December 08, 2006
On the Download: Do You Feel A Draft Campaign In Here?
Welcome back to On The Download, your dispatch on politechs: Politics, Multimedia and the Internet. If you have tips, comments, or suggestions, email us.
Two famous-name internet strategists from the 2004 Democratic primary have signed on as advisers to the DraftObama.org campaign. Zephyr Teachout, who was one of the first staffers on Dean's internet campaign in 2004, and John Hlinko, who was one of the Draft Wesley Clark founders in 2003, have joined the unofficial draft movement aimed at getting the Senator from Illinois to run for President.
DraftObama.org was started by a government computer technician from Rockville, MD on a single Web page, but now boasts a national infrastructure with volunteers in every state.
However the Draft Clark movement had all of that and more (like $2.2 million to start) and failed, in part, because it could not transition quickly enough into a real ground campaign. At one point during the transition, draft staffers were meeting in the campaign HQ's basement bathroom to plan strategy under the professional staff's noses.
"There's no doubt that there was friction between the draft class and those who were brought on - the professionals," said Hlinko. "The draft was a very new kind of beast. I think we unfortunately lost a lot of time on that. We're in a very different position now and there would be time to fully integrate that."
Getting press was another problem for Draft Clark, something that likely won't occur with Obama because free media is his best asset. But the other practicial problems that plagued Clark, such as transfering the e-mail list and new staff, could incur if an organized movement snowballs before Obama announces his intentions.
"Whatever work you do in a draft movement should be viewed in the context of how you are helping a potential campaign," online strategist Larry Huynh, also one of the founders of the Draft Clark 2004 movement.
Huynh is an online strategist for Blackrock and Associates which not only manages Wesley Clark's online strategy, but also designs www.DickDurbin.com, which posted its own "Draft Obama" petition last week.
Byte:
*The online strategy firm formerly known as Right Click Strategies has changed its name to the "Aderfo Group" in order to reflect a change in its portfolio. According to Managing Director Jeff Mascott, Aderfo aims to grow its public affairs clients in addition to internet consulting for interest groups like the NFIB and Chamber of Commerice.
Posted at 12:53 PM
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