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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ilaine who wrote (2725)	6/27/2003 4:46:03 AM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793888

One-Click Politics By Howard Kurtz Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, June 26, 2003; 8:41 AM So what are we to make of the first Internet primary in recorded history? Pretty cool stuff, in a way. It's a way of harnessing the reach of online communications to spur large numbers of people to "vote," if that's the right word, for an '04 Democrat. It translates the power of a community -- in this case, liberals who don't like George Bush -- with the click of a mouse (or, more accurately, many mice). And it's more than an empty exercise, since there could be pot of gold for the winner at the end of the virtual rainbow. The group is MoveOn.org, and its coloration is clear from its poster ("Regime Change Begins at Home") and recent newspaper ad calling Bush a "MISleader" on WMD. But it turns out that conducting an online primary isn't as easy as ordering a book from Amazon. There were the inevitable technical difficulties, as too many people tried to access the Web site. Beyond that, rivals are charging that the contest was tilted to favor Howard Dean , whose insurgent campaign has relied heavily on the Internet to raise money and features its own blog. The top of the page blares: Vote for "Dean in the MoveOn.org Primary." This is hardly a perfect case study in participatory democracy. But it gives ordinary folks, or at least plugged-in political activists, a chance to make their voice heard in an arena often dominated by big corporations and unions. Within a few years, this sort of thing will probably be routine. But right now, it's a first. washingtonpost.com