Iowa’s Best Campaign Blogs

by Linda Thieman



“The days of the static, boring political website are over.”—Andrew Smith



The
campaign blog is the wave of the future.  Unlike a static website
which doesn’t move and rarely seems to change the look of the homepage,
a blog, short for “weblog,” is updated frequently with the most recent
entry on top.  Many blogs allow for readers to post comments under
each entry, too, making the site more interactive than a standard
website.



This
year, Democracy for Iowa is awarding “Best Iowa Campaign Blog 2004” to
cutting-edge political blogs in three categories:  Congressional,
Iowa Senate, and Iowa House.



Best Iowa Congressional Campaign Blog:  Paul Johnson, candidate for Congress, District 4 (Central and Northeast Iowa)



http://www.votejohnson.blogspot.com/



Covering
a district that encompasses 28 counties, the second-biggest district in
Iowa, is no easy task.  A campaign blog seemed just the ticket for
Paul Johnson, running for Congress in Iowa’s district 4 (Central and
North Iowa.)



Kirk
Johnson, Paul’s nephew, signed on to run the blog.  “A pillar of
Paul's campaign philosophy is accessibility,” says Kirk.  “He
wants to hear from as many Iowans as possible from all points along the
spectrum.  After all, in a democracy, the people are the
bosses.  What better way for them to review Paul's qualifications
than through a blog?”



Blog
readers are able to post their questions for Paul on the Johnson
blog.  Kirk then sits down with Paul once a week and records his
answers to the questions.  The Johnson blog can claim other
innovations, too, including a video welcome message from the candidate,
downloadable radio and television commercials about the candidate,
links to student groups at colleges and universities throughout Iowa,
and regular posts from a variety of campaign staffers to bring the
campaign to life for readers.



 Best Iowa Senate Campaign Blog:  John Drury, candidate for Iowa Senate, District 6, North Iowa



http://druryforiowasenate.blogharbor.com/blog



What
really strikes one when reading the Drury for Iowa Senate campaign
blog, run by campaign chair Darrell Lewis of Clear Lake, is the sense
of community it provides.  Updated several times daily, Lewis
provides messages from the candidate, John Drury of Swaledale, talking
points, and addresses for writing letters to the editor, while at the
same time the Drury campaign comes alive with photos and reports from
the campaign trail.  Most significant, however, is the amount of
time Lewis appears to spend researching the record of Drury’s opponent,
incumbent Senator E. Thurman Gaskill, and making that information
available to the residents of the five-county sixth district
(Winnebago, Worth, Hancock, Franklin, and Cerro Gordo – excluding Mason
City and the surrounding area).  



Lewis
has also made something of a name for himself as he attends to local
news, questioning in detail, for example, whether or not city and
county governments are reimbursed for expenses when national campaigns
come through town.  “It is particularly gratifying,” says Lewis,
“that so many people use the Drury site as their daily source of
political events and a reality check on the spin they see and hear in
conventional print and electronic media.” 

Ironically, Drury’s
opponent only set up his own website two short months ago. 
Perhaps because of that, it is impossible to pull up the site when
doing web searches.  Referral statistics from
the Drury campaign blog show that a significant number of people who do
web searches to find information about Gaskill actually end up at the
well-traveled Drury for Iowa Senate website.


 
Best Iowa House Campaign Blog:  Andrew Smith, candidate for Iowa House, District 40, Grundy and Tama Counties



http://andrewsmith.typepad.com/



The
truly innovative thing about the Andrew Smith blog is that it is run by
the candidate himself – Andrew Smith, Iowa House candidate in district
40, Grundy and Tama counties.  A time-consuming task, to be
sure.  But, as Smith acknowledges, “The days of the static, boring
political website are over.”  



Smith is
well known for making his detailed positions available online, a rarity
in this age of the don’t-say-too-much-or-it-will-be-used-against-you
campaign philosophy embraced by both major parties.  Says Smith,
“My blog enables me as a candidate, to build an interactive community,
acquire instant feedback and share with thousands of other bloggers and
supporters my thoughts on the news of the day.”  He posts articles
of interest to supporters in addition to answering direct questions and
covering initiatives he believes will make Iowa a better place to live,
work, and raise a family.



This is the first year that Democracy for Iowa has awarded Iowa’s Best Campaign Blogs.