(Woops… missed this. – promoted by GMD)
The Deb Markowitz’s campaign accepted my invitation to appear on VTblogosphereTV way back in February. Campaign Manager Paul Tencher booked April before Valentine’s Day, indicating an organized and farsighted candidacy.
In terms of internet strategy, a couple of things have distinguished Deb Markowitz so far this campaign. First, I believe she is the only candidate to date to post on Daily Kos, the flagship national blog. Second, she effectively employed an online petition to help galvanize opposition to relicensing Vermont Yankee. A foresighted governor who uses the internet creatively could take some getting used to.
I think it’s clear from the discussion that Deb understands the power of interactivity that the web can provide. And in taking the pledge to not engage in anonymous internet tactics, she makes the point that anonymity on the web is an illusion. Everything is traceable, as evidenced by Peter Freyne’s work in finding out that the Rich Tarrant campaign was behind vermontsenaterace.com in 2006.
I appreciate the point, but I still think it important to have candidates take the pledge. Tarrant went big and set up a website. But an anonymous comment on a blog that has origin in a campaign may not get the attention and may not get traced. So I still think the pledge has value, but Deb’s point is well-taken and indicates her internet savvy. And her larger point about graciousness bears underlining as we all become more engaged in this governor’s race.
Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3.
[Note: No endorsement implied. Just continuing the VTblogosphereTV tradition of showcasing the qualities of the guest.]