A 49 district strategy
This just in from the AP: the internet tubes are important.
The big difference between 2004 and 2006 is that we learned not to give our money to someone like John Kerry, who is still sitting on a ton of money, but to give directly to candidates that otherwise would have had difficulty competing. When people talk about the expansion of the playing field, that was a big part of it.
The same general principle holds true at the state and local level. Progressive blogs and people who donate via progressive activities, whatever they may be, don't necessarily help well-established candidates all that much.
Sure, it's nice to reward our friends, but the real action is in supporting quality candidates who might otherwise fall through the cracks.
At one level, politics is really simple. If we have better candidates than the Republicans, we generally win. Granted, there will always be tough losses.
That's just how things go.
One long term goal is to take the "50 state strategy" and create a "49 district strategy" at the state level. Sure, we have huge majorities right now, but that can't last forever. Republicans shouldn't get a pass at any seats on the west side of the state, for starters, especially in growing suburban districts.
Campaigns are eager to substitute online video for a broadcast version.We might add that it's also going to take careful selection of candidates.
"Clearly online video is rapidly chewing away at traditional TV time," said Nikko Mele, Dean's campaign webmaster from 2004. "We are taking time usually spent watching television and watching the Web. It's not clear how campaigns are going to take advantage of that."
The heaviest users of the online video are people age 18-34, according to an Associated Press-AOL poll from this summer. It is an age group with a low, not high, voter turnout record. Also people in this group generally do not give major donations to campaign. But they are the ones who can create a buzz.
"Every trend that existed four years ago exists double-so, triple-so now," Mele said. "There is plenty of opportunity online. It's going to require innovation, risk taking."
The big difference between 2004 and 2006 is that we learned not to give our money to someone like John Kerry, who is still sitting on a ton of money, but to give directly to candidates that otherwise would have had difficulty competing. When people talk about the expansion of the playing field, that was a big part of it.
The same general principle holds true at the state and local level. Progressive blogs and people who donate via progressive activities, whatever they may be, don't necessarily help well-established candidates all that much.
Sure, it's nice to reward our friends, but the real action is in supporting quality candidates who might otherwise fall through the cracks.
At one level, politics is really simple. If we have better candidates than the Republicans, we generally win. Granted, there will always be tough losses.
That's just how things go.
One long term goal is to take the "50 state strategy" and create a "49 district strategy" at the state level. Sure, we have huge majorities right now, but that can't last forever. Republicans shouldn't get a pass at any seats on the west side of the state, for starters, especially in growing suburban districts.
