Six years ago I was a Democratic GOTV volunteer for the Gore/Lieberman campaign (six long years ago) who did not have an internet connection at home in my studio apartment.
I would go the Claremont Branch of the Berkeley Public library every other night and use their computers to print out whatever polling I could find from races around the country. There was this guy, Zogby, who was consistently predicting a tighter finish to the Presidential race than what other polls had indicated. (Everybody was saying Bush was going to win handily.)
When it came to getting information about elections online, I was hooked. In fact, given the strength of the Nader campaign, I was concerned that Gore might win an electoral college victory but lose the popular vote. It spurred me into further action: I called my college friends on the telephone.
We’ve come a long way, baby…
I’m sitting here in a comfortable chair typing this on a Mac laptop with Airport Wifi after a hard day’s GOTV in Tracy California with folks I met online through the blog Dailykos.com. Two of the folks who joined me today had never been out canvassing before. The internet and a diary on dkos brought them to the party.
Now, I’m entering a diary on a website, Swing State Project, that made its name providing the kind of information in 2004 that I so hungrily ate up in 2000. Going forward, Swing State project will feature user-generated diaries and content, just like Dailykos.com.
This IS a new era.
I have no idea whether we will take the House or the Senate on Tuesday. I’m hopeful, but I know that none of us really knows.
But there is something I DO know already, and that is that we’ve passed through a portal and we aren’t turning back.
Blogging and doing politics on the internet have revolutionized political participation in this country.
Just like diaries on SSP, the internet has innovated how we participate. We are interactive. We do politics in an interaction-rich environment.
So, yes, today, in conversation with a Swing voter in Tracy California who was intending to vote for Richard Pombo…a fellow canvasser and I handed a flyer with the URL to Jerry McNerney’s website…a website designed by another colleague from dailykos (Malacandra)…and paid for in part with funds raised by soliciting netroots donations from all over the country, including this website.
The tag line for that online campaign? “We all Live in Richard Pombo’s District” A phrase I coined on my blog k/o one year ago.
Now perhaps we netroots canvassers swung that Tracy swing voter to our side. Perhaps not.
But that is nowhere near where we were, or I was personally, just six short years ago in 2000. Nowhere close.
And we all know it.
Win or lose. We’ve already won so much. We’ve crossed a threshhold and we aren’t turning back.
Congratulations on innovating participation by featuring diaries on SSP! It means a great deal to be one of the early diaries here.
We’ve only just begun.
peace
k/o
David and I are really thrilled to have user-generated diaries on Swing State now. I think it’s really going to change the dynamic here in a good way. And I can speak for myself when I say that I’m already pleased with the response so far.
work on the crusade to remove “Dirty Dick” Pombo!
And thanks for putting that Carpenter’s tune in my head, I think. LOL.
and sharing more of your tremendous inspiration for political participation beyond your valuable contributions on Medicare Schedule D. It takes real motivation to go to the library to get poll results.
I had internet service in 2000 and was an experienced user but I spent the 2000 election cycle searching for news, polls, and discussions supporting the Gore/Lieberman ticket – searching for a political home. This was the first election cycle I had not physically participated in because I had recently completed a year of chemo and then threw out the cigarettes (a 30+ yr habit).
I found Media Whores and then they departed to go out on the campaign trail. Then I was searching again and found BuzzFlash which lead to Daily Kos and I have been there every since.
Being involved in politics on DailyKos was a totally empowering experience for me because I could adopt races anywhere and make contributions and support, and see those contributions combined with others enabling an appreciable impact. This allows me to be involved and motivated, even though the choices in my red state are not ripe this year for much change.
My red state is not ripe,not directly, but will be for 2008. But that gives us time to get candidates lined up and there are so many brilliant and talented folks online who can help with every phase of the political process.
So I second kid oakland’s thoughts about this just being the beginning and it is so exciting to be on the ground floor. Personal growth is so exciting but the prospects of sharing and seeing that growth spread to others, multiplying our effects as this whole political process spreads like wildfire for the Democratic party.
My redstate is Kansas and when I say it is not ripe, I do injustice in many ways but I mean for me personally but I am excited about the prospects of post election preparation toward 2008 and participation in planning strategies.
I felt like only the lonely during the 2004 election cycle because I couldn’t find a place to fit in and ended up going to the local Democratic party office to purchase Kerry/Edwards signs because there wasn’t a Kerry office. So different than the Clinton/Gore office in downtown Wichita.
I took the email addresses of the two workers at the Democratic party office so that I could email the URL for dailykos because there was information I wanted them to see. What a difference a couple of years makes.
So I feel privileged now to have expanded my interests from DailyKos to Swing State Project and to be able to participate differently and hope to contribute in a meaningful way.
So here I am,
PaintyKat