Dr. DigiPol

I will be joining a panel of internet strategists on Thursday, November 6 in DC from noon-1:30p to look back on the election. The event is called Look Back & Ahead: Best Practices in Online Communications. For more information, click here.

Are you afraid of dying? Not dying yourself, but having your president die? And if that president is John McCain, that would make Sarah Palin president. Now are you afraid?

Danny Elfman is. The avant-garde rock star and composer is making a rare incursion into politics. While the Simpsons are gearing up for their Halloween special, their theme song composer Elfman has launched Our Greatest Fear.

Mobilizing online activists is the bread and butter of many advocacy organizations. But successful campaigns need to go beyond signing petitions and sending emails to policymakers. Yes, these remain important elements to any campaign, but it is equally important to use the internet as a persuasion vehicle. While campaigns are driving activists to take action, they should also be working to spread the message of the campaign across the web.

Anthony Downs taught us that the candidate closest to the median voter, with respect to their positions, always wins (An Economic Theory of Democracy, 1957). But contrary to popular belief, the median voter model doesn’t require candidates to move to the center. Candidates can also move the median voter towards themselves.