Municipalist

Who are Congress's best tweeters?

The Capitol Comment Blog at Washingtonian Magazine's site pays a lot of attention to the quality of tweets emanating from members of Congress. John McCain could save more space if he would just do away with all that silly punctuation, and John Culberson, Chuck Grassley, and Claire McCaskill are the clear stars. Check it out.

The Supremes get Culbersoned

The BLT: The Blog of the Legal Times offers a terrific post about the moment when several members of the Supreme Court were accosted, sort of, by Rep. John Culberson of Texas. During a perfunctory annual hearing before a Congressonal committee, Culberson turned on his camera and pointed it at Supremes Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer, to make a point about transparency. And how the Supreme Court needs more of same, since it bans live video and live audio coverage of oral arguments:

"It's a very easy matter on the Internet," Culberson said, and to prove it, he took out a device, aimed at the justices and announced that at that very moment, their visages were being seen live on the Internet. (You can see Culberson's video at this link.) The justices were startled, but smiled for the camera (C-SPAN's cameras were also rolling.)

Check out Culberson's short video here. Here is his home on Qik.

Prediction: More members of Congress are going to be doing stuff like this.  And hopefully elected officials at all levels. I live in a county where claims of "executive session" are way too common. That would be a great time for a Culberson.

Culberson is also active on Twitter.

Hat tip: Sunlight Foundation.

John Lewis and Barack Obama

Today we congratulate Barack Obama, and we note that he has chosen this week to post on BarackObama.com an inspiring video interview with Georgia Congressman John Lewis. This man's life is truly a stunning tale. Lunch counters, freedom rides, Montgomery, the march on Washington, Birmingham, Selma, every major moment in the civil rights movement throughout much of the 1960s, and then with the Robert Kennedy for president campaign until the last night, John Lewis was there, organizing, marching, strategizing, getting his skull cracked, all while standing tall for non-violence.

Here is Congressman Lewis's YouTube page. And here is video of Lewis checking out an exhibit of civil rights era photographs at the High Museum in Atlanta, which then traveled to Washington. I saw it a few weeks ago. It is a stunning collection. Lewis was the subject of several of those photos. In some shots he is bleeding, following his being attacked on a 1961 freedom ride through Alabama, while in others he is triumphant, posing with Martin Luther King, Jr. and President Kennedy.

The video of Lewis at the Barack Obama site shows him sitting in what appears to be his office in Washington. I interviewed him there in April 2001, surrounded by quite a collection of photos and posters of his own, from his days with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, for a piece for the Charlotte Observer, marking the 40th anniversary of the freedom riders' trip through the Carolinas. The guy was real and relaxed and it is for me an amazing memory. I must get the tape of the interview digitized.

His memoir is the single greatest testament of the civil rights movement produced.Walking out of his office that day in 2001, I remember asking him: So, when is your book going to become a movie? He looked at me as if I had asked him to fly to Mars. He said there were no plans. And that's a shame. Hollywood should step up and deliver something memorable about this important man. The fact that his life story is not common knowledge to every American is a crime.

But change has come. And hope.

Today, I will be thinking of John Lewis.

One Congressman exposes Northwest Airlines. And he only needs 140 characters.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra's district is in Michigan, where Northwest rules. Here are a couple of his tweets from a few days ago:

At airport. NWA lets flights leave early, stranding passengers with no way to get to destination! Interesting customer service. Buyer beware! 5:33 PM Nov 30th from TwitterBerry.

Learned something today. Departure times for NWA are suggested times, might leave late or early, if affected it's your problem! Outrageous! 5:26 PM Nov 30th from TwitterBerry

Grand Rapids-based PR expert Tim Penning, whose blog is GR-PR, offered this to us in an email: "Let's see. U.S. Congressman dissed by airline that has asked for gov't aid more than once. He tweets his displeasure. Class, would that be good or bad PR?"

There is power in the tweet. Absolutely no doubt about it. Think of all the stuff in the world that members of Congress see and know and hear. Even the mundane, as this seems. But tweet it, and something changes. In just a few seconds, and in just 140 characters. Because that's all it takes.

A few members of Congress get this. They don't and never will get blogging. That's another topic. But more are slowly figuring out Twitter. The value to them will be great, we say, because as this one example shows, immediately, this guy is one of us. And this can place him in a powerful place, when it comes time to get elected. Or raise money. Or listen, and not just spout opinions.

Does corporate America get this? When a member of Congress rips them like this, will that teach them anything?

By the way, Hoekstra is running for governor. Tweet on, Sir, and may the self-inflicted financial pain sufferered by this country's arrogant, lazy, and stunningly inadequate transportation industry lead not just to Change We Need, but to utter obliteration of the lot of them.

That's all we ask.

Welcome to Politics 3.0

A new day has dawned, we are told, for the country and for both political parties. For those who vote for Republicans, as I do, the question is what is next. As the president elect has showed so vividly, and as his failed opponent demonstrated so frustratingly, the future is the Web. For better and for worse. For better: it can effectively be made use of to fight 'smears,' as well as serve as a hell of an instant monster-size event planner, provide myriad ways for people to take the reins themselves to connect to each other, and then so efficiently extract their cash. For worse: like TV it tends to glorify celebrity, and can so simply be exploited to intensify our partisanship as well as flatter our preconceptions and self regard. And as the Obama campaign showed, the Web can serve as a very effective space through which to direct packs of raging supporters to harass local news media. Wired offers a one-sided wrap-up of the Obama campaign's Internet successes here.

Republicans need to find new voices, and should consider starting with members of Congress who are effectively using social media tools and tactics. One good example is Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, whose tweets are sort of a clinic in how to work to reach out to those he and his elected colleagues are supposed to want to hear from and connect to. We discussed Hoekstra's smart Twitter use recently here.

And of course Republicans need to find a new generation, far outside the elected classes. Go online. We are here.

And it is ever important to remember that much of the mainstream media will offer bad ideas at a moment like this.

Also for Obama: What will these new coalitions and revved-up online communities do now? [See update below.] What if he does not deliver the immediate revolutionary change they seek? Prediction: A day will come in the next four years when Obama will wish he could stick in a drawer someplace this always-online coalition, then just pull it out when it is time to raise money and energize volunteers for re-election. But an electrified, now very-connected base does not work that way. You create it. Then it does what it wants. Ask my 21-month-old son.

So good luck with that. [And it has begun already: Here is video of Ralph Nader on election night doing just that.]

We have been hearing all morning about how idealism is now in. But so is innovation. These are good things. Barack Obama owned both concepts in the minds of the majority of voters. And the Web out of necessity will be at the center of the universe for the new administration as well as for its opponents. We look forward to what is next.

Update: Here is McClatchy Newspapers on "How Obama will deploy his Internet army". And here is the New York Times on "Campaigns in a Web 2.0 World."

[By the way, here is our favorite Municipalist post from the presidential campaign. Nutty, too long, but somehow great fun to read, though with a premise that is likely implausible. Exactly our kind of post!]

Update: Patrick Ruffini makes this important point: "The candidates who are successful online are the ones who don't just lead campaigns or political parties -- they lead movements. When they ask people to get involved, they really mean it. Our 2012 candidate has to be comfortable with building a movement. Before a change in strategy can work, our candidates need to change. Layering a good Internet strategy on top of someone running for President of the cocktail party circuit whose campaign only cares about bundling the most big checks in Q1 or Q2 of 2011 will not work. That model died in 2008."

Update 2, Nov. 10: The Washington Post reports on Obama's post-election Web plans, referencing the same point I made above about un-ringing that bell: "But Daou noted that the initiative could have a downside. Obama faced an intense backlash when he broke from the left on the issue of immunity for telecommunications companies that took part in the warrantless wiretapping program. 'People who have helped you reach this historic goal by self-organizing can also organize in opposition to your policies,' he said."

Twitter reveals an honest Congressman

Michigan Republican Congressman Pete Hoekstra just a few minutes ago from Twitter:

petehoekstra Deciding what to do on bailout bill.What a disappointment that Ds put junk into the bill and that Rs leadership supported it.Pathetic.

First, the guy is NOT tweeting to show the world what a smart guy he is. Instead, he is actually admitting that, you know what, I don't know what direction I am going to go here. Then, he rips both parties.

The value to Hoekstra by tweeting his frustrations instead of just to advocate his views? Plenty. This humanizes him, and brings him down with the rest of us, frustrated, angry, worried, tired of partisanship for its own sake. A terrific example of how elected officials should use social media to join the debate, to listen, to be honest.

Update: Later in the day, this tweet from Hoekstra speaks for itself:

petehoekstra Troubling intell info.Classified.Nothing dangerous just a disappointing insight into intell community.Stay tuned!

Yeah. We will.

[ TechPresident links.]
 

House members stay busy on Twitter and YouTube during bailout vote

Scanning Tweets by House members during the vote on the bailout, which went down minutes ago by a vote of 228 to 205, we came across this from Michigan Congressman Pete Hoekstra:

They didn't have votes when they started. What poor leadership.They need to announce we're back here Wednesday to continue working.

Lots of info in those 140 characters, eh?

Also tweeting is Arizona Congressman Jeff Flake, who noted during the floor debate that he was just moments away from speaking. Immediately after the vote, his staff tweeted that they had Flake's floor speech already up on YouTube.

Update: Twitter users in Congress missing in action during the debate: formerly busy tweeters Tim Ryan and Roy Blunt. Staying active: John Culberson, with plenty of direct replies to fellow tweeters. But perhaps the least engaging use of Twitter we have seen by a politician yet is here.

And here is a list of all Twittering members of Congress, via Congresspedia. Hat tip: David All.

Update II: Here is All on how some enthusiastic use of Twitter could help the McCain campaign.

Dianne Feinstein: YouTube star in the making

TechRepublican links to Roll Call's report that the Senate has updated its rules governing member use of the Internet. Previously, all videos had to be posted somewhere within the senate.gov domain. "Howard Gantman, spokesman for Rules Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), called the change 'a major step into the future.' "

In that TR post, David All claims the Democratic majority would not support such a reform when it came up in the House last year. Can that be right?

Also, when we think of Dianne Feinstein, we cannot help but happily recall Amy Poehler's hilarious impersonation from a couple years back. Weird, wacky stuff.

Update: Wrong! Poehler did fellow California Senator Barbara Boxer, not Feinstein.

Joe Biden on the social Web

Comment from a reader of Biden's Facebook page, time-stamped at 8:27 p.m.: "ABC is reporting that Biden just got Secret Service protection." Pretty good clue, eh? Biden does have a blog on MySpace. Last update: Dec. 26, 2007. Biden has a Flickr page, and a fancy YouTube page. Biden's campaign site offers lots of RSS links too, including one for his op-eds. [Here is a recent Biden op-ed on the Russia-Georgia war.] No blog on the Biden offical .gov Senate site.
 

Q & A: Sunlight Foundation's Gabriela Schneider

Did you know: When a member of Congress embeds a YouTube video (even if it’s of a committee hearing) on the member's site, the member is violating current rules? One organization doing its best to not only oppose but change such restrictions is Sunlight Foundation. "Until Sunlight’s founding, there was no organization fully committed to enhancing the electronic disclosure of congressional activity on the Internet, and thus, engage citizens in an effective dialog with their members of Congress," says Sunlight spokeswoman Gabriela Schneider. Municipalist tracked down Gabriela to learn more about a Sunlight initiative called Let Our Congress Tweet. But we asked about the organization's other initiatives and its history too:

What is Let Our Congress Tweet? What has been its impact? We launched the first Twitter-based petition to Congress (about Twitter, no less) — Let Our Congress Tweet — to galvanize burgeoning support for updating congressional rules that affect how lawmakers can use the Internet to interact with citizens. Since early 2007, we had been actively advocating Congress to update those esoteric “franking rules” through our Open House Project, but as you can imagine, that wasn’t exactly a hot issue that Congress was advancing at full speed. (See our initial recommendations, delivered to Congress on May 8, 2007.)

However, once a new proposal started being circulated to update the franking [mail] rules that stirred some controversy (in part because of a proposal to create a ‘white list’ of pre-approved sites that members of Congress could use), we jumped at the opportunity of such an educational moment and created Let Our Congress Tweet.

We want to draw attention to the need to modernize the rules and give staffers and lawmakers clear guidance as to what they can and cannot do — the current rules are vague and definitely need updating. For instance, when a member of Congress embeds a YouTube video (even if it’s of a committee hearing) on her Web site, she is violating current rules. We thought, a) that’s pretty ridiculous; b) Congress is in the process of reconsidering the restrictions placed on their Internet use; c) people are paying attention and care about updating these outmoded rules, so let’s give them a fun new platform to tell Congress to "embrace the communication technologies that we already use" like Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and MySpace.

What is the brief history of Sunlight Foundation? When Sunlight co-founder and chairman Michael Klein, a retired Washington lawyer and business entrepreneur, was planning his post-retirement, ‘giving back’ years, he knew he wanted to support work to catalyze the cause of government transparency to clean up Washington. (This was in the wake of the Abramoff scandal.) He began researching how to support more investigative work that would probe more into congressional activities, which connected him with Sunlight co-founder and executive director Ellen Miller, a longtime advocate for disclosure of campaign finances who founded two prominent Washington-based organizations in the field of money and politics -- the Center for Responsive Politics and Public Campaign.

Twittering Congress and L.A. Fire Department

FCW.com here on Twittering members of Congress. FCW links to a piece at PC World.com on how the Los Angeles Fire Department uses Twitter. It is intriguing stuff. Lots of links to read more. Municipalist linked to coverage of these developments in November 2007.

This Congressman uses streaming video, live town hall meetings on the Web, and Twitter

All public sector bloggers take note. Republican Rep. John Culberson is cornering his colleagues in Congress and interviewing them using the video streaming service Qik. Techpresident has the details as well as video of Culbertson's first interview. Culberson hosted a town hall meeting on the Web on June 10. Culberson also uses Twitter from the House floor, and he has a fan at Sunlight Foundation, as well as a detractor here.

Congress: Fatally late to the blog party

Why Congress doesn't blog, and why we would would have a hard time believing a damn word of it if they did, Vol 94: Here is a neat little piece about Rep. Don Young of Alaska, that details his arrogance, his sense of entitlement, his bizarre office structure, and his total sell-out to lobbyists. That should just about cover it, don't you think?

The piece is from the Anchorage Daily News, but we found the piece at the McClatchy D.C. bureau Web site. McClatchy has undergone plenty of financial distress lately -- as it pays its failed CEO millions -- and it loves to hunt Republicans, of which Young is one. But all of that is extraneous for now. This guy is a disaster. The comments following the piece are priceless. The entire Alaskan Congressional delegation has been under investigation, one points out. There is also a nasty little anecdote in there about the thoroughly unpleasant Ted Stevens, Alaska's long-time Republican Senator.

Here in D. C., these type of stories are common these days. Mistreating the help, ordering around Capitol Police, getting arrested stoned, etc. But the real reason Municipalist blogs about Congress only occasionally is that the potential and the energy and the awareness of the necessity of blogging by those in the public sector, elected or otherwise, is explored and worked out much more often locally these days, than at the federal level. Showing up so very late at the blog party is as big a problem as being thoroughly corrupt and utterly contemptuous of anybody except those who can stuff plenty of cash in your wallet. Combine these factors, and the result will be turning off the online community immediately.

Very few members of Congress blog. Of those who do, few have figured out how to blog effectively or compellingly. There is the occasional exception, such as Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana. But for the most part: Who would want to read a blog by a member of Congress these days?

Nothing Flakey here: Earmark basher for VP

John McCain, have we got a VP for you.

If there is one Congressman whose blog we would read, it would be the one by Jeff Flake, the earmark-battling Arizona Republican. Flake has no blog, actually, but does do a hilarious weekly short piece on his site called "Egregious Earmark of the Week."

Take Flake's EEW from June 6, 2008:

"$48,000 out of the taxpayer's pockets for something called the Eccles Ice Center in North Logan, Utah to expand the science, physical education, and creative movement program." Then Flake adds: “We could sure use Tonya Harding and her ex-husband to kneecap this earmark."

Don't you love that?! Municipalist regularly points out individuals and agencies in government who should blog, for our Get a blog! feature. We definitely want to read what's on Flake's mind more than just once a week. So, Jeff Flake: Get a blog!

And John McCain: Consider this guy. Young, smart, confronts his evil colleagues, who are drunk on spending taxpayers' money just to get re-elected. Who cares if this guy is from the same state as McCain? Flake would be gold on a national campaign. He speaks his mind. And all those teeth!

He takes on special interests, which has always been McCain's mantra. The Arizona Duo may then actually have a chance to compete against The Chosen One. And the moment for Flake may be here yet again, as another spending binge appears to be on the way. The Washington Post today reports: Earmark spending in the House's defense authorization bill alone soared 29 percent last month, from $7.7 billion last year to $9.9 billion now.

Congressman is all a-Twitter

From the House floor, Tim Ryan, an Ohio Democrat, makes use of the highly overrated but occasionally interesting service called Twitter. The highly-technical term for such breathtaking behavior is "tweeting." Techpresident has the whole sordid tale. TP's Micah Sifry puts it best:

This is so cute. "It's like watching a child learning to go to the toilet on their own. 'Look, ma, I'm twittering!'"

Also: Yes, Virginia, members may use their Blackberrys on the House floor.

For those who are not aware of Twitter, it is an initially confusing then just plain odd sort of chat and "microblogging" tool that is all the rage throughout the social media world. Or was 10 minutes ago. Ryan's use of it though seems interesting and may possibly have real value. We shall see. Ryan blogs, and does fine, but just as he gets some momentum going, he takes several days off. But he is light years ahead of the vast majority of his colleagues.

Obama rumors site has lessons for all public figures

The Barack Obama campaign has published a Web site aimed at dispelling rumors about the candidate: That he is Muslim, that his wife hates whites, that he in fact arrived as a baby from the planet Zoltar and brought terror to a small Kansas town by shooting flames from his eyes, etc. That last one came from Drudge, I think, but my memory is not what it used to be. Reuters has the details. NPR here.

The site, by effectively pointing to the obvious silliness of these rumors, paints his opponents as clowns, and becomes a way for Obama go to on offense, while looking like he is on defense. Municipalist focuses on blogging in government, and as we have predicted here, public figures will increasingly head to the Web when the heat hits. The Web is an efficient, cheap, and useful means of accomplishing not only the dirty work of smearing those we oppose, but clearing those we like. Including ourselves. Also: It is interesting that the Obama campaign decided this was the best way to go, instead of relying on the blogosphere at large, and the many pro-Obama blogs out there, to do it for him.

This also points to the utility of public figures learning to blog long before the heat hits. Obviously a major presidential campaign is going to have armies of bloggers and developers ready at a moment's notice. But for the smaller fries out there, from Congress to school board, learning to blog long before you decide you need to is important, we say. Get good at this long before it becomes the last-minute means to save your desperate ass. Learn to do it now, and your career may thank you some day.

Ben Smith of Politico has good analysis.

Of course, what Obama really needs is a site that defends, explains, and dances around the stuff he is facing this week that is, in fact, all too true.

Update: Ben Smith links back.

Congressman Frank Wolf says his office computers targeted by Chinese

The Virginia Congressman says his office computers have been hacked by someone in China, probably because of the Congressman's human rights work. Washington Post has an article and link to AP video.

Senator Edward Kennedy: Internet pioneer

The Sunlight Foundation's In Broad Daylight blog has the story:

It sounds silly, but it is, in fact, true. In this month of May, fifteen years ago, Ted Kennedy became the first Senator to communicate with constituents over the Internet. Back in 1993, this was no small feat. At the time there were no congressional offices connected to the Internet. (The House launched a pilot program on June 2, 1993, hooking up seven members to an Internet network.) One dedicated staffer and the technology hubs of MIT and other top-level educational institutions made Kennedy into the first digital Senator.

The rest of the post is interesting, and references Chris Casey's book, The Hill on the Net. Check it out. And we are praying for you, Senator.

Documenting Congress's Web "underperforming"

This report reveals that individual members of Congress still cannot figure out the Web. Here is the money quote:

Congress needs to recognize that the Internet is an essential information and communications medium. Citizens are online, and it is up to Congress to catch up with them.

That's a quote that's valid with any elected official.

The 2007 Gold Mouse Report: Lessons from the Best Web Sites on Capitol Hill is by the Congressional Managagement Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan organization. CMF also hands out Gold, Silver, and Bronze "Mouse Awards," to those best Web sites to members of Congress. [Check out video and slide presentations. PDF of entire report is here.]

But according to CMF's 2007 report, only 11 percent of all members blog.

Goodbye Beltway Blogroll

Municipalist noticed this from a couple months back, but somehow didn't get the post up right away. Beltway Blogroll is/was a blog from National Journal here in Washington. [We have done some freelancing for this fine news weekly over the years.] Daniel Glover blogged about the increasing influence of political blogs, and collected a good list of public and private sector blogs in its sidebar, including an updated list of Congress blogs, so we hope NJ just leaves it up.

Update: Here is Glover on the pathetic state of Congress members' use of the Web:

"Older people are going to be voted out of office or die, and they're going to be replaced by younger people. Until that happens, I don't think you're going to see significant change in Congress."

Congressional committee investigating baseball steroids offers detailed RSS feeds

Why is that man not smiling? The House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform -- the fine hosts of the already infamous day-long discussion on national TV Wednesday about buttocks and pool parties and peach bikinis and nannies and wives shooting up so they look better for their Sports Illustrated photo shoots -- actually has a good Web site. No blog, alas, but numerous RSS options for those out there who just cannot get enough of this stuff. We couldn't, anyway. The site also has an area just for the minority party, which is how most if not all Congressional committees operate on the Web. The minority party committee site has some good stuff on Sandy Berger, the former Clinton administration official who removed documents from the National Archives by stuffing them into his pants and socks.  How about setting up an RSS feed so we can all stay connected with that continuing investigation?

Update: This Congressman would be a great blogger

[Update of the update: Because we, well, simply screwed up, Municipalist has blundered outrageously. Apparently, Thaddeus McCotter has been blogging since September 2007. Here it is. Welcome to the world, Congressman. Now, on with the edited original post, as it originally appeared, its enthusiastic premise now shattered! Sort of. A future post, perhaps, could critique the good Congressman's initial blogging efforts. But we like what we see. Onward!]

In our discussion with Andy Barr, co-editor of The Hill's Congress Blog, Barr referenced Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) as being a reliable provider of "hilarious posts" to that group blog whose main contributors are members of Congress.  Municipalist sees McCotter as potentially the first great Congressional blogger, if he should ever choose to try it. Nobody on Capitol hill speaks or, it seems, thinks like this guy. Check out an intriguing profile here.

It turns out that McCotter represents a district in Michigan where Municipalist lived for a few quite wonderful childhood years. The Congressman claimed to be one of only 45 members of the House to voluntarily make public his fiscal 2008 earmark requests, and one of only three members of Congress to do so on his own Web site. In perusing McCotter's list of earmarks, we noticed that one is for a small college Municipalist's mom attended while brushing up on some skills so she could go back to work to save money to send her two kids to college. Good work, Congressman, on the transparency. Now get a blog!

We heard Congressman McCotter give a couple long, rambling but oddly fascinating floor speeches over the last few weeks. Eloquent, powerful. And somehow entertaining. [Here is one of them. Wow!] And here he is (video) putting up with several idiot calls as well as with a rather dim, clearly partisan host on C-Span's Morning Journal.

McCotter's Web site offers to sign you up for an email list. But our email box already runneth over. Congress needs to get over the whole email obsession. So Thad, take the leap. Be the first GREAT Congressional blogger. [One thing: The competition is not so great. Trust that.]

The media seem to enjoy McCotter. He is the lead guitarist in "the House band, the Second Amendments," reports The Hill. And he smokes! This guy is perfect. And he is funny. Congressman, your country is waiting. What say you? 

Q & A: Andy Barr, co-editor of Congress Blog

Congress Blog is published by The Hill, a must-read Washington, D.C. newspaper that, oddly enough, covers Capitol Hill. The concept is simple: Congress Blog is a group blog, with members of Congress themselves providing much of the content. Any member can post, and all member posts must be 'unique' or Congress Blog must at least get it first, says Andy Barr, who runs Congress Blog with co-editor Chris Good.

The reason this all matters is even though only a few members of Congress publish their own blogs, more are finding ways to instead make use of already established blogs run by others, either by posting directly or by coming up with more elaborate plans, as Municipalist noted recently.

Why do I need my own blog, when I can just use yours?

Many office holders, slowly becoming aware of the influence of the blogosphere, are more frequently asking themselves this question these days: Why should I myself do the blogging, when I can just make use of the blogs that are already out there?

National Journal details the goings on inside the office recently of Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.):

The standard method for writing a bill would have had Durbin and his aides calling in consumer groups, telecommunications lobbyists and technology experts to hash out the details. Instead, Durbin reached out to the editors of two online political blogs so that he could hear directly from their readers. One was the progressive Open Left, a natural place for the pugnacious liberal to turn. But the other, RedState, caused Durbin some trepidation -- he couldn’t be sure how its conservative subscribers would respond to him.

In a series of evening postings on the two blogs (videotaped by his staff to prove that the senator was indeed doing the typing), Durbin connected with academics, California hip-hop artist Baby D, free-market advocates, rural Internet users, and many others. The conversations yielded more than 500 comments.

“It was an interesting national drafting session,” Durbin says. “The reality is that most people feel that unless you can hire an expensive lobbyist, you can’t get to the table to write a bill. This is a ‘small d’ democratic approach [to legislation], and I think it is a valuable approach that we ought to try more and more.”

Then there is the case of the New York Islanders hockey team. Instead of starting up their own set of online message boards, the Islanders recently made a deal to take over those run by an individual Islander fan. The New York Times reports that Chris Dey, the team's new VP for sales and marketing, has set out to “create the best Web site in all of professional sports.”

In August, a member of Dey’s staff reached out to Isleschick, a k a Lisa Podell, a fan from Syosset, N.Y., who had run Islandermania since 1999.

“At first, I was just asked to come here for a meeting,” said Podell, a claims adjuster for a Long Island insurance company. “I really didn’t know what they wanted me for.”

Podell, who attended that meeting with fellow fans who were serving as moderators for Islandermania, soon learned that the Islanders were interested in adding her message board to their official team Web site. The idea was hatched by Corey Witt, a member of what Dey referred to as his Web task force.

“I was very flattered,” Podell said. “We put a lot of hard work into this, and it was nice to learn that all of that work had not gone unnoticed.”

Municipalist supposes this is the moment when he should stand up for what this blog is supposed to be about, then, and rebuke such silliness as shown by these two examples, and deliver the strong case for organizations private and public, elected or otherwise, to boldly strike out and establish their own online communities, with message boards, blogs, etc., produce a daily vidcast or podcast, run polls of participants, closely monitor comments, campaign throughout the site for various causes or candidates or ideas, hire as many geeks as necessary to run it all, etc.

Or perhaps people who serve their country or their state or community (or run hockey franchises -- play along) have other things on their minds besides turning their offices into giant, live multimedia production houses. Hmmm. Quite a dilemma. So is Municipalist barking up the wrong tree here, in constantly and annoyingly advocating for these often non media-savvy public servants to jump into the Web 2.0 ring themselves?

Municipalist does not think so. As easy as these tools are to use today, in a few years they will become even simpler. So there will be more and more temptations and opportunities for office holders to do just what we said above: not just blog, but provide us with the Nancy Pelosi TV Network. All day. All night. So at that point, the term "media savvy" will have a whole new meaning, in that it will have no meaning. It is a necessary term today in that some are and most are not. Some day very soon, the gaps out there, generational and otherwise, will disappear for good. As they do so, singling out the public officials who strain themselves to actually blog every day will seem pointless as well. Everybody will blog. Certainly everybody elected will blog. The novelty will become necessity, as the electorate will insist on it.

Blogging today is no longer about individuals screaming into the vast universe of the Internet. It has evolved to now be more about creating community, and assembling coalitions, around common ideas and goals. Who out there already knows quite a bit about how to do that, and would be a natural and obvious demographic to become bloggers?

Blogging -- or Web 2.0-ing, since the tool is not the point -- will become a powerful extension of the political and governing process any day now, as the Boomer generation goes away, and the computer generation takes over. Meet the new boss.