Niche groups use Web to gain ear of '08 contenders

How did the Asian Pacific Americans for Progress – no colossus in US politics – land a conference call with the wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards?

from the May 29, 2007 edition

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A cheap screening

Jim Dean, chairman of Democracy for America and Howard Dean's brother, says the group is not yet making endorsements, just giving members a chance to vet Democratic hopefuls on one of its signature issues.

"The advantage for us is we get smarter about the candidates and … a certain access without having to spend a gazillion dollars," says Mr. Dean. "The advantage for the candidates is, this is a constituency and [potentially] also a great source of help on their campaign."

In the San Francisco Bay Area earlier this year, a social network of 150 undecided Democratic voters loosely organized over the Internet enticed Edwards and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to salon-style question-and-answer sessions where no money changed hands. Governor Richardson had a video-conference with the group, and Obama granted members free admission to a local fundraiser.

The group, called Win the White House in '08, "is the legal equivalent of a book club," says cofounder Jeff Anderson. "The group doesn't endorse candidates; it doesn't raise money as a group. It's just a network of friends coming together to do what democracy is supposed to be about, which is making an informed decision."

Mr. Rasiej says the outreach reflects a subtle shift away from the traditional model of top-down campaigning towards a newer, Internet-powered model with a bigger role for self-organized groups of voters. "The campaigns that turn themselves inside out and realize the campaigns are being run by the voters and not by them, are in a better position," he says. "The political organization that fails to recognize that dynamic is simply waiting to be included in the section on dinosaurs in Wikipedia."

New tool to find supporter hot spots

Even unorganized voters are finding new online tools for turning candidates' eyes their way.

Pop music fans had long used the website eventful.com to register hopes for a local concert appearance by a favorite artist. Soon, tour promoters were monitoring vote totals to help choose concert locations likely to draw the biggest crowds. This year, the website launched "Eventful Politics," extending the same service to supporters of political candidates.

A spokesman for the San Diego-based company said that the campaigns of Democrats Edwards and Obama and two Republicans – Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and former Virginia governor Jim Gilmore – have already set up accounts, partly to identify supporter hot spots not yet on their radar.

Technology has given ordinary voters real-time access to the campaigns in other ways. In March, people who couldn't attend – or afford – a $1,000-a-head fundraiser for Sen. John McCain in New York City could view a live webcast and pose questions online for $100. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney inaugurated the opening of his Iowa headquarters last month with a "Tele-Town Hall" conference call in which hundreds of voters took part from home.

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