chill over efforts to get out the black vote in November.

The officers, from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which reports to Gov. Jeb Bush, say they are investigating allegations of voter fraud that came up during the Orlando mayoral election in March.

Officials refused to discuss details of the investigation, other than to say that absentee ballots are involved. They said they had no idea when the investigation might end, and acknowledged that it may continue right through the presidential election.

"We did a preliminary inquiry into those allegations and then we concluded that there was enough evidence to follow through with a full criminal investigation," said Geo Morales, a spokesman for the Department of Law Enforcement.

The state police officers, armed and in plain clothes, have questioned dozens of voters in their homes. Some of those questioned have been volunteers in get-out-the-vote campaigns.

I asked Mr. Morales in a telephone conversation to tell me what criminal activity had taken place.

"I can't talk about that," he said.

I asked if all the people interrogated were black.

"Well, mainly it was a black neighborhood we were looking at - yes,'' he said.

He also said, "Most of them were elderly."

When I asked why, he said, "That's just the people we selected out of a random sample to interview."

Back in the bad old days, some decades ago, when Southern whites used every imaginable form of chicanery to prevent blacks from voting, blacks often fought back by creating voters leagues, which were organizations that helped to register, educate and encourage black voters. It became a tradition that continues in many places, including Florida, today.

Not surprisingly, many of the elderly black voters who found themselves face to face with state police officers in Orlando are members of the Orlando League of Voters, which has been very successful in mobilizing the city's black vote.

The president of the Orlando League of Voters is Ezzie Thomas, who is 73 years old. With his demonstrated ability to deliver the black vote in Orlando, Mr. Thomas is a tempting target for supporters of George W. Bush in a state in which the black vote may well spell the difference between victory and defeat.

The vile smell of voter suppression is all over this so-called investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Joseph Egan, an Orlando lawyer who represents Mr. Thomas, said: "The Voters League has workers who go into the community to do voter registration, drive people to the polls and help with absentee ballots. They are elderly women mostly. They get paid like $100 for four or five months' work, just to offset things like the cost of their gas. They see this political activity as an important contribution to their community. Some of the people in the community had never cast a ballot until the league came to their door and encouraged them to vote."

Now, said Mr. Egan, the fear generated by state police officers going into people's homes as part of an ongoing criminal investigation related to voting is threatening to undo much of the good work of the league. He said, "One woman asked me, 'Am I going to go to jail now because I voted by absentee ballot?' "

According to Mr. Egan, "People who have voted by absentee ballot for years are refusing to allow campaign workers to come to their homes. And volunteers who have participated for years in assisting people, particularly the elderly or handicapped, are scared and don't want to risk a criminal investigation."

Florida is a state that's very much in play in the presidential election, with some polls showing John Kerry in the lead. A heavy-handed state police investigation that throws a blanket of fear over thousands of black voters can only help President Bush.

The long and ugly tradition of suppressing the black vote is alive and thriving in the Sunshine State.

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

Thompson, Nicholas.

Machined Politics. How the Internet is really, truly-seriously-going to change elections.

Washington Monthly Online. May 2002. Last accessed Sept. 1 2002 @ http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/0205.thompson.html.