Will They Rise Up?
I have been fielding a lot of questions from reporters on how Obama will incorporate his social network into governing. Most recently, I was asked if the movement that got him elected could “fell him.” Will they stay loyal as he tries to govern from a progressive, pragmatic, common good approach that looks a lot like governing from the center?
Here are some preliminary thoughts I provided to one reporter on this question:
I generally believe that the nature of the relationship Obama has created with his supporters via social networks increases the likelihood that dissension among the ranks would not cause upheaval in his administration. Where President Bush’s approach of governing in a detached manner, where in many ways he is insulated from the public and he has created barriers to keep the public from knowing what he is doing, Obama’s approach is the opposite (so far)… very transparent.
When citizens are in the dark about what their government is doing and when they feel unable to be heard and unable to influence the government, they become more of an opposition force. But when citizens are included in the decision making process, at least in terms of seeing it transpire and having a clear opportunity to engage with government leaders in the process of the policy formation, they become more connected and more supportive.
Even when they oppose the policies of a government, if they feel that they have a real channel to engage in the process, they will be more comfortable and accepting of the outcomes, even if it isn’t exactly what they wanted. We saw this happen among Obama supporters who used MyBarackObama.com to create a 25,000 person strong group opposing Obama’s vote on the FISA bill. He allowed the opposition to flourish, engaged them, and won their hearts even though he still maintained his position on the issue.
At the core, democracy is about compromise and working together to solve problems for the good of the whole society. When the whole of society feels they are part of the process for solving the problems of the day, they become shared stakeholders, rather than opponents.