Personal Democracy Forum 2008
Note by Mr. Jordan Raynor:
Elizabeth Edwards and Andrew Rasiej
Elizabeth joining us via Skype! Pretty cool! What a cool way for here to be here.
In April, she wrote a news article that attacked the news media for focusing on nonsense issues rather than sensible issues.
E.E.: Online media did a better job of covering relative news in this election cycle than did other news outlets. With traditional news outlets, we are beginning to see the lost of honesty. This however can be restored in the "new" medium of the internet.
Andrew: What do you have to say about the Pew study that was recently released that said that 50% of Americans are now getting their news for this election cycle on the internet?
E.E.: Of course it is a wonderful thing, but I fear that some people only go to one news source, such as CNN, and then that is all. She also mentioned that she was concerned about what % of these people actually go out and vote.
E.E.: There is an education gap with the internet. Most people 30+ did not grow up learning about the internet in school. This is a problem for us. America has a huge learning curve to get over. The voters who need the most education on the issues, don't know how to do it online.
Andrew: Can we speed up the process of bringing the internet mainstream?
E.E.: Not really. She mentioned that she is very web savvy and doesn't even carry around a laptop.
Andrew: Do candidates understand the power of the internet on the future of America?
E.E.: Right now, candidates really only see the fundraising benefits of the internet. Lesser known candidates are however forced to rely on the internet more heavily or else they will get lost (cited Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee). Field operations are managed through the internet more and more so from a Party structure standpoint, the internet has been made more mainstream in political field operations. Elizabeth mentioned that she is for the most part disappointed in how little candidates know about the internet and how limited their understanding is of what we can accomplish through the web.
E.E.: When asked if there was tension between the Old Guard and the New Guard within the Edwards' campaign regarding the web, she said that she did not know of any. At the end of the day though, online presence is supposed to generate votes. The goal is always to win. Luckily for John Edwards, his base of support came from community activists and organizers who were fairly well connected through the internet.
E.E.: Candidates must push their websites through the old media gates. It's the only way to usher in the new media. Elizabeth cited HRC and how she would mention "Visit hillaryclinton.com" repeatedly in her speeches. This had a big effect on her campaign.
E.E.: Elizabeth expressed disappointment in the fact that Amanda Marcotte was forced to step down from the Edwards' campaign. She was sorry that Amanda had to go through the personal price.
Andrew: What do you think about Obama opting out of public financing?
E.E.: Obama did not need to do this to establish himself amongst grassroots people. He had already done that. There will be no long term price for Obama to pay for this because she believes McCain is the real hypocrite and flip-flopper.
E.E.: Bundlers and grassroots fundraisers are both here to stay. Bundlers are essential to getting a campaign off the ground, but as Obama has shown, grassroots fundraisers are a huge asset.
Andrew: If elected, Obam will have access to a 3 million person email list. Will these people keep Obama accountable to his campaign promises?
E.E.: Hope so. He has to turn that list into political muscle. Obama campaign has the ability to micro-target those lists by congressional districts so they can send them out for their supporters to lobby members of Congress on particular issues such as health care.
Andrew: How should the next President use the internet?
E.E.: She made reference to her sons shirt that read "He who dies with the most toys wins." It is very important to use the political capital they gain from the election wisely. GWB did a terrible job of this, she says, after 9/11. America is moving towards a time of great transparency. We can make government much more open than it is today.
E.E.: One example, is that we could make all the information for prescription drugs available online. Just like food, consumers would be able to see every fact about every drug including price and what it sells for in other countries.
Andrew: Would you lobby an Obama or McCain administration to create a CTO or CIO cabinet position?
E.E.: I don't think i would. She would lobby to require every government agency to make information accessible to the public. Today we only find out what these agencies are doing if there is a scandal or if a celebrity is involved and that is simply ridiculous according to Elizabeth Edwards.
Andrew: The role of the internet is evolving into a tool for transparency. Will this keep our politicians more honest?
E.E.: I hope so but after Bill Clinton we still had Eliot Spitzer.
Andrew: What's your role in Obama's healthcare policy plan?
E.E.: She is working with the campaign to develop policy ideas.
Andrew: Will you endorse Obama?
E.E.: I will do whatever I can to get him elected.
Audience Question: How will you continue advocacy after the campaign?
E.E.: 17 out of the 19 POTUS candidates for 2008 are out. I hope we can leave a legacy. Email lists will allow the Edwards family to do a lot of good through advocacy.
E.E.: Social networks such as Facebook can give a false sense of support. Just because obama has a million facebook friends does not mean a whole lot. When there is even a hint of celebrity to one of these profiles, they are distorted. They can be used for mass messaging though.
Audience Question: How can people be involved in the political process when they are working 3 jobs and don't have the time to pay attention to what is going on?
E.E.: This is a HUGE problem. But, the internet is the fastest medium in which to get news so if someone is going to be informed, the internet is probably the best place to do it.
Audience Question: Who is the best poverty reporter in the U.S.?
E.E.: Jason Deparli
Andrew: Any last thoughts?
E.E.: Putting up interactive polls are really fun for readers, but you should really link them to CNN polls or newspaper polls that have a broader audience than your own.
John Edwards walked into the living room of their house completely unexpected to everyone and also let the audience know that Andrew Rasiej had done work for the Edwards campaign. Here is what John Edwards had to say:
The internet will have an enormous impact on the race in 2008. The internet is the ONLY reason that Obama is denying public financing for his campaign.
Elizabeth joining us via Skype! Pretty cool! What a cool way for here to be here.
In April, she wrote a news article that attacked the news media for focusing on nonsense issues rather than sensible issues.
E.E.: Online media did a better job of covering relative news in this election cycle than did other news outlets. With traditional news outlets, we are beginning to see the lost of honesty. This however can be restored in the "new" medium of the internet.
Andrew: What do you have to say about the Pew study that was recently released that said that 50% of Americans are now getting their news for this election cycle on the internet?
E.E.: Of course it is a wonderful thing, but I fear that some people only go to one news source, such as CNN, and then that is all. She also mentioned that she was concerned about what % of these people actually go out and vote.
E.E.: There is an education gap with the internet. Most people 30+ did not grow up learning about the internet in school. This is a problem for us. America has a huge learning curve to get over. The voters who need the most education on the issues, don't know how to do it online.
Andrew: Can we speed up the process of bringing the internet mainstream?
E.E.: Not really. She mentioned that she is very web savvy and doesn't even carry around a laptop.
Andrew: Do candidates understand the power of the internet on the future of America?
E.E.: Right now, candidates really only see the fundraising benefits of the internet. Lesser known candidates are however forced to rely on the internet more heavily or else they will get lost (cited Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee). Field operations are managed through the internet more and more so from a Party structure standpoint, the internet has been made more mainstream in political field operations. Elizabeth mentioned that she is for the most part disappointed in how little candidates know about the internet and how limited their understanding is of what we can accomplish through the web.
E.E.: When asked if there was tension between the Old Guard and the New Guard within the Edwards' campaign regarding the web, she said that she did not know of any. At the end of the day though, online presence is supposed to generate votes. The goal is always to win. Luckily for John Edwards, his base of support came from community activists and organizers who were fairly well connected through the internet.
E.E.: Candidates must push their websites through the old media gates. It's the only way to usher in the new media. Elizabeth cited HRC and how she would mention "Visit hillaryclinton.com" repeatedly in her speeches. This had a big effect on her campaign.
E.E.: Elizabeth expressed disappointment in the fact that Amanda Marcotte was forced to step down from the Edwards' campaign. She was sorry that Amanda had to go through the personal price.
Andrew: What do you think about Obama opting out of public financing?
E.E.: Obama did not need to do this to establish himself amongst grassroots people. He had already done that. There will be no long term price for Obama to pay for this because she believes McCain is the real hypocrite and flip-flopper.
E.E.: Bundlers and grassroots fundraisers are both here to stay. Bundlers are essential to getting a campaign off the ground, but as Obama has shown, grassroots fundraisers are a huge asset.
Andrew: If elected, Obam will have access to a 3 million person email list. Will these people keep Obama accountable to his campaign promises?
E.E.: Hope so. He has to turn that list into political muscle. Obama campaign has the ability to micro-target those lists by congressional districts so they can send them out for their supporters to lobby members of Congress on particular issues such as health care.
Andrew: How should the next President use the internet?
E.E.: She made reference to her sons shirt that read "He who dies with the most toys wins." It is very important to use the political capital they gain from the election wisely. GWB did a terrible job of this, she says, after 9/11. America is moving towards a time of great transparency. We can make government much more open than it is today.
E.E.: One example, is that we could make all the information for prescription drugs available online. Just like food, consumers would be able to see every fact about every drug including price and what it sells for in other countries.
Andrew: Would you lobby an Obama or McCain administration to create a CTO or CIO cabinet position?
E.E.: I don't think i would. She would lobby to require every government agency to make information accessible to the public. Today we only find out what these agencies are doing if there is a scandal or if a celebrity is involved and that is simply ridiculous according to Elizabeth Edwards.
Andrew: The role of the internet is evolving into a tool for transparency. Will this keep our politicians more honest?
E.E.: I hope so but after Bill Clinton we still had Eliot Spitzer.
Andrew: What's your role in Obama's healthcare policy plan?
E.E.: She is working with the campaign to develop policy ideas.
Andrew: Will you endorse Obama?
E.E.: I will do whatever I can to get him elected.
Audience Question: How will you continue advocacy after the campaign?
E.E.: 17 out of the 19 POTUS candidates for 2008 are out. I hope we can leave a legacy. Email lists will allow the Edwards family to do a lot of good through advocacy.
E.E.: Social networks such as Facebook can give a false sense of support. Just because obama has a million facebook friends does not mean a whole lot. When there is even a hint of celebrity to one of these profiles, they are distorted. They can be used for mass messaging though.
Audience Question: How can people be involved in the political process when they are working 3 jobs and don't have the time to pay attention to what is going on?
E.E.: This is a HUGE problem. But, the internet is the fastest medium in which to get news so if someone is going to be informed, the internet is probably the best place to do it.
Audience Question: Who is the best poverty reporter in the U.S.?
E.E.: Jason Deparli
Andrew: Any last thoughts?
E.E.: Putting up interactive polls are really fun for readers, but you should really link them to CNN polls or newspaper polls that have a broader audience than your own.
John Edwards walked into the living room of their house completely unexpected to everyone and also let the audience know that Andrew Rasiej had done work for the Edwards campaign. Here is what John Edwards had to say:
The internet will have an enormous impact on the race in 2008. The internet is the ONLY reason that Obama is denying public financing for his campaign.
