The Internet's New Influence On Politics
from the changing-media dept
With the announcement that retired General Wesley Clark is entering the presidential race, we have yet another take on the way the internet is being used in politics (in ways that are surprising many "political experts"). Already there have been thousands (no, really) of articles about how Howard Dean has successfully used the internet to campaign his way from a nobody to the leader of the Democratic pack. Now, Wired News is pointing out that the push to get Clark to run was done almost exclusively on the internet - something that was unheard of previously (though, others have picked up on it and are trying to "draft" other potential candidates). None of this should be all that surprising - except, apparently, if you're a Washington insider. Still, no matter what your politics, it's nice to see the internet being used as a way to push for ideas - and allow small groups of people without very much money to make a difference politically.
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I think blogs are a HUGE part of this trend, since opinion making is shifting into the hands of everyday people.
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