Is the Internet a Powerful Political Tool?

Insight ^ | Oct. 8, 2003 | John Elvin

[Vindiciae Contra TyrannoSCOTUS]

One of the great hopes of many in the political arena has been that the Internet might provide an easy way to reach that most precious element of the political public, the undecided voter. A new book by two political-science professors, Campaigning Online from Oxford University Press, refutes that, contending that while the Internet is an excellent way to stay in touch with supporters, it does not help substantially as an outreach tool.

Summing up the findings, Richard Davis of Brigham Young University said "there was a presumption that the Internet would activate the inactive, interest the less-interested and convert the undecided to a particular candidate. That hasn't panned out." He and coauthor Bruce Bimber of the University of California at Santa Barbara found through a comprehensive study of recent and ongoing campaigns (with particular emphasis on Howard Dean's use of the Internet) that the sites posted by or for candidates are for the most part serving to reinforce and connect with voters who already are committed.

"Voters are using the Internet, as they use any other medium, to reinforce what they already believe," Davis said in a statement accompanying announcement of the new book. "They don't want to spend a lot of time arguing with their computer screen, or with their television or with their newspaper. But they seek out in these media their predisposed values and have them reinforced."

One of the more interesting findings presented in the book is that the Internet can be a useful tool in low-profile races where the candidates are not getting a lot of attention from other media. The researchers found that voters who viewed sites related to state-level races came away with a greater knowledge of the candidates. "This could be a very useful tool for a candidate in a low-profile campaign, such as a city-council race or a state legislative race," Davis contends. But there's a slight problem. The challenge, he noted, "is getting people to the Website."

John Elvin is the national correspondent for Insight.

[Vindiciae Contra TyrannoSCOTUS]

"is getting people to the Website."

And overcoming their Oprah addiction.

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[Little Bill]

The old Prodigy BBS, was IMHO, the making of conservitive networking. I had been active in Republican Politics since I was Youth For Goldwater, in 1964, signed on the Prodigy Current Events BBS in 1988, damn more conservitive opinion available than I had thought possible.

Living in a slave state, the ability to talk to other conservitives and plot against the rats keeps hope alive among the oppressed masses (Conservitive Republicans).

[jern]

for later

[jmaroneps37]

This man obviously has very little understanding about how opinions are formed and reenforced. If he was right, how does he think we on the east coast got the truth about the recall, for instance? Moreover he completely overlooks the "rat lethal" result of mixing The Net with Talk Radio and FOXtv. People use the net for bolstering truths with more facts because they know the material will be there. WE KNOW for sure that we won't find the truth on broadcast tv or in our local rat newspaper. All in all I believe this guy was just trying to do what the rat media always does: tell us we don't really know anything but; they'll help us figure things out. No thanks pal.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

A stupid unfactual and untrue article.

We as conservatives, for the most part go only to conservative sites to seek the information and news we can trust.

IMHO, Free Republic allows only the most vetted stories to stand as truth as we know it. I can think of no article or published story from the left, the right, or down the middle, that is not publicly vetted for facts and the truth. I learn far more from the Freepers who weigh in with critiquing posts, than I ever could learn from the articles and stories as written.

For the truth, Freepers forever.

[inquest]

While it may be true that the Internet has been good psychotherapy for conservatives, the jury's still out on whether it's actually resulted in a conservative turnaround in American politics. Unfortunately, government looks like it's continuing its leftward slide, at least right at the moment.