Campaign Blogs: The Next Step
It's hardly news anymore when another candidate says she will start a weblog here in Guilford County, the campaign weblog capital of the world. But Jennifer Schulz Medlock, a Libertarian running for the State House, is different from the rest: she has a realistic chance of winning. Medlock is running against a maverick Republican named Steve Wood, who is much despised by the local GOP regulars; there is no Democrat in the race. Here's what John Hammer, editor of a local alternative paper and a staunch conservative himself, wrote this week: "If the Libertarians want to elect a representative to the State House, this is a race they should really concentrate on... If Medlock will get out and work and the Libertarian Party will put some money into her campaign, she can WIN."
I asked Medlock why she wanted a weblog. "I truly believe in direct communication and honesty between leaders and citizens," she replied. "A weblog cannot replace personal, face-to-face contact or even a phone conversation, but it is a very convenient communication tool. If I win my election, I plan to continue to use it so that my constituents have access to me and can stay informed."
The idea of using a weblog as a campaign tool was seized by Tara Grubb when circumstance put her in the same district as Howard Coble in the year the Web hated him for sponsoring that dumb P2P bill. Then another local Libertarian, Jim Capo (with whom I am having a beer in 45 minutes), saw what Tara was doing and started his own weblog. Now Medlock is going to join the party. How long until a major party candidate does it?
4:21:10 PM 
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