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The other day we regaled you with a quick overview of the sideshow that is the aldermanic race in the 50th Ward. It seems that besides talking a lot of smack about each other, there is a bit of a war going on on the internets, and everyone wants to blog about why you should vote for them. Greg Brewer has a video weblog that has been running on YouTube for a while now, and Naisy Dolar has a MySpace page! (And yes, Wes Clark is one of her "friends.") The 49th Ward has an angry blogger, and there is always our favorite gadfly and chest thumper in the 46th.
Now the blogging has gotten really out of hand, as the Cook County budget battle has spilled out online. You can watch the video here (yes, ladies and gentleman, that is your County Board President), and Forrest Claypool has pointed out that across-the-board budget cuts only protect the patronage workers that are already on staff, while starving critical services that the county provides to the poor.
The power of the internet can be a handy tool in this day and age of issue-voting and disillusionment with party politics, bringing people together and coordinating resources to create action for change. As Howard Dean proved in 2000, you can use the internet to turn people out in mass numbers to your rallies, to wear your buttons and to give you money (but apparently not to vote for you). But we have to wonder if building anything online besides a general clearinghouse of information about the issues and your positions on them is worth the time and resources of a candidate and their operation in a race as small and community-based as a ward.
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aldertrack is a good spot to follow the aldermanic races http://www.aldertrack.typepad.com/
Naisy Dolar has made Resolutions for the 50th Ward: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7pb0a65sIk
She also has more videos on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/naisydolar
Enjoy!
You know that good feeling when you get a huge pimple you just want to pop and you work on it and work on it and it finally goes?
I'll bet that's what it feels like after you punch Todd Stroger in the neck.
Well said, nmpkm. If you ever get the chance, send me a pic. I'l be sure to post it!
So you're wondering? Who cares what you are wondering about? Please stop wondering and find something out.
Your thesis, maybe the internet is ineffective at the ward level, is interesting, but is not supported or refuted by anything in your post, except maybe that Dean lost, and Dean wasn't running for Alderman.
1/2/07 you post a column which is essentially a review of candidates' websites, and 2 days later you're wondering if candidates' websites matter? Well, which is it? One candidate is covered in 2 sentences one of which notes that his web site is down?
You need to get out more.
This post has me wondering if you & Chicagoist are going to do anything vaguely interesting before the Feb Elections.
So, wait. Chicagoist publishes posts about the aldermanic races, and that's okay. But if other people do the same thing, they're tsk-tsked for it by Chicagoist? The depth of editorializing and reporting here has become embarrassingly shallow.
Anyway, I actually find the aldermanic-race websites very helpful. I'd rather see what citizens have to say about their representatives than to get more campaign spin. And having this information online helps those of us who are thinking of purchasing a home in a separate ward. I had been looking in Uptown, but after I found out more about Helen Shiller's "leadership," I decided to hold off on buying until after the election in February.