| March 2, 2011
Report: Social Media Remaking Civic Life
Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media are emerging as key parts of the civic landscape, and mobile connectivity is affecting people's interactions with civic life, according to a the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project. One surprise: Broadband users are sometimes less satisfied than others with community life, raising the possibility that information-system upgrades might produce more critical, activist citizens.
>> Pew Research Center
MONEY
And the Money-in-Politics Oscars Go to ...
The turbulent world of political influence may lack the glitz and glamour of Sunday's 83rd annual Academy Awards. But the paparazzi may yet be intrigued by a collection of eye-popping, eyebrow-raising political contributions from Hollywood royalty--99 percent of it to Democrats. OpenSecrets.org's Money-in-Politics best-actor/actress Oscars go to ... Jeff Bridges and Annette Bening!
>> OpenSecrets.org
Ron Paul's 'Money Bomb'
Republican Congressman Ron Paul has been teasing supporters about his White House ambitions, telling them their cash would help him afford to visit early nominating states. He says his Presidents' Day "money bomb" raised $730,000, enough to send him to New Hampshire.
>> Roll Call
Rahm Raked It In
Rahm Emanuel spent roughly $11 million in his successful sprint to the Chicago mayor's office and still has about about $2.1 million left in his campaign fund. Former Chicago schools President Gery Chico, who finished a distant second, raised about $3.5 million.
>> Chicago Tribune
For the Once-Influential DLC, the End of the Road
The Democratic Leadership Council, whose mission for over two decades was to support moderate Democratic candidates, is suspending its operations due to a lack of funds. The centrist organization was elevated to prominence by Bill Clinton, who once served as its chairman.
>> Campaigns & Elections
 | | Scott Walker | PEOPLE
The Top Political Newcomers
Only two months have passed in 2011, but already a number of new faces have made names for themselves on the national political scene. Some, like New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, are living up to long-held expectations. Others, like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, came out of nowhere.
>> Washington Post
GOP Operatives Weighing Presidential Offers
Many top Republican staffers have already been snapped up by presidential campaigns-in-waiting, but there are still a lot of folks on the sidelines--weighing offers and deciding the best place to take their talents.
>> Washington Post
Bill Richardson Moves to P.R. Firm
Former New Mexico governor and Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson will head up the global advisory arm of a major public relations firm, APCO Worldwide.
>> USA Today
Rick Wiley Tapped as RNC Political Director
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus continued to fill out his senior staff, announcing that Rick Wiley will be the committee's new political director.
>> Roll Call
 | | Ann Ravel | RULES OF THE GAME
California's New Campaign Watchdog:
A Little More Fairness, Please
Recasting a Fair Political Practices Commission that has become increasingly aggressive in its oversight of campaign finance and ethics rules, California Gov. Jerry Brown appointed as its chairwoman Ann Ravel, a U.S. Justice Department official who said the agency could deal more fairly with the candidates it regulates.
>> Sacramento Bee
Washington State's Disclosure Rules Stand
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal challenging Washington State's disclosure requirements for political committees, independent expenditures and political advertising, which were approved by voters in 1972.
>> AP/Seattle Times
FEC Launches New Search System
The Federal Election Commission has launched a new search system for public documents generated in connection with commission rule-making.
>> Federal Election Commission
Report: Off-Year Polls' Accuracy Held Up in 2010
For all the challenges facing pre-election polls, the average accuracy of statewide surveys last year matched their performance in the last two off-year elections, according to a report by the National Council on Public Polls.
>> Huffington Post
Original content copyright 2011 Campaigns & Elections |
THE MAGAZINE
The Remap Puzzle
Are computers the heroes or the villains of redistricting? Micah Altman and Michael P. McDonald, veteran consultants and observers of the process, explain why there is truth to both views. Elsewhere in the issue, Craig Varoga has six answers for committed campaigners. Kurt Kurson has tips for writing a great TV spot. And John Zogby looks at the polling challenges that await Barack Obama as the president seeks re-election.
EVENTS
The Art of Political Campaigning
Join us June 16-18 for three blockbuster days of practical panels, workshops and presentations that cover the full gamut of campaigning--from fund-raising to media production, opposition research to grass-roots organizing, campaign software to attack strategies and responses, candidate speeches and appearances to campaign management and legal compliance.
More information
QUOTABLE
“Everybody's playing chicken. I'm pretty close to saying this is maybe a no-win for everybody.”
Madison, Wis., Democratic pollster Paul Maslin, one of many experienced political players having trouble seeing an endgame to his state's scorched-earth battle over government workers' collective-bargaining rights, which not only has become a consuming national spectacle but also has spawned fund-raising and advertising campaigns, mobilized labor and the left, and transformed a longtime but low-profile conservative cause into a hot-button issue
>> Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“Take a look at me. You think I'm sleepin' on a cot? Not happenin'.”
New Jersey's Republican governor, Chris Christie, saying that should there be a state-government shutdown he would not follow the example of his Democratic predecessor by sleeping on a cot in his office but instead would be "goin' to the governor's residence, gonna go upstairs, gonna open a beer, gonna order a pizza, I'm gonna watch the Mets. And when you decide to reopen the government, gimme a call, and I'll come back"
>> Washington Post
DATAPOINTS
30%
Percentage of Iowans, asked in a new Des Moines Register newspaper poll whether they favored or opposed the recent Iowa Supreme Court decision that allowed gay and lesbian couples in the state to marry, who said they they don't care much one way or the other
>> Des Moines Register
51%
Percentage of likely Republican presidential-primary voters who don't believe President Obama was born in the United States, according to a new survey by Public Policy Polling, an increase from 44 percent the last time the organization asked the question in August 2009
>> The Hill
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