Warner says he wants to do the same, and certainly the founder of Nextel has the technological savvy to understand how to do it. A year ago, he hired Jerome Armstrong, former Dean-campaign aide, co-founder of the MyDD blog, and co-author of the netroots Bible Crashing the Gates, to head his online strategy. He has since added a group of techies and bloggers to his staff. “We want to be on the bleeding edge of using these tools to empower people,” says Warner.
Many of the specifics won’t be unveiled until the campaign actually launches (sometime after this year’s November elections). But there are hints of what’s to come on the Forward Together PAC Web site, which is chock-full of blog entries and tags, audio and video clips, and podcasts. It recently began using the Creative Commons licensing system, which allows ordinary users to freely distribute content from the site.
There’s also the Web site of the independent but eerily well-organized Draft Mark Warner group, which is organizing Meetups, placing ads, moderating Yahoo groups, running a MySpace page, and sprinkling Warner’s presence all over cyberspace.
The hiring of Armstrong is part of Warner’s open courtship of the grassroots, and the online “netroots” in particular. In a shout-out to that group, Warner came out in support of net neutrality this summer. He champions the Dean “50 State Strategy” of supporting Democrats in supposedly hopeless red states; Forward Together calls these candidates “Mapchangers,” and allowed online voters to choose a congressional candidate to receive the PAC’s support.
Armstrong was the ultimate “get” for Democratic candidates seeking grassroots support. But, like the ice sculpture, he has become a source of controversy. Critics have alleged that Armstrong had a deal whereby DailyKos kingpin Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, Armstrong’s long-time collaborator and co-author, talked up pols who hired Armstrong as a consultant. Those critics claim that Zuniga turned favorable to Warner after Armstrong joined the staff.
All of that will melt away if Warner can convince people that he is truly authentic — to use the word that keeps coming up with former Dean supporters. Warner is quickly learning that authenticity can’t be bought; it will be interesting to see whether he can earn it.
On the Web
Mark Warner For President: http://www.draftmarkwarner.com/
2020 Democrats: http://www.2020democrats.com/
