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March 15, 2006BELTWAY BLOGROLL
The Politics Of Technology
Politics in the information age increasingly is marked by efforts to best one's opponents in the technology arena, and the smart losers in those innovation battles are quick to study the successes of their political enemies. That's what Republicans appear to be doing with the new blog of Forward Together PAC, a political action committee chaired by potential Democratic presidential candidate Mark Warner.
Jerome Armstrong, a former blogger at MyDD and a co-author of the soon-to-be-released book "Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots and the Rise of People-Powered Politics," is one of the forces behind Warner's new blog. He merited a flattering profile at MSNBC.com earlier this month for his work with Warner.
That work includes new video technology at the blog that appears to have impressed even Republicans. Visitors to the blog are greeted by none other than Warner himself in a video that appears automatically. The site also features a video "progress report."
The efforts caught the attention of David All, one of the communications staffers for the House Republican Conference. "Looks like the Dems are making strides in video technology," All wrote this morning in an e-mail to bloggers. We need to catch up. Thoughts?"
He also reminded the bloggers that Republicans -- including his boss, Rep. Jack Kingston of Georgia -- are making tech strides of their own in the form of "podcasts," digital audio recordings that can be downloaded onto devices like Apple Computer's iPods. Kingston calls his offering The JackCast.
Republicans appear to have taken more of an interest in podcasting, particularly Senate Republicans, but lawmakers from both parties are using the technology. Here's a list of congressional podcasts I've discovered so far:
-- The House Republican Conference;
-- The Senate Republican Conference;
-- Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.;
-- Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.;
-- Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn.;
-- Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine;
-- Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas;
-- Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas;
-- Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho;
-- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho;
-- Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.;
-- Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa;
-- Rep. John Hostettler, R-Ind.;
-- Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.;
-- Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.;
-- House Republican Study Committee Chairman Mike Pence of Indiana;
-- Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.
-- Sen. Jim Talent, R-Mo.
I suspect there are others that I'm missing, both within Congress and on the campaign trail. Let me hear about them at dglover@nationaljournal.com.
Posted by | 12:07 PM
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