Julian E. Zelizer: "Facebook Politics" is Fleeting
[Julian E. Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is the author of "Arsenal of Democracy" and a book on former President Carter and editor of a book assessing former President George W. Bush's administration, to be published this fall by Princeton University Press.]
The Tea Party has rekindled excitement in the potential of the internet to nurture mass political movements by using the Web to raise money and mobilize manpower.
Activists have used many aspects of cyberspace: Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, iPod apps and more to rally their supporters. According to Investors.com, "Democrats and their allies dominated cyberspace for years. Now the political right, with the Tea Party explosion, at the very least is matching the left."...
What makes Facebook politics vulnerable is that it lacks the local element that has always been so crucial to politics. The most durable forms of political organization have usually depended on local organizing. During the 19th century, political parties were dependent on a dense bottom-up structure rooted in the strength of local political machines.
After Election Day, party operatives continued to remain in close contact with voters. They worked hard -- sometimes through illegal means but very often through policy and straightforward patronage -- to retain their loyalty and make sure voters were kept abreast of why their party mattered....
Without question, Facebook politics has reshaped the political landscape.
Local candidates can rake in millions of dollars within days, and they can spread their name without anyone going door-to-door or holding fundraisers in the local Holiday Inn. But Obama has already learned that this kind of organization can leave successful candidates without their base of support once the excitement of Election Day is over....
Read entire article at CNN.com
The Tea Party has rekindled excitement in the potential of the internet to nurture mass political movements by using the Web to raise money and mobilize manpower.
Activists have used many aspects of cyberspace: Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, iPod apps and more to rally their supporters. According to Investors.com, "Democrats and their allies dominated cyberspace for years. Now the political right, with the Tea Party explosion, at the very least is matching the left."...
What makes Facebook politics vulnerable is that it lacks the local element that has always been so crucial to politics. The most durable forms of political organization have usually depended on local organizing. During the 19th century, political parties were dependent on a dense bottom-up structure rooted in the strength of local political machines.
After Election Day, party operatives continued to remain in close contact with voters. They worked hard -- sometimes through illegal means but very often through policy and straightforward patronage -- to retain their loyalty and make sure voters were kept abreast of why their party mattered....
Without question, Facebook politics has reshaped the political landscape.
Local candidates can rake in millions of dollars within days, and they can spread their name without anyone going door-to-door or holding fundraisers in the local Holiday Inn. But Obama has already learned that this kind of organization can leave successful candidates without their base of support once the excitement of Election Day is over....