Dean Barker, a managing editor at the community blog
Blue Hampshire, has a very thoughtful post up today praising the Dodd campaign's internet outreach strategy, particularly as we're reaching into New Hampshire. First, Dean has "a light bulb moment" about internet politics in this cycle. This commentary follows:
Chris Dodd's campaign has figured out how to use the internet effectively, and the others haven't. He's got the only team in place that seems to have advanced the Howard Dean campaigning-via-internet revolution of 2003-4.
Sure, all the contenders have formidable websites, and some of the bigger ones even have their own NH-based subsites. Edwards' is clearly the most "people-powered". But they all share one thing in common: they are fiefdoms unto themselves. To see netroots Hillary, Obama, Edwards, et alii in action, you have to first go to their websites. That's like requiring a Granite Stater during the primary to come to a candidate's HQ to learn more about them.
Chris Dodd has decided that he will leverage the internet to come to you instead. Important Iraq funding bill coming up? Bang, a diary and a YouTube almost immediately. Civil Unions passed in New Hampshire? Zoom, another YouTube, from a NH house party. Nothing flashy, no slick production values. But suddenly, people who are not on a candidate's website are learning about Chris Dodd, and getting a clear picture of where he stands. That's a whole lot more powerful than a web ad, which, if you haven't noticed, we aren't doing at the moment.
It's so freaking easy. Voters have to find you before they can hear you. Team Dodd has figured that out.
It's the internet version of New Hampshire retail politics.
We believe firmly in using blogs, video content, and social networking communities to share information about Chris Dodd. Providing a window into the campaign, into what Senator Dodd believes and cares about, is not a hard decision for us to make, even if it's a rare one in the managed, crafted world of presidential politics. We think the more you get to know Chris Dodd, the more you'll like him. That goes for people who get their news and information online, as well as those folks lucky enough to attend political events in the early primary states.
As I said yesterday in a
radio interview with Colin McEnroe, we believe the internet allows us to engage people around the country in the same kitchen-table settings that Senator Dodd is meeting voters in Iowa and New Hampshire. Not everyone who we, as a campaign, want to talk to will have the privilege of sharing a conversation in person with Chris Dodd. But we can make that number smaller through live video chats like this week on
FireDogLake or sharing clips of the Senator speaking on
YouTube.
With that in mind, our desire to proactively ensure that as many people as possible get to take a look through the virtual window that we're creating into the Dodd campaign is clear. It's what the Dodd internet team is here to do and it's how we can best get more people to join us in our belief that Chris Dodd is the best candidate to provide real leadership at a time when America needs it most.
