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Blogs' advocacy group takes lead in framing Social Security
blogpac.org ^ | John Byrne

Posted on 05/10/2005 11:37:48 PM PDT by strategofr

...Blogs have become an increasingly potent force in politics. Eight million American adults say they have created blogs; blog readership jumped 58 percent in 2004 and now stands at more than a quarter of Internet users, according to the Pew Internet research center.

"We have the ability as scrappy online warriors to direct a higher percentage of our money and receive greater value for each dollar that we spend," says blogPAC architect and MyDD blogger Jerome Armstrong. To start, the group directed and placed several online video ads. While campaigns poured money into television, blogPAC ran web ads in a handful of "key" races. One hard-hitting ad carried footage of Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) comparing the Iraq war to a game.

They also created EnjoyTheDraft.com, a sardonic effort intended to engender discussion about the draft. Among their posts include a take on Bush's "Mission Accomplished" photo op ("Widows Accomplished") and "Spring Break: Fallujah."

AmericaBlog's John Aravosis, one of the creators of EnjoyTheDraft, says it's these kinds of campaigns that epitomize blogPAC's edgy strategy in message branding. "It's gutsier, it's more fast acting, and it's everything the party needs to be but isn't yet," Aravosis asserts. "The question is whether the party [will] see this as an opportunity or a threat." To date, Democratic candidates have largely tapped the Internet for fundraising. BlogPAC aims to give something back, using the Web as a tool for persuading readers on issues and candidates.

BlogPAC recently made a splash with its "There is No Crisis" campaign, geared at assuring Americans that the Social Security system is solvent and secure. The project's organizers said they saw the Social Security debate as an opportunity to mobilize the Internet grassroots - or "netroots," as they are known colloquially.

"Two months ago we realized that Social Security was going to be this huge battle," says Blogging of the President's Matt Stoller. "I started hearing Democrats talking about which privatization scheme was better." Stoller, along with Josh Koenig and Swing State Project's Bob Brigham, helped set up ThereIsNoCrisis.com, a site intended at debunking myths about Social Security and "waging politics online." The site created an ad designed specifically for bloggers, known as a BlogAd, which spread like wildfire on liberal blogs. The ad is now seen on more than 500 different sites.

Brigham chalked up some of the site's success simply to what he feels is an honest message. He referenced the 103-page Republican congressional playbook (released by RAW STORY Monday) for selling Social Security privatization to constituents.

It takes 100 pages to manufacture a crisis - they can spin all they want, but its only spin," Brigham said. "The whole selling of this is not just that they're lying, but that they're lying to perpetuate a fraud."

ThereIsNoCrisis pens a daily briefing on the issues surrounding Social Security. They have also produced a 20-minute audio file, called a "podcast," which outlines their positions and includes clips from leaders, among them Social Security's progenitor, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

"We originally conceived ThereIsNoCrisis to correct the media," Stoller notes, "But the media has actually done a pretty good job so we've made ThereIsNoCrisis a clearinghouse for activism around Social Security." ...BlogPAC will be blogging President Bush's State of the Union address on their site, offering corrections and clarifications to the speech in real time. Atrios (Duncan Black) will host a conference call after Bush's remarks for bloggers; details are provided on the group's site.


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: blog; democrats; internet; left; socialsecurity; strategy
This is from a Left website. It is about web tactics. I find it interesting.
1 posted on 05/10/2005 11:37:48 PM PDT by strategofr
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To: strategofr
Eight million American adults say they have created blogs

I find this really hard to believe. They must be using a very loose definition for the term 'blog.' I doubt 1 in 36 Americans have created a weblog.

2 posted on 05/11/2005 12:17:03 AM PDT by MitchellC
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To: strategofr
They also created EnjoyTheDraft.com, a sardonic effort intended to engender discussion about the draft. Among their posts include a take on Bush's "Mission Accomplished" photo op ("Widows Accomplished") and "Spring Break: Fallujah."

So instead of exposing any faked National Guard papers, these whacko-rats think they will make an impact with cheap juvenile parody?

Shhhhhhh... be veeeeery quiet, don't wake them from their delusions...

3 posted on 05/11/2005 12:48:47 AM PDT by konaice
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To: strategofr
AmericaBlog's John Aravosis,

A homo-activist, at one time had a blog at Delphi on politics...

4 posted on 05/11/2005 4:05:19 AM PDT by Sir Francis Dashwood (LET'S ROLL!)
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