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Does Bush need your state to win?
Internet sites make splash at convention
By Roger Mullins
2000GOP.com CorrespondentPHILADELPHIA -- Making a big splash at the Republican National Convention is part of developing an on-line presence for politics, according to the two co-founders of the Voter.com website, Craig Smith and Randy Tate.
Speaking at The Washington Center college seminar on politics, as two men familiar with "how real politics really works," Smith and Tate were on hand to encourage youth involvement in the political arena.
Smith opened the presentation by sharing the story of his involvement in politics, begun in 1968 after he lost a cousin in Vietnam. Faced with an uncooperative Pentagon, Smith said he went door-to-door in his neighborhood campaigning to help bring an end to the Vietnam War.
"Then I dropped out of politics for a while," Smith said, "to attend junior high school."
Smith moved on to work in various positions, most recently serving as White House Political Director, a capacity in which he was responsible for coordinating the political activities of both the President and First Lady. Smith's message was that the political field remain a viable vehicle for social improvement.
"Despite what you read in the newspapers, despite what you hear on television, I believe politics is a noble profession," Smith said. "Young people are turning away from politics as a way of change."
Smith said a major factor in this change is that many young people view politics as being more destructive than constructive. This, Smith said, is attributable to a number of factors but most notably to the change in political climate with the growing influence of the media.
"It is easier to scare people than inspire people," Smith said, adding that when given 30 seconds in which to explain their position on a complex issue this is the course most often taken by candidates. Also, Smith said, the 'filter' used by the media in presenting the political news is contributing to the growing disenchantment among youth when it comes to politics.
"The media likes to look at a mosaic, pick out a single tile and make you think that's the entire picture," Smith said.
It was the desire to provide an alternative to this conventional style of reporting that led the two men to found Voter.com.
"People want more information if they can find it," said Tate, adding that in comparison to a 30-second radio ad or a 60-second television spot, most visitors to Voter.com spend an average of 15 and a half minutes browsing the site. "One of the biggest reasons people don't vote is that they don't want to make an uninformed vote."
Internet politics, therefore, is a means by which interested voters can seek out the information they need to make an informed choice at the polls. With the Democratic affairs being tended to by Smith and the Republican affairs controlled by Tate, visitors to the site are guaranteed a bi-partisan look at the issues. This, then, insures that Voter.com continues to offer balanced political coverage -- leaving the ultimate decision up to the individual voter. This is helping to convince politicians on every level of the importance of the internet and the evolving face of the information-influenced political scene.
"One out of five voters feel that the Internet will be an important source of information in this campaign," Smith said. "No candidate can afford to ignore one out of five voters."
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Copyright 2000 EH Communications - All Rights Reserved