Blogs

Let's contrast the recent visits of two American politicians to the Federal Republic of Germany ... First, here's a snapshot (courtesy of the Associated Press) of Barack Obama's speech in Berlin:

Second, a smaller image of the reception the President received when he landed in Germany (courtesy of Der Spiegel):

While not conclusive, I'd say, at least, anecdotally, that these two pictures, juxtaposed, represent (Old) Europe's preference in terms of which candidate, & more generally, which political party, they'd like to see (back) in power in Washington.

Now, I will say that, as a proud American, I don't bow to foreigners, nor do I like to be told what to think by those outside of this country. But it is important for America, as a leader in the world, to be respected & admired by our allies in Europe, & the notion that 200,000 mostly non-Americans were waving American Flags during Barack's speech simply takes my breath away, & should make us all think.

Also, I think the state of our relations with Europe, what I like to call the George W. Bush meets Michael Scott school of foreign policy ("Would I rather be feared or loved? Um ... Easy, both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me."), is defunct, & perhaps we need to explore a more equal friendship with the major European powers (as well as the rest of the world).

So... finally I have video uploaded to YouTube from Netroots Nation.

My post for Rock the Vote is here and includes this video. But below I want to share interviews in their entirety that include everything they have to say. To see all the videos I'm uploading here's the YouTube channel.

There were a lot of things to talk about. Notably the myth that bloggers are young. I knew that, but had never quite seen that in action. There were many of us that were certainly under 30 and more under 40, but such a huge number of them that were older, x-hippies maybe... I think there is an assumption that we are all young and the reality was odd.

The next thing I found moving and a huge compliment was the overwhelming number of candidates that were there to court bloggers. In Kansas, most people (except the Slattery's) haven't discovered technology, and communicating with bloggers is something only few do because some see it as a loss of message control. To have so many candidates, BIG candidates asking for our help with covering their campaign or their issues was a huge compliment. Al Gore telling us that our ability to get a message out and drive traffic to an issue was the ultimate pick-me-up.

Another major plus was that the candidates there seem to all be on board with young voters and recognizing the importance of the youth vote this election. In fact both Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Gov. Howard Dean seemed to have received the same talking points and crafted the same message. Their hope is pined on young people. Pelosi goes so far to say that the impatience of youth is something she values and appreciates. Its an interesting spin from the Thomas Friedman et al's of the world who want to talk about how we want it now... Turns out, sometimes its good to demand things. They also both agree that this is a generational election - and the old vs. new dichotomy is being emphasized.

The best conversation I had with Rep. Pelosi was about technology. (video should be totally uploaded soon, it was still processing) I love young voters, but given my outspoken activism on Let Our Congress Tweet and my obsession with looking at how we can incorporate technology to connect constituents to their members better and more effectively... hearing her perspective on her outreach, how she encourages other members to do it, and her ideas about the Franking Rules were all things I wanted to understand more.

I understand where she's coming from, I really do. The last thing we want is to allow members to campaign on the taxpayers dime... I mean what's next!? Public Financing?!! Steps from anarchy... And I should have been ballsy enough to follow up, but this was the first time I'd met her before... so I was seriously nervous. Looking at how we can connect people with their Representatives isn't about campaigns... I can be used that way, but I think the more important thing is to connect people to their member from an issue and policy stand point and for services. If there are previsions in place to protect against the "campaign" stuff... then why would the rest be bad? Next time I won't be as much of a candy ass... I promise. Lets also note that I didn't get a Let My Congress Tweet Button, which makes me deeply saddened.

Libertarian Presidential candidate Rep. Bob Barr crashed NN and attended a few panels. Most notably he said two things: First, young people, he said, are pulling away from the two party system. Secondly, he said that young people were courted in the 80's but that they were allowed to fall away because no one let them be part of the policy agenda.

First comment he's right, young people do like to be decline to state or independent voters... but unfortunately for Bob it doesn't mean Libertarianism is suddenly a sexy thing that can get enough young voters to win Bob's election. The second comment is key and its something Pelosi alludes to. Creating a partnership with young voters and funneling that into how we can impact policy once the election is over will be the key to the future if a President and a party can give them a seat at the table.

We've talked about this before, and I'm really beginning to see it more and hear that policy makers are hearing it. The question remains, however, if there will be any kind of plan in place for a post-election strategy for young voters to impact the policies and candidates' legislative agendas January moving forward. Bob claims a major reason we lost young voters was because this wasn't done. I think he has something there.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome had some caused as much a stir in the halls as Bob Barr did. His comments were more focused on the authenticity of candidates and incorporating heart and soul with brains. That makes sense, I think one thing Tony Cani brought up at the Online/Offline Panel on Saturday was about the extent to which we've been marketed to to death. Could that be a reason that we crave authenticity? Or that we weigh the recommendations and endorsements from friends higher than tv commercials?

There were many other great interviews I did with bloggers, individuals, and politicians from Robin Carnahan, Secretary of State from Missouri who fought the ID law there like you wouldn't believe, Charlie Brown in the CA-4th one of my favorite candidates, Jon Powers New York Congressional Candidate, young candidate, and former soldier who we're hoping to have here doing a liveblog in the next few weeks, and Joe Garcia running for Congress in FL-25... Who tells us all below that if we come out to help on his campaign they have a beach house waiting for us... I'm kinda thinking about that actually.

Robin Carnahan I want to post when I do a larger piece about voting rights, and Jon Powers I want to post when we're about to do his live blog. Also.. I just haven't had enough time to upload them all after cutting everything. As I mentioned there will be much more and I'll post them as the become available. I sadly did NOT get to talk to Vice President Al Gore. And of all people who would be great to talk to about young people and their role in combating climate change, you'd think he'd want to talk about that that... but it didn't happen. Here's to hoping sometime this season I can talk to him about his WE campaign and what he thinks about young voters.

Cross-posted at Project Vote's Voting Matters Blog

Weekly Voting Rights News Update

By Erin Ferns

In 2000, Florida’s disastrous effort to purge former felons from voter rolls resulted in the disenfranchisement of hundreds if not thousands of legitimate voters and clearly influenced the outcome of the presidential contest in that state. History may repeat itself this November with states taking potentially reckless and unlawful measures to clean voter rolls before Election Day.

Voter purges are one of several problems in the administration of elections that could not only bar legal voters from the polls, but could potentially influence the outcome of close races. Project Vote is monitoring this practice across the United States and sees what could be an alarming trend of illegal purging emerging. The New York Times and Mississippi's Clarion Ledger both reported on voter purging problems in the South this week.

Keeping accurate and current voter rolls is an important legal mandate for election officials. Under the National Voter Registration Act, states are required to contact voters directly through forwardable mail. If the voter does not respond, the state must wait two federal elections before removing the voter from the rolls. However, many states have begun to compare their voter rolls with those of neighboring states and pro-actively canceling a voter's registration based on a positive “match” rather than following the list maintenance procedures of NVRA.

Project Vote has recently expressed concern to Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne over the state's method of removing voters from rolls, as reported in the Times on Tuesday. Project Vote has learned that Louisiana compares voter lists with other jurisdictions, purging voters solely upon apparent database matches of first name, last name and birth date. With millions of people living in a multi-state region, it is not uncommon to find more than one John Smith born on the same day. Additionally, the possibility of human and typographical error that occur in all large databases creates a greater risk of unjustified disenfranchisement.

“A spokesman for Louisiana's secretary of state said that all voters found to have duplicate registrations were sent at least one warning letter and sometimes two, but that the last such actions were done some 13 months ago,” the Times reported.

“'We're specifically not doing it right in front of an election,'” said Dardenne's spokesman.
Election officials in Madison County, Miss. have recently decided to forgo a potentially illegal mass mailing process as part of their effort to purge the county’s voter rolls after the U.S. Justice Department and others warned against it, according the Clarion Ledger Tuesday. Last week, Project Vote sent a letter to the elections commission out of concern that their mass mailing plan violated the Voting Rights Act.

“They are doing something that is understandable when you have a voter roll that appears to be out of proportion,” said voting rights lawyers who works with Project Vote, Estelle Rogers. “But there are a lot of Ps and Qs that must be followed.”

County supervisor Karl Banks repeatedly voted against the mass mailing, saying that “his understanding of the law was that commissioners needed a reason to believe that a voter's information may not be accurate.” He argued that in this presidential election year, the commission should focus on making sure elections run smoothly, such as informing people of their correct precinct.

“The mildest things confuse people and can ultimately disenfranchise people during elections...Here we are wanting to disenfranchise people because they don't send a card back?”

The emerging trend of state compacts to compare voter databases and engage in aggressive efforts to purge their voter rolls is troubling for both its opacity – the public is not informed of the criteria for being purged nor are purged voters offered the chance to remedy the situation – and its reliance on strict matching criteria. Large databases are riddled with errors, therefore the sole reliance on exact matches virtually guarantees that legal voters will be knocked off the rolls and denied the right to vote.
The Florida example from 2000 should be instructive on on how these practices could affect the outcome of closely contested races on Election Day.

Quick Links:

Contact:

Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne

Madison County (Miss.) Board of Supervisors

Reports:

“Maintaining Current and Accurate Voters Lists.” Project Vote. Dec. 22, 2006.

“A Summary of the National Voter Registration Act.” Project Vote.

“A Summary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.” Project Vote.

In Other News:

Federal judge weighs challenge to AZ voter id law - Tucson Citizen [Ariz.]
PHOENIX (AP) -- A federal judge is weighing a challenge to Arizona requirements for voter identification and proof of citizenship for registering to vote.

County voter drive blocked: Fewer New Citizens Registered After US Agency Changes Rule - Mercury News [Ca.]
It was a procedure that produced a bumper crop of new voters: Just before Santa Clara County immigrants were sworn in as U.S. citizens, they got voter-registration cards and were shown how to fill them out. At the conclusion of the naturalization ceremony, most new citizens had signed the cards and handed them in to become registered voters.

State Says It May Sue VA - Associated Press
Connecticut officials say the state might sue the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs if it continues to block efforts to educate and register voters in federal veterans' facilities.

Voter-sign-up drive targets 16-year olds - Miami Herald
Voter registration for next month's primary election will end Monday, and the push now is aimed at teens who are too young to cast a ballot

Erin Ferns is a Research and Policy Analyst with Project Vote’s Strategic Writing and Research Department (SWORD).

For liveblogging, using a static story post and then posting comments is not very effective. This isn't a chat atmosphere at all, and it's not conducive to conversation. I humbly suggest you find a service that works better! I am independent in the matter, but I've used the free service from CoverItLive before, and found it to be very effective. We run liveblogs simultaneously with our evening newscasts every day at WIBW. It's really worth a look.

by Seth Pearce, Living Liberally

Here at Living Liberally, we want to give you all updates on the current goings on in the blogosphere and progressive movement. That's why, today, we're giving you the newest news on one of the blogosphere's most important tools: the Googlebomb. From WikiPedia.

A Google bomb (also referred to as a 'link bomb') is Internet slang for a certain kind of attempt to influence the ranking of a given page in results returned by the Google search engine, often with humorous or political intentions. Because of the way that Google's algorithm works, a page will be ranked higher if the sites that link to that page use consistent anchor text. A Google bomb is created if many sites link to the page in this manner.

For example, if I had wanted to Googlebomb, Laughing Liberally comedian Lee Camp, and associate him with a negative phrase, I would write something like "What a loser?" Where the word "loser" is linked to Lee's site Lee Camp. This would make Lee's site more likeley to come up under a google search of "loser". But we wouldn't want to do that because Lee Camp is not a loser, and is in fact a very awesome comic.

This trick was used in 2004 with George W. Bush's campaign site and the words "miserable failure." But according to WaPo's campaign blog The Trail this method of googlebombing might be done for:

That's right, the online behemoth best known for its search engine says that it has rejiggered its legendary and proprietary technology so that online efforts by bloggers to manipulate its top-secret search algorithm to create cheeky, offensive and decidedly off-message answers to searches will no longer work.

"It was fun" while it lasted, said Rick Klau, a member of the Google strategic partner development content acquisition team, at a search engine optimization training session for political bloggers in Washington, D.C., this afternoon. But, he said, "Google bombs don't work anymore."

...
That doesn't work anymore, said Klau, because the company today can spot these swarms and neutralize their effect. "We are far more perceptive when it comes to these link swarms that show up in a matter of hours or days," said Klau.

Fortunately, our good friend Chris Bowers over at Open Left has an answer:

So why haven't bloggers stopped trying to game the system? Work-arounds may be one reason. So might the increasingly sophisticated nature of today's Google bombs -- what Open Left's Chris Bowers calls a "2.0 version of the Googlebomb" -- where the goal is to influence the search rank of a slew of negative news articles about a politician rather than tie his name to a keyword.

...
As Bowers explained it, "What I'm doing isn't a Google bomb." It's a much harder to detect effort "to alternately optimize John McCain" in the Google search engine rankings, by linking his name to nine mainstream new organizations's stories that raise questions about the GOP presidential contender.

So, the blogosphere triumphs over the Google once again!

John McCain, John McCain, John McCain, John McCain, John McCain

It is good to be back to be blogging with you. I enjoyed our last session together and I look forward to answering questions you may have, but before I do I would like to give you an update. Since I've last blogged, the campaign has been picking up everyday. Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, came down to Wichita, to present a $5000.00 endorsement from the CBC. Governor Kathleen Sebelius was a special guest at a fundraiser for me, where she endorsed my campaign. I have been on the phone everyday raising money, and meeting with future constituents all over the fourth congressional district. Things are getting very exciting around here, I have even worn out my first set of walking shoes.

Guess what? John McCain is old, doesn't understand (but is aware of) the internet, and has little to no appeal to young voters. Latinos don't admire him for his stand on immigration, and despite being a veteran, the military thinks he's not concerned enough with the real needs of the troops. But don't take it from me:

• PEW Hispanic Center reports that McCain is losing the Latino youth vote (25% of the Latino population) 73 - 16%.
• Army Times smacked him down for suggesting that we ration health care for Veterans.
• CNN reports that McCain is having trouble connecting to young voters, and young Republicans agree.
• The Boston Globe says McCain is internet-illiterate.
• Even Perez Hilton agrees.

McCain campaign response:

The McCain campaign said it plans to increase the senator's presence on sites such as Facebook and MySpace in addition to the candidate making appearance on shows that appeal to younger viewers -- such as "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" and the "Late Show With David Letterman."

Newsflash. John McCain has been on the Daily Show more than any other politician, he has a Facebook page, and he was on Saturday Night Live recently. It's not that he doesn't have a presence in these venues already. It's that no one cares because he is wrong on the issues.

One of my all-time favorite television shows is HBO's The Wire. So it's a little surreal to feel like I'm living in an episode. No, I'm not involved in the drug trade or police department. I'm not a stevedore losing my union job, and I'm not a school teacher struggling with No Child Left Behind. Like the reporters and police officers in the 5th and final season of the show, though, I feel like my work, and the work of many of my colleagues are not being adequately supported. In short, the youth vote community is being asked "to do more with less."

As I've written many times before, 2004 was a boom year for youth organizing as the progressive movement built many new institutions (and strengthened others) to reach out to young voters. There were two driving forces behind this boom: entrepreneurial activism on the part of young people, and a willingness among donors to take risks and support that work. The results were impressive and verified by independent research.

This year, the "surging" youth vote is one of the most important stories of the election cycle, and one would think that interest in moving as many young voters to the polls as possible would be a high priority. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case. Many of the organizations responsible for engaging young voters in 2004 and 2006, and many new organizations working to fill holes in the youth engagement sphere, are struggling to raise funds and scale up their operations for the fall.

"As far as I'm aware, all the youth voting groups put together haven't secured more than $10 Million toward their budgets in 2008," said Billy Wimsatt, founder and former executive director of the League of Young Voters. "If the $40 Million figure from 2004 is correct, this means we are seeing only one quarter of of the funding for youth voting as in 2004. This is a staggering decrease."

Indeed, it is. At a time when expectations for the youth vote are at their highest, youth organizers are not being provided with the resources they need to make good on that promise and capitalize on the energy and excitement among the country's youngest voters. Youth organizers - who have worked for the last 5 years to build up to this moment when our peers could potentially tip a Presidential election - are in a very bad spot. In an election cycle that may see our biggest victory in decades, we do not have the resources to play more than a small part in that victory.

The reasons behind this drastic decline in support are varied. Some point to the success of the Obama campaign in turning out young voters, and a desire on the part of potential funders to put their money "where it is most needed." Others point to statements made by the Obama campaign itself asking that funders not support "outside efforts" on the campaign trail. The tightening economy is also a potential - though less likely - culprit.

This isn't about ego or a turf war between the Obama campaign and independent youth organizers. It's about how the funding cycle works and the long-term health of youth organizing on the progressive (and Democratic) side of the political aisle. As we've seen, Obama's youth support comes almost entirely from college-educated youth who make up only a fraction of the eligible voting population. Everything I hear from inside the Obama campaign points to a college-based youth strategy in the battleground states identified by the campaign. Obama can't and shouldn't be allowed to run the youth component of this campaign cycle alone. His campaign needs the help of complimentary, independent youth organizations to reach out to those non-college voters and get them to the polls - not just to secure his own election, but for the election of down-ballot candidates as well.

The consequences of this dearth in funding go far beyond this single election and may have a negative impact on progressive youth infrastructure well into the midterm elections. As David Simon himself said, you don't do more with less. You do less with less. That will show when youth organizations and donors study their 2008 GOTV efforts and plan presentations for their work in 2009 and 2010. Less impressive results in those post-election studies will likely yield a smaller investment from donors. With a continued decrease in funding, our nascent movements' capabilities to move votes will slowly begin to wither.

Meanwhile, we'll have to wait and see whether the Obama campaign was a worthwhile gamble. And let's be clear - that is exactly what donors are doing by withholding support. They are betting that the Obama campaign will be able to move a sufficient number of young voters on its own, and that those mobilization efforts will continue as long as - and beyond - an Obama Presidency.

Will that organization be the shining savior that continues to effectively mobilize young voters in 2009 and 2010? Or will the Obama administration focus on its own goals and brush aside our concerns about continued youth mobilization as easily as they brushed off concerns about his votes on FISA? In four or six years, will young people (middle and high schoolers now) have the same motivation to support President Obama as do those who carry his campaign today? How about eight years? Is that something you want to bet a movement on? I don't.

Update: Go read Ari Melber's take over at The Nation.
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Yesterday I mentioned that Nas, Color of Change, and MoveOn were holding a rally outside Fox News to protest the network's racism. Fox ignored them, but Colbert made them the feature of his program last night. Here's the whole thing. Watch it.

Update: Senator Betts is typing up his blog post now. We should begin shortly.

Hey everyone. Just a heads up. Tomorrow (Thursday) at 3pm EASTERN, 2pm CENTRAL, we will be holding a live blog with Donald Betts Jr., who is running in Kansas's 4th Congressional District against a Republican incumbent.

We have a Facebook event set up here for you to RSVP and pass along to your friends. Hope you'll join us in welcoming back State Senator Betts, who was our first live blogger ever here on Future Majority.

Fun Fact: Senator Betts is the youngest State Senator in Kansas history.