MY 10,000 Word Study w/ 100 footnoted links. plus.

Click2enter >>  TECHNO-POLITICS <<<<

and

Political Activism:

The Impact of the Internet

& Digital Communications

on the

Political Activities of American Citizens,

as of Summer 2002.

By Halperin

August 25, 2002

e-mail : rahalperin@yahoo.com

*

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter One

Definition of Terms.

*

Chapter Two

Digital Age Good or Digital Age Bad?

*

Chapter Three

An Overview of The Political Activities of Americans in Cyberspace as of Summer 2002.

*

Chapter Four

Cyber-Lobbying on the National Level

in the USA as of 2002.

*

Chapter Five

Rally Organizing Online.

*

Chapter 6

Political Information Portals. [PIPs]

*

Chapter 7

Cyber-Electioneering

*

Chapter 8

Cyber-Voting

Chapter 9

The Impeachment of Bill Clinton on the Web.

*

Chapter 10:

Why Electronic-Democracy Won’t Fly in the USA.

*

Chapter 11:

Conclusions.

*

*121 ENDNOTES (most with URL Links)*

Joseph Lieberman Beats the Internet Activists. Senator more powerful than ever!

~~` Back after the Connecticut Democratic primary this year , the world -- or at least the press -- proclaimed "Internet, activists help topple prominent US Democrat".

Well at the time , I was not impressed . And now we have , once "Democratic" Sen. Joseph Lieberman,

as now INDEPENDENT Sen. Joseph Lieberman.

With just a one vote Majority in the senate the Democrats will have to quake every time Lieberman speaks his mind. Lieberman is now more powerful then ever, thanks to the Internet !?!?

If Internet "activist" are going to proclaim victories, they are also going to have to accept the lessons of this big defeat.

The lesson is , while the Internet is a great "tool" for political organizing, it is still only one "tool" among many, and alone it cannot win for you.

Internet, activists help topple prominent US Democrat

~~` Lieberman would have lost w/o the internet ,, just like when Lieberman defeated Lowell Wicker to first enter the Senate in 1988 .

Please do not confuse the medium for the message. Unpopular incumbents loose primaries , because they lost the support of the core that first elected them. The internet reflected public sentiment that was already there, the internet did not create it. Plus Lamont had big $$$ , that helps more !!

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

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

"Internet, activists help topple prominent US Democrat"
By Patricia Wilson
WASHINGTON, Aug 9 (Reuters) - "Fueled by opposition to the Iraq war and anger at U.S. President George W. Bush, liberal grass-roots and Internet activists on Wednesday claimed their most significant political victory -- the defeat of Democratic Sen. Joseph Lieberman.

The three-term senator from Connecticut was repudiated on Tuesday by voters from his own party who chose Ned Lamont -- a relative unknown with a fierce anti-war message -- to represent Democrats in the November election.

"The winner is people-powered politics," declared the Daily Kos Web site, a sentiment that echoed throughout the liberal blogosphere.
Lamont, a millionaire businessman who has never held state or federal office, had almost zero name recognition and very little political experience when he entered the race."

California's 2006 Candidates for governor reach out by Web, iPod

~~~ For over a decade many technopolitical folks have been heralding how the Internet
and digital / wirelesss things will change politics.
I , as I write about out here, dissagree with that vision.

All politics is local.
Face to face human interaction will always be the core of
of political activity. Which is why close elections are won and lost by field organization, and always will be.

How well can you get out the vote on election day is what the game is all about. Seniors , low-income folks, and many on the religious-right, do not use the internet as much as other voters-- yet . These voting groups can only be reached by old -fashioned local field work. Knocking on doors, holding rallies , and working the bus & subway stops.
~~~ TP
===================================

Article: News - Candidates for governor reach out by Web, iPod:

By SORAYA SARHADDI NELSON
The Orange County Register www.ocregister.com

"Welcome to California's 2006 gubernatorial race, where winning traditional grass-roots support is more about bandwidth than shoe leather. Campaigns are following the example of Howard Dean, a littleknown former Vermont governor who used a network of Internet-connected supporters to leap onto the national stage in the 2004 presidential race".

"California's gubernatorial candidates hope the same Web-based techniques will make their campaigns more accessible and supporters feel vested. With new campaign contribution limits and skyrocketing costs of TV advertising hampering campaigns, the Internet has become a vital tool to boost contenders' visibility, especially among the grass roots, experts say."

Q: "Internet Injects Sweeping Change Into U.S. Politics ? A: " NO !!

~~ Yes the Internet is becoming part of the political campaign arsenals.
But has the internet produced better candidates or any major shifts in power ?

It is still the democrats and republicans.
The medium may be new but the players are the same.
Not only the mega- political players,
but the mega- media players too are the same .
In the end the Internet has re-enforced the status quo. See here for more .

Yes Blogs have some impact, but it is still the mega-media that makes "what is news" , so there too , the Internet has done little to tilt the power center.

The hope of the Digital Age was that people would produce a better, a fairer and more representative government through cyber involvment.

Well the Internet is only really 10 years old, so maybe there is still hope.


~~ technopolitical
-----------------------------------

Internet Injects Sweeping Change Into U.S. Politics - New York Times:
April 2, 2006
Internet Injects Sweeping Change Into U.S. Politics
By ADAM NAGOURNEY

"The percentage of Americans who went online for election news jumped from 13 percent in the 2002 election cycle to 29 percent in 2004, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center after the last presidential election. A Pew survey released earlier this month found that 50 million Americans go to the Internet for news every day, up from 27 million people in March 2002, a reflection of the fact that the Internet is now available to 70 percent of Americans.

This means, aides said, rethinking every assumption about running a campaign: how to reach different segments of voters, how to get voters to the polls, how to raise money, and the best way to have a candidate interact with the public. In 2004, John Edwards, a former Democratic senator from North Carolina and his party's vice presidential candidate, spent much of his time talking to voters in living rooms in New Hampshire and Iowa; now he is putting aside hours every week to videotape responses to videotaped questions, the entire exchange posted on his blog.

'The effect of the Internet on politics will be every bit as transformational as television was,' said Ken Mehlman, the Republican national chairman. 'If you want to get your message out, the old way of paying someone to" {end quote]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/washington/02campaign.html?hp&ex=1143954000&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;en=003299f756f21d88&ei=5094&partner=homepage
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Internet Fosters Local Political Movements, AP News

~~~ It appears from this article the Internet is finally causing some political activity , that otherwise would not happen. But I still feel for the most, the Internet has done little to change the balance of powers in elections , nor seriously impacted how legislation is passed & public policy formed. Even in the the headline here, note the choice of the word "fosters" as oppossed to "galvanizes" or "energizes" . [Click HERE for another recent post & article on this suject] ~~` TP
.

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"Internet Fosters Local Political Movements"
By RON FOURNIER
AP Political Writer
http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=1135653

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Frustrated by government and empowered by technology, Americans are filling needs and fighting causes through grass-roots organizations they built themselves -- some sophisticated, others quaintly ad hoc. This is the era of people-driven politics.

From a homemaker-turned-kingmaker in Pittsburgh to dog owners in New York to a 'gym rat' here in southwest Florida, people are using the Internet to do what politicians can't -- or won't -- do."

Internet redefining politics: new survey

~~ I disagree with the findings here. While the Internet is becoming "part" of politics in the USA, there has not been , nor will there be soon any major shift in political power.

The Republicans have used the internet to help
solidify their base better than the Democrats have.

This is because there is still a major Digital Divide in the USA,
with the wealthier Republicans having more broadband to use politically . ~~ ` `TP
----------------------------------------------------------------

Internet redefining politics: new survey: "Online campaigning is transforming US politics and empowering individual voters dwarfed by the might of the print and broadcast media, the author of a major new Internet use survey said."

http://www.physorg.com/news8706.html

EFF moves to block certification of e-voting systems | CNET News.com

I do not see any reason to believe that the Internet will be able to overcome the fundamental issue of trust for election voting anytime in the near future.

Paper ballots and their "hanging chads" while time consuming to count and not at all perfect, are still physically tangible.

And it does not take an advanced degree in micro-processor technologies to re-count the votes if there is a challenge by the losing side in a close race.
If the Florida votes in dispute during the 2000 Bush-Gore Presidential race had been Internet-Cast-Votes, history may have been different,
Maybe not, but I would not choose to risk it. To have the core of the American democratic process become an activity of cyber-space is something I find spooky. Hackers have proven to be some of the most talented minds of our time and there has yet to be a cyber-system that has been made impregnable to attack. When it come to voting for President or anything else, I would rather take my chances with the hanging chads~~~ TP .

***

EFF moves to block certification of e-voting systems

By Anne Broache

http://news.com.com/EFF+moves+to+block+certification+of+e-voting+systems/2100-1028_3-5988243.html

Story last modified Thu Dec 08 17:57:00 PST 2005 The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a court complaint Thursday aimed at blocking North Carolina's recent certifications of voting machines, saying state elections officials failed to meet legal requirements before signing off on the systems. The complaint (click for PDF), filed in Wake County Superior Court by the EFF and a Raleigh lawyer on behalf of a local voters' advocate, calls for a judge to void certifications that the Board of Elections issued last week to Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia Voting Systems. It also requests a restraining order that would prevent elections officials from certifying any new systems until they comply fully with state election laws. The state legislature modified those laws this summer, setting new standards for e-voting machines and requiring that existing systems be decertified. State elections officials 'exceeded their statutory authority' in signing off on the systems, because they disregarded the law in two areas, the complaint charges.

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."

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

BBC NEWS | Technology | Netting the connected electorate

~~~ In the USA 2004 race the Bush team "netted" the religious right. ~~ TP

BBC NEWS | Technology | Netting the connected electorate
"Widespread access to and use of the net is influencing the complex balance of influences that determine voting patterns and electoral outcomes. One of the comments made by several commentators this time around was that we did not seem to be having a "national" election but instead it was a collection of local contests. I know that this is how it is supposed to work, but the last 50 years have seen this model break down as national questions and national politicians dominate the debate, manipulating a suitably pliant media into reporting it in these terms. " The net, by creating connections between people and giving anyone who wanted it access to a vast pool of information on candidates, policies, likely outcomes and strategic options, did what it does best: it connected the nodes on the electoral map and allowed information to flow.

Study: More Using Web for Political News

~~~~ Ah , but are they getting substance in their news , reporting that really makes them think about and deeply examine the important life and death issues of our time ?

Or are they using the internet to get just simple minded knee-jerk , Rush Limbaugh-Fox- O'Reilly style junk ??

I report you decide !! ~~ TP

"Study: More using Web for political news"

By ANICK JESDANUN, AP INTERNET WRITER

"It's a channel difference not a substantive difference," said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet group and author of the study. "Newspaper executives probably now have to think of themselves less as newspaper people and more as content people."

NEW YORK (AP) - Reliance on the Internet for political news during last year's presidential campaign grew sixfold from 1996, while the influence of newspapers dropped sharply, according to a study issued Sunday.

Eighteen percent of American adults cited the Internet as one of their two main sources of news about the presidential races, compared with 3 percent in 1996. The reliance on television grew slightly to 78 percent, up from 72 percent.

Meanwhile, the influence of newspapers dropped to 39 percent last year, from 60 percent in 1996, according to the joint, telephone-based survey from the Pew Research Center for The People and the Press and the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Nonetheless, Americans who got campaign news over the Internet were more likely to visit sites of major news organizations like CNN and The New York Times (43 percent) rather than Internet-only resources such as candidate Web sites and Web journals, known as blogs (24 percent).

Twenty-eight percent said they primarily used news pages of America Online Inc., Yahoo Inc. and other online services, which carry dispatches from traditional news sources like The Associated Press and Reuters.

"It's a channel difference not a substantive difference," said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet group and author of the study. "Newspaper executives probably now have to think of themselves less as newspaper people and more as content people."

The study also found the political news audience more mainstream - more women, minorities, older Americans and lower-income users than before.

Fifty-eight percent of political news users cited convenience as their main reason for using the Internet. This group was more likely to use the Internet sites of traditional news organizations or online services.

But one-third of political news consumers cited a belief that they did not get all the news and information they wanted from papers and television, and another 11 percent said the Web had information not available elsewhere. These individuals were more likely to visit blogs or campaign sites for information.

And blogs, Rainie said, likely had an indirect influence on what campaigns talked about and what news organizations covered.

Blogs, for instance, have been credited with forcing an apology from CBS News anchor Dan Rather for last fall's "60 Minutes" report on President Bush's National Guard service.

Blogs "are having a modest level of impact on the voter side and probably a more dramatic impact on the institutional side," Rainie said. "Blogs are still a realm where very, very active and pretty elite, both technologically oriented people and politically oriented people go."

The study also found that the reliance on the Internet for political news was most pronounced among those with high-speed connections at home - 38 percent among broadband users against 28 percent among all Internet users. Reliance on newspapers was roughly even between those groups - 36 percent for broadband and 38 percent for all users.

Forty percent of Internet users found the Internet important in helping them decide for whom to vote, while 20 percent said the online information made a difference.

The random survey of 2,200 adults, including 1,324 Internet users, was conducted Nov. 4-22 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

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

"if campaign blogs and meetups and Internet fundraising is so important, how come Howard Dean is sitting on his couch right now?"

QUESTION: The question that's been on our minds recently: if campaign blogs and meetups and Internet fundraising is so important, how come Howard Dean is sitting on his couch right now?"

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

MY ANSWER:

That Stupid Shouting incident in IOWA !!! ~~tp

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Howard_Dean:_U.S._presidential_election,_2004

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March 04, 2004

NYU Technology & Politics Panel

Gothamist: NYU Technology & Politics Panel

"NYU Business and Law Schools are sponsoring a panel about the impact of technology on the current election cycle. The speakers on the panel include Scott Heiferman, representing meetup.com, and bloggers from the Dean and Clark campaigns, including Nicco Mele and Cam Barrett. If you were a Deaniac (was that ever considered an acceptable term?), you might want to come by, because there are rumors that Zephyr Teachout may make an appearance.

Congress Online: Much Sizzle, Little Steak

Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company
http://www.nytco.com/

June 24, 2003

Congress Online: Much Sizzle, Little Steak

By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE

ASHINGTON, June 23 — By now, almost every representative and every senator in Congress has a Web site. The sites offer a cornucopia of personal and hometown lore, in most cases virtually everything except what becomes legends most: their voting records.

For example, Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Republican of Colorado, bursts from his home page in a leather jacket, showing off his motorcycle, which is decorated with stars and stripes. Senators John B. Breaux and Mary L. Landrieu, Louisiana Democrats, give links to recipes for down-home Southern cooking.

None of these sites disclose the lawmakers' votes. And these sites are the rule.

A New York Times analysis of the Web sites has found that only 11 percent of senators and 40 percent of representatives provided some kind of information about their voting records, either a partial list of their major votes or a link to a vote-listing service. Many list their opinions, the bills they have sponsored and press releases. Only one senator, Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, provides her complete voting record.

Surveys by other groups suggest a strong desire by citizens to see the voting records of their lawmakers. Extensive work has been done on this subject by the Congress Online Project, a program financed by the Pew Charitable Trusts to improve electronic communication between members of Congress and the public. In addition, Ralph Nader, the consumer advocate, has organized Congressional interns to prod their bosses to post their voting records on their Web sites. Focus groups told the Pew researchers that they were not interested in every vote but wanted know the important ones.

The Times analysis found that besides Senator Feinstein's, the model sites were those of two Republican representatives, Christopher Shays of Connecticut and Frank R. Wolf of Virginia. Links to their voting records are heralded prominently on their home pages.

Others offer links to services like the Library of Congress's Thomas service (http://thomas.loc.gov/), Project Vote Smart (www.vote-smart.org) or congress.org, which can direct viewers to individual votes.

Some legislators are overhauling their sites to provide such links. Senator Breaux, for example, is in the midst of a redesign. His spokesman, Brian Weiss, said it would include a link to the Thomas service.

Some sites are so poorly designed that even when a link is available, it is not easy to find. Nothing on the site of Senator Daniel K. Akaka, Democrat of Hawaii, who appears on his home page with a green lei around his neck, refers to his voting record. Only by clicking on "links" and then stumbling into "federal government" — not the obvious repository for a voting record — can one then click on www.senate.gov and find a vote by navigating from there.

Paul Cardus, Senator Akaka's press secretary, said the site was being updated and would probably add a direct link and call it "voting record" to take the viewer to Thomas.

Some Web pages offer no links at all. Representative Richard A. Gephardt, the Missouri Democrat who is running for president, does not list his votes on his fairly limited House Web site or on his flashier campaign site. His spokesman, Erik Smith, said he knew of no demand for the votes but thought that listing them might be a good idea.

Critics like Mr. Nader say that while the links to services can help find a vote or two, trying to compile a voting record by year and by issue from these links is cumbersome, confusing and time-consuming.

Mr. Nader says some members are trying to obscure their votes.

Others take a more benign view. Brad Fitch, deputy director of the Congressional Management Foundation, which helped with the Congress Online Project, said many members were just getting up to speed with online technology.

"There is a learning curve," Mr. Fitch said.

He said some members had told him they did not provide quick access to their voting records because they did not want to do the research for their challengers back home.

Mr. Fitch says he responds like this: "I tell these members that I'm letting them in on a little secret — that the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee have computers, and this information is available."

He added: "The only thing a member does by not providing this information is send the wrong message to constituents. You're inviting them to go someplace else, and that's a lost opportunity, from a political and a communication standpoint."

It is not clear, however, that all lawmakers are behind the technology curve. Representative Wolf said he started making his voting record available by newsletter as soon as he was elected to Congress in 1980; an opponent had told voters they could "look up" his record, so Mr. Wolf promised to send his record out.

He adapted to the Internet without difficulty and lends his assistant to help others set up sites.

"It's like opening up a book," Mr. Wolf said. "You want everything to be there. And of course your votes should be. Ye shall know them by their fruits, they say, and our votes are our fruits."

Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

The State of E-Activism and CyberPolitics…

"The Below are 'WebClippings' w/ Links , related to my project. I think you may enjoy scanning the articles below the get a sense of How Digital Technologies are changing the logistics of Political Activism.

These Clippings are the result of many long hours digging the Web for relevant articles to my topic. While not all of the Clippings here directly relate to E-Activism from the Citizen prospective, they all provide valuable 'Net-Culture' background. The more I get into the topic I see myself going into four main areas:

1. E-Letter Writing, Lobby Campaigns, and Mobilization for rallies or marches. The goal here is the Cause. How is the web directly activating people? Several articles and emails are below with statistics.
2. The web as a Democratizing Information Portal.
3. The web site, www.ewg.org , operated by the Environmental Working Group, a small nonprofit organization had and still is having a major impact on this years Farm Bill debate , and was highlighted in a recent NY Times article. Political Campaigns (
4. where the goal is your vote.) As you will see from the clippings below, the 2000 race was the first national web race as well , and candidate websites were an important factor in many races.

Yahoo! Groups : ElectronicGovernment Messages : Message 326 of 674:

E-Government and E-Governance

SOME OTHER peoples BLURBS ON defining the terms

E-Government and E-Governance

"E-governance is beyond the scope of e-government..."

http://www.iadb.org/ict4dev/governance.htm

“E-governance is beyond the scope of e-government. While e-government is defined as a mere delivery of government services and information to the public using electronic means, e-governance allows direct participation of constituents in government activities. Blake Harris summarizes the e-governance as the following; E-governance is not just about government web site and e-mail. It is not just about service delivery over the Internet. It is not just about digital access to government information or electronic payments. It will change how citizens relate to governments as much as it changes how citizens relate to each other. It will bring forth new concepts of citizenship, both in terms of needs and responsibilities. E-governance will allow citizens to communicate with government, participate in the governments' policy-making and citizens to communicate each other. The e-governance will truly allow citizens to participate in the government decision-making process, reflect their true needs and welfare by utilizing e-government as a tool.”

http://www.iadb.org/ict4dev/governance.htm

e-governance

What is e-governance?
http://www.bangaloreit.com/html/egovern/egovern.htm

“E-governance or electronic governance may be defined as delivery of government services and information to the public using electronic means. Such means of delivering information is often referred to as information technology or 'IT' in short form. Use of IT in government facilitates an efficient, speedy and transparent process for disseminating information to the public and other agencies, and for performing government administration activities.”

http://www.bangaloreit.com/html/egovern/egovern.htm

http://www.aspanet.org/solutions/egov.html

What is E-Government?

“E-government is the pragmatic use of the most innovative information and communication technologies, like the internet, to deliver efficient and cost effective services, information and knowledge. It is an unequivocal commitment by decision makers to strengthening the partnership between the private citizen and the public sector. E-gov is a practical and permanent realization of government's vast potential.”

http://www.aspanet.org/solutions/egov.html

http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0612/pol-egov-06-12-00.asp

“Pat O’Neil, deputy assistant secretary for program and data analysis at the VA and chair of the steering committee, stressed the distinction between e-governance and e-government. E-governance entails the processes used to provide services to the public, while e-government is the tool to accomplish e-governance”.

http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2001/1203/news-egov-12-03-01.asp

Center offers e-governance resources

BY Dibya Sarkar
Dec. 3, 2001

The National Academy of Public Administration and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University intend for the Center for eGovernance (www.napawash.org/ce) to serve as a focal point for the emerging topic of e-governance, said Mike Dunham, who co-directs the center.

Dunham defines e-governance as the "people, processes and policies associated with managing technology," in contrast with the more familiar concept of e-government, which he describes as the technical aspects of putting government services online.

_________________________________END