The Power of the Internet and the Failure of Rovian Politics

[babylonsister]

The Power of the Internet and the Failure of Rovian Politics

Posted by Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post at 8:49 AM on October 21, 2008.


Age has finally become an issue for John McCain. But the problem isn't the candidate's 72 years; it's the antediluvian approach of his campaign.

McCain is running a textbook Rovian race: fear-based, smear-based, anything goes. But it isn't working. The glitch in the well-oiled machine? The Internet.

"We are witnessing the end of Rovian politics," Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google told me. And YouTube, which Google bought in 2006 for $1.65 billion, is one of the causes of its demise.

Thanks to YouTube -- and blogging and instant fact-checking and viral emails -- it is getting harder and harder to get away with repeating brazen lies without paying a price, or to run under-the-radar smear campaigns without being exposed.

But the McCain campaign hasn't gotten the message, hence the blizzard of racist, alarmist, xenophobic, innuendo-laden accusations being splattered at Obama.

And it seems that the worse McCain is doing in the polls, the more his team is relying on the same gutter tactics. So over the next 15 days, look for the McCain campaign to become even uglier. That's what happens when following Rovian politics is your only strategy -- and Rovian politics isn't working.

McCain has stockpiled his campaign with Rove henchmen, including not one but three of the people responsible for the political mugging inflicted on him in 2000.

more...

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/103942/the_power_of_the_internet_and_the_failure_of_rovian_politics/

[snot]

1. But 'net neutrality + the like are already severely undermined, must be URGENT priorities!

[babylonsister]

3. Here's an article I recalled about Obama and net neutrality...

I hope he means it. So much to do.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/10/29/obama-promises-to-reinsta_n_70317.html

Obama Promises To Reinstate Net Neutrality During First Year In Office

October 29, 2007


Today, Net Neutrality became a presidential campaign issue when Senator Barack Obama answered an enthusiastic "Yes!" along with a thorough response to a question posed during an MTV event by a member of MoveOn.org.

"Would you make it a priority in your first year of office to re-instate Net Neutrality as the law of the land?" asked Joe Niederberger, a New Jersey small business owner. "And would you pledge to only appoint FCC commissioners that support open Internet principles like Net Neutrality?"

Net Neutrality--known as the First Amendment of the Internet--is the principle that prevents Internet providers from choosing what websites their customers can access (often based on which websites pay the most money). It was the law of the land until companies like AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast got the Bush-appointed FCC to slate it for elimination in 2005. For Net Neutrality to survive, it must be re-instated back into the law.

I I am a strong supporter of net neutrality," said Obama. "What you've been seeing is some lobbying that says should be able to be gatekeepers and able to charge different rates to different websites...so you could get much better quality from the Fox News site and you'd be getting rotten service from the mom and pop sites. And that I think destroys one of the best things about the Internet -- which is that there is this incredible equality there...as president I'm going to make sure that is the principle that my FCC commissioners are applying as we move forward."

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. It's been laughable

to hear Rep. Bachmann shrilly say "I did't say that!" when the youtube video, uncut, shows exactly what she said on Hardball. Every comment, every action can now be caught on film. I'm thinking that the McCain crew attempted some damage control with that video of pro-McCain Muslims confronting a man selling an anti-Islamic bumper sticker. But they didn't follow up with allowing the McCain worker to go on talk shows, which makes it appear that the whole thing was staged--or that McCain was fearful of losing the anti-Muslim vote.