There is a growing sentiment that local Democratic party leadership feels threatened by the web. See MyDD, Albert, Booman Tribune, and Young Philly Politics.
We are going to seek out interviews here at Philly Future to clarify what was ment when Democratic Party Secretary and Ward Leader Carol Campbell, recently stated (Philadelphia Public Record) "We need to understand the Internet and to teach our people how to use it. We need to battle the bloggers on their own turf. This takes additional resources.".
As a host of a service that empowers individuals to speak out, exercise their free speech, and engage their leadership, I would like to know more by what is meant by that statement. Blogs represent an opportunity to connect, not an opposition to fight.
battle the blogger? what BS
Karl - we are going to cross post this on our site. what BS! If any group is familiar with sentiments such as this, well it's us. Let's see, we need MANY hands to count all the blogger comments that are irrational that we have gotten. Every time we turned around in the heat of our quest to end eminent domain for private gain in Ardmore, there was a reference to blogging - like it was some sort of pervasive evil, instead of what it is, which is among other things, citizen or plurality input.
Carol Campbell is speaking in riddles - look at Keystone Politics www.keystonepolitics.com , how great a job to do they do? That is an awesome resource for politics state wide. Also look at candidate web sites - many of the candidate websites have blogs built in, only not all candidates utilize it, nor do people comment.
We think that people like her are afraid of blogs because of the true voices you get representative from all types of people. Also, we think they are afraid of blogs because it is a PR machine of the people, by the people, and for the people .
Blogs are a modern embodiment of the rights our forefathers fought for. If people like this Carol Campbell are afraid of blogs, it is because they haven't figured a way to control them, and because they are a non traditional PR machine.
If local Democratic party leadership (would that be Philly or Philly Region?), then there is more wrong with the political process than we thought OR political parties need to field BETTER candidates that more people out there can embrace whole heartedly...
very thought provoking...
Dems and Blogs
Democrats feel threatened by blogs because bloggers don't just uncritically repeat the pap found in the MSM. Democrats can't tell people what they stand for, or what their plans are, or how they plan to implement them -- all they can do is obfuscate and obstruct and complain.
Or to widen the net,
they're essentially doing what any power structure does in the face of pressure from an unfamiliar (or counter-balanced) source: they're getting poised to fight it, the same way Wal-Mart clamps down on any organizing effort by its employees; the same way the Bush administration bashes the media for not taking every White House press release as written; the same way anyone who has an advantage will protect it at almost any cost.
It's human nature, just not one of the prettier facets of it.