Monthly Archives: October 2008

Surfing Facebook for votes: Local politicians try social networking

Posted on October 30, 2008 | 1 Comment

By Erica Christoffer


One of the first things state Rep. Greg Harris does in the morning is update his Facebook status.

“Greg Harris is [at] Chicago House bakery opening this am, community mental health meeting this pm, and Truman College Economy Forum tonight,” Harris wrote just before 5:30 a.m. Oct. 21.

Like many Facebook users, Harris lets his “friends” know what he’s up to. But as an elected official, Harris also uses Facebook as a new way to reach his constituents.

“I’m surprised at the number of constituents who found me,” said Harris, a Democrat who represents Illinois 13th District on Chicago’s Northside. “Who I hear from, I might not otherwise have contact with; they don’t call the district office.”

Harris is one local official who has jumped on the bandwagon of free communication through social networking websites, a tool proven successful for candidates seeking to connect with younger voters.

Christine Williams, a professor of international studies and government at Bentley University in Massachusetts, began investigating the impact of Facebook support on candidates’ vote counts in 2006. Her findings show it’s worth it for candidates to invest the time in Facebook pages.

“As for the effectiveness, we found that if a candidate had twice as many Facebook supporters as his or her opponent, it added a few percentage points to the vote share after controlling for things like money raised, media coverage, etc.,” Williams said.

Williams found that Facebook presence impacted both the 2006 congressional races and the 2008 presidential primaries, especially in caucus states. And she said the relationship was strong in predicting the youth vote turnout.

For example, her data shows the more support presidential candidate Barack Obama received from Facebook members in each state, the better he performed in that state’s nominating contest. After controlling for variables, the results show Obama’s vote share increased by nearly 0.4 percent.

Facebook support had an even greater impact on Sen. Hillary Clinton’s vote counts in the Democratic Presidential Primary, according to William’s study, estimating an increase of 1.1 percent.

Rep. Ruth Munson of Elgin, a Republican who represents Illinois’ 43rd District in Chicago’s Northwest suburbs, started her Facebook page over a year ago because she was intrigued by the communication her children, now 18 and 21, had with their friends.

“It gives me an insight into young people and what they’re doing,” said Munson, a software developer. How else could she talk with friends in Ireland, South Korea and with an intern at her office at the same time in a single morning, she asked.

“I’ve always tried to find ways to hear what people have to say. Every resource we have to do that we have to use,” said Munson, who is in a heated race against Democrat Keith Farnham, who does not have a Facebook account.

Farnham’s campaign manager John Valadez said they never thought about setting up a social networking profile. He also pointed out that profiles can be used for negative campaigning because it is offers a setting for people to post any information they choose.

Kim Martin, a political science professor at the Graham Center for Public Service at the University of Florida at Gainsville, said social networking sites could be an effective means for mobilizing young voters who traditionally have a poor showing at the polls.

“Young voters want to feel like they have a connection to a politician. To do this, the politician needs to create an image that the student can relate to,” said Martin, who is studying public officials’ effectiveness in reaching young voters through Facebook. “If a student can see that a politician likes skiing or the Godfather, it really puts the candidate’s personality into perspective.”

Martin said state and local public officials have not been using Facebook as much as politicians at the federal level. The Obama campaign, she said, has been extremely active.

“My research partner and I speculate that if politicians were to utilize this medium, they could reach more voters than could be imagined,” Martin said. “But of course it remains to be seen whether those voters will actually get out and vote.”

Harris, who is running uncontested this year, said about a quarter of his approximately 400 Facebook friends are in his Northside Chicago district. Munson has had similar success. But not everyone in the Illinois General Assembly has found social networking as useful.

Rep. Karen May, a four-term Democrat from the northern suburb of Highland Park also up for re-election next week, set up her Facebook page to reach younger voters and get the word out about the Clean Cars bill she sponsored.

“It has been of limited usefulness so far, perhaps because I don’t have the staff to help manage it and give specific calls to action,” May said. “I honestly don’t think it has achieved my goal of getting students to contact their legislators.”

Martin said it could take longer for state and local politicians to catch up to congressional members and others who’ve successfully used social networking, especially since young people are less likely to get involved in local politics.

However, she said public officials should keep in mind that 96 percent of the college students she polled have active Facebook or MySpace profiles. Utilizing those websites would be worthwhile.

This is evidence that if you want to reach young people this is where you should go,” Martin said.

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Local Greens’ movement gains speed statewide

Posted on October 15, 2008 | Leave a comment

By Erica Christoffer

They call themselves “Greens.” They are left of center, environmentally progressive and despise the country’s two-party political system. While this movement has long called Rogers Park home, it has quietly gained speed throughout the rest of Chicago.

They are the Green Party of Illinois. And with Rich Whitney’s success two years ago collecting nearly 11 percent of the vote statewide as the third-party candidate in the gubernatorial election, the Greens broke the state’s threshold of 5 percent to be recognized as a major party. This makes it much easier for Green candidates at every level to get on the ballot in Illinois. For instance, they only need to gather 5,000 signatures instead of the 35,000 required of non-major parties.

Now a record number of Green Party candidates – 60 across the state – are running at the county, state and federal levels. Fifty of those are slated to be on the ballots in Cook County, nearly the number of candidates the Republican Party is running in Cook County.

“We’re actually vying to become the second party in Chicago, and we’re in a good position to do that,” said Green Party spokesperson Patrick Kelly.

Green Party candidates are the only challengers taking on Democratic incumbents in two state legislative races covering Rogers Park on the city’s far Northside. In Senate District 7, Tom Durkin is taking on Sen. Heather Steans, and in House District 14, the Greens are running John Beacham against Rep. Harry Osterman .

“This whole thing is to give people a choice, which is not something you often get in Chicago,” Kelly said.

Beacham, a three-year resident of Rogers Park and English teacher at Harper College, said the neighborhood community has embraced the Green Party as an alternative to the Democrats.

“What I want to do is try to reach as many people as possible,” said Beacham, 40, who is also a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation and is active with the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition of Chicago. “I’m running to promote independent grassroots activism as a means to best accelerate the end of the war, stop the gentrification of Rogers Park and to support statewide healthcare.”

Steans, the freshman senator in Illinois 7th District who faces Green Party candidate Tom Durkin, acknowledged the high number of Green Party candidates running this year.

“Whether that will continue,” she said, “it’s hard to tell. I think a lot of dissatisfaction with the current governor enabled that.”

Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who won the 2006 election, has been accused of enabling pay-to-play politics and is under federal investigation.

But Durkin hasn’t formed a campaign committee and hasn’t raised the minimum $3,000 that would require him to file finance reports. In contrast, Steans raised nearly $120,000 in the first six months of this year.

David Fuchs, political expert and one of the original organizers of the Chicago Police Department’s community outreach program CAPS, said he wouldn’t be surprised if Green Party candidates who aren’t actively campaigning still collect a significant number of votes.

The political “machine” under Mayor Richard J. Daley doesn’t exist the way it used to, Fuchs said. And loyalty to the Democratic Party in Chicago continues. But many more people are taking a stand against corruption, Fuchs said, making the Green Party is a good alternative.

“There is a real culture in Rogers Park for civic activism,” said Fuchs, who sees it as a carryover from the civil rights movement of the 1960s – an era when many activists began calling Rogers Park home. “Look at (50th Ward Ald.) Joe Moore. He’s not a typical Chicago alderman, and he represents that attitude of Rogers Park.”

David Fagus, 49th Ward Democratic Committeeman said Greens have seen success only on the very local level.

“I think that the Green party phenomenon in Rogers Park and the immediate surrounding area is attributable to the very liberal population we enjoy,” Fagus said, speculating that might be where it ends, for now. “State representative and state senate races are too big for a local neighborhood collection of Greens to band together when you are talking 100,000 or 200,000 per district.”

The Green Party is still a long way from being a mainstream political party, said Kent Redfield, political science professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Part of the issue, he said, is Greens largely attract a certain demographic: higher income, college educated and urban dwelling.

“If you’re going to be a viable alternative to the Democrat or Republican Party, you’ve got to broaden your base,” Redfield said.

Redfield said in U.S. history, third parties surged following situations of social hardship, such as after the Great Depression. But those third-party followings are soon enveloped by one of the two major parties.

Robert Rudner, 49th Ward Green Party Committeeman, co-founded the Chicago Greens in 1987. He called attention to the differences between Greens and Democrats, including, most importantly, he said, “an ecological point of view and an ecological lifestyle.”

But Redfield said the Green Party needs more than then environmental card.

“If you’re just an environmental party, nowadays everyone is an environmentalist,” Redfield said.

Fagus believes the Greens have an opportunity to make an impact on issues, but said the political environment is not there for them to win over a Democrat yet.

Thomas O’Brien , Green Party candidate for Cook County state’s attorney, said the Green Party is focused on building that long-term third-party foundation.

“The history of third parties has been compared to a bee – they sting and then die,” he said. “The party must run candidates in as many races as possible to ensure that voters begin to recognize that there is a third option.”

If the Green Party could get 5 percent of the votes nationwide this year, then the party could get access to federal matching campaign funds, approximately $85 million.

“Without the funds it will be hard for a Green candidate to win in high, population areas,” O’Brien said.

The closest the Green Party has come was during the 2000 presidential election where Ralph Nader received over 2.8 million votes, 2.74 percent. Although he fell short of the 5 percent, the election did qualifying the Greens for ballot status in many new states.

After the 2000 election, Nader was widely criticized by liberals and accused of taking votes away from Al Gore who lost to George W. Bush after a haphazard recount process in Florida that escalated to the U.S. Supreme Court. Nader is running for president again this year, this time as an Independent.

“I believe that as things are currently structured, there is little opportunity for the Green Party to win,” Fagus said.

Kelly is optimistic the Green Party will continue on past this election Nov. 4 as a viable third option.

“A lot of people over the past couple years have really embraced this green lifestyle. We as a party have been talking about that for a long time,” he said. “I would encourage people to look at the candidates and really try to figure out who is going to be green when they’re elected.”

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Is free speech a human right? An examination of China.

Posted on October 13, 2008 | 1 Comment

By Erica Christoffer

Patrick Burkhartzmeyer of Minneapolis lived in Shijiazhuang, China for 10 months teaching English at Hebei University of Science and Technology. During his time in China he couldn’t access Hotmail, view most blogs, or use search engines to find information on China’s history.

What Burkhartzmeyer encountered has become known as “the great firewall of China.”

But with more young Chinese students learning English, Burkhartzmeyer said some are beginning to find ways around those censored barriers.

“It is becoming easier for them to access English news websites. This could, perhaps, greatly change the way Chinese understand their country and the world,” he said.

The Chinese government runs a censorship system targeting information related to politics, religion and public criticism. Despite some finding ways around the “great firewall,” censorship still impacts the 1.4 billion people living in China in other ways – which many call human rights violations.

Human Rights Watch, a non-profit that investigates and exposes human rights violations, said in its 2006 report, “How Censorship Works in China,” that China’s Internet regulations are among the most extensive and restrictive in the world.

The Chinese government censors specific websites and keyword searches through a sophisticated series of filters in Internet routers, Internet access providers and Internet service providers. And, there are at least 12 different government agencies in China that have some authority over the Internet.

Peter Li, 21, from Shanghai, China is one such student who found ways around the censorship. Li attends college at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. He has experienced website censorship, especially in the Chinese versions of foreign media, such as the BBC.

“My generation is particularly tech-savvy and there are tools available to bypass the firewall. The English version of foreign media outlets are rarely blocked anyway,” said Li, who admits that most of his friends use proxy servers to access pages that are blocked. Proxy servers are used to navigate around censors by masking IP addresses.

“Censorship greatly influences the people of China because they are unable to understand what is really happening. The government controls all media outlets so the information that is passed is usually framed based on the image it portrays,” Burkhartzmeyer said. “I would consider it a human rights violation, but I think it is important to note that this happens in more places that just China.”

Reporters Without Borders ranked China 163rd out of 169 countries in its 2007 worldwide press freedom index, a ranking of news in terms of freedom and accessibility. The U.S. was 48th. Iceland came in on top.

Every one of China’s thousands of publications and publishers is subject to direct editorial control by Chinese authorities. And, China currently has more bloggers and Internet-using dissidents in prison that any other nation in the world, with a total of 50.

Michelle Tam of Chicago, whose parents emigrated from China to the U.S. before she was born, said older students in China have a better understanding of the problems associated with censorship.

“The Internet started as they were growing up and [they experienced] more volatile events such as Tiananmen,” said Tam who attended the University of Southern California where she met several Chinese international students. “I’ve noticed that some of the younger Chinese international students aren’t as aware of or care much about this issue as those in the later age group; mostly because they’ve grown up in basically the most prosperous time of their country.”

It’s possible some don’t realize they’re being censored in the first place, according to Kristen Shaffer, an English teacher now living in Austria who taught in China for two years. She said Chinese students mainly use the Internet for watching T.V. shows, social networking and checking up on sports scores.

“Rarely is it used to access information, or do research, as we’re used to it – even at universities,” Shaffer said.

Human Rights in China, a non-profit watchdog group, found that the majority of China’s Internet users are well-educated men under 30 who live in cities. While going online to chat with friends, download music or play games is popular, going online to discuss politics is not.

“I think the Internet will always remain censored in China but the amount of regulation will relax as China develops and her government feels confident enough to take criticism,” said Li. “A right of this kind needs to be balanced with the needs of society. Information can be just as dangerous as a gun. China has a 1.4 billion population and still lacks the political and social development to facilitate such a right. I think she is too vulnerable.”

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Stricter criminal sentences supported in Mexico, death penalty discussed

Posted on October 7, 2008 | 1 Comment

By Erica Christoffer

Hilario Rodriguez knows about the increased violence in Mexico all too well.

A resident of Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, Rodriguez’ father lives in Michoacán, not far from Morelia, the state capital where Mexican Independence Day celebrations were terrorized when hand grenades were thrown into a crowd Sept. 15. Seven people were killed.

His father is safe, he said, but is concerned about citizens being targeted by warring drug cartel.

“They won’t stop until they’re given what they want,” said Rodriguez.

What they want, he said, is secure territory to move drugs, and a blind eye from government and police.

That’s why Rodriguez supports capital punishment.

“For me, it’s a better way to clean up the streets,” said Rodriguez, supporting the idea that the death penalty deters crime.

But the chances of government officials gaining enough support from Mexicans to legalize the death penalty are slim-to-none, he said.

“They won’t pass it; they definitely won’t pass it,” Rodriguez said.

There are currently two opposing views in Mexico, as illustrated by recent events. The Mexican government, currently led by the National Action Party (PAN), tried to halt the execution of Mexican citizen Jose Medellin on Aug. 5 in Texas. But on the other hand, in Mexico’s Green Party (PVEM), some politicians are proposing the death penalty in light of the attack in Morelia and influx of kidnappings and murders.

Mexican Congresswoman Gloria Lavara Mejía released a statement on the PVEM website calling for legalization of capital punishment, which was abolished in 2005, citing cases where the threat of the death penalty served as a deterrent to criminals. While Mexican President Felipe Calderon announced Aug. 7 he would seek stricter sentencing guidelines, including life sentences for kidnappers and murders, however he did not say he supports the death penalty.

“Our understanding is that the proposal to reintroduce capital punishment in Mexico has not been taken seriously by the political establishment,” said Piers Bannister, coordinator of Amnesty International’s death penalty team.

Amnesty International, a human rights organization based in London and operating throughout the world, opposes the death penalty in all cases.

“We believe that every execution is a violation to the most fundamental right: the right to life,” Bannister said.

It is unlikely that the government would try and resume capital punishment, Bannister said, pointing to Mexico’s history of opposing the death penalty at international level and the executions of Mexican citizens in the U.S.

Yet Michel Marizco, a Mexican news blogger and columnist, wrote that the political winds have changed in Mexico since the death penalty was abolished three years ago by President Vincente Fox. Citizens are becoming less and less tolerant of the violence and police corruption.

Honorina Alcocer, a native to Mexico who now resides in Chicago’s Little Village, said she is a recent supporter of capital punishment. She takes the recent discussion on stricter sentencing for criminals in Mexico as a positive sign.

“I think the people would want it because there are a lot of problems [in Mexico],” Alcocer said.

Bannister said there is always some support for the death penalty from the public because some believe it will stop crime. However, statistics have not proven that capital punishment serves as a deterrent to crime more effectively than other harsh punishments, he said.

What’s more, the Catholic Church is very powerful in Mexico, Bannister said, and has great influence over the PAN, the leading party, which is against the death penalty.

Mar Munoz-Visoso, assistant director of media relations at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the Church is opposed to capital punishment and supports restrictions against its use. However, no formal consultations with the Mexican Bishops Conference on the death penalty have occurred since the newfound debate started south of the border started this summer, she said.

And, despite the fact no legislative action has been taken on creating more stringent sentencing guidelines, the people of Mexico believe the violence will end, Rodriguez said.

“The people there think everything is going to change,” said Rodriguez. “They have hope.”

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Palin gets praise, vice presidential debate sways undecided voters both ways

Posted on October 3, 2008 | 1 Comment

By Erica Christoffer

Oct. 2, 2008

It’s all about Sarah.

At what was expected to be one of the most-viewed vice presidential debates in history, nominees Sen. Joe Biden and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin went toe-to-toe Thursday night at Washington University in St. Louis.

What sets this debate apart from vice presidential debates past? Sarah and the undecided voter.

“We’re in an unusual year,” said Vincent Hutchings, associate professor at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research Center for Political Studies. “The fact that [Palin] is a woman and particularly the fact that she is a woman in the aftermath of the Hillary Clinton campaign.”

According to a poll released by the Associated Press Sept. 24, nearly one-fifth of those surveyed, 18 percent, don’t know who they want in the White House. When compared to this same time four years ago, during the Bush-Kerry campaigns, undecided voters totaled only 4 percent, as was discussed on the News Hour with Jim Lehrer Oct. 7, 2004.

An expert in elections, public opinion and voting behavior, Hutchings, believes the true number of undecided voters are actually lower than 18 percent. But at the same time, he said this debate could impact a high number of swing voters, while historically, the vice presidential debate hasn’t made much of a difference.

“In light of the criticism against Gov. Palin and the fact that she’s going up against somebody like Joe Biden, who is a seasoned senator, a lot of attention is going to be paid to Palin and that could work to her advantage – especially if she does well,” Hutchings said before the debate.

While Washington University seniors and Obama supporters Kristine Agbayanbi from San Jose, Calif., and Jennifer Rogier of St. Louis, didn’t know what to expect from Palin before the debate, they exited the arena that night with a newfound respect for the Alaska governor.

“With all the hype surrounding both of them, I think they both did really well,” said Washington University senior Kristine Agbayanbi

“Their back-and-forth dialogue was really intriguing. Coming out of there, I’m so glad I could be there and be apart of it,” said Rogier. She had been on the fence, but was swayed toward Obama and Biden in the end.

Hiral Desai, a Washington University junior from Chicago, was an Obama-Biden supporter before she walked through the doors of the debate arena. The debate solidified her voting position, but she had some praise for Palin as well.

“I was interested to see how she would speak,” she said. “She impressed me a lot. I found some of her points valid for sure, but I’m still supporting Obama and Biden.”

For first-time voter Rachel Bauer, 23, of Eau Claire, Wis., she is still undecided, and not necessarily because of Palin or Biden. Bauer wants to hear more specifically what each side of the ticket plans to do to address the economy, turmoil within financial institutions and downturn on Wall Street.

“I feel just because she’s a woman she’s getting a lot of attention and I don’t remember that much attention being focused on the vice presidential candidates in the last election,” Bauer said. “It’s important that people listen to both sides and don’t just vote for somebody just because somebody else is.”

Bill Overson, a Washington University graduate student, said the debate was Palin’s “opportunity to shine,” especially since Biden has more speaking experience. He chose to support McCain-Palin.

Eric Samuelson, 35, of Chicago watched the debates on television, and also hasn’t made his final decision yet.

“The reason I’m so undecided is, I really want to hear something – and I don’t necessarily know what that something is – but I want them to tell me something they’re going to do that is going to make the next four years different than the last eight,” Samuelson said.

Samuelson said he was impressed with both Palin and Biden’s performance in the debate.

“I thought [Sarah] showed a lot of knowledge on foreign policy and the economy,” said Samuelson. “I think Biden did an excellent job as far as attacking John McCain and not attacking Palin in any way.”

Samuelson was also impressed with Palin when she asked Biden if she could call him Joe at the start of the debate.

“She’s got a certain level of charm just like Barack does,” he said.

While Samuelson and other viewers say watching the debates will help them come to a final voting decision, political science professor Michael Mezey at DePaul University in Chicago does not see this debate making a significant difference.

“There is no evidence that any vice presidential debate has ever had any impact on the election,” Mezey said.

“It’s all about perception,” Mezey said. “Tomorrow morning, nobody will remember the policy that was discussed – it will be personal impressions on the candidates.”

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Live, from the vice presidential debate press room

Posted on October 3, 2008 | 1 Comment

By Erica Christoffer

Oct. 2, 2008

Three minutes before 8 p.m. Thursday night it hits me – I really am covering one of the most anticipated political events during this historic election. I was overwhelmed. I had to tell someone – share what I was experiencing. So I updated my status on Facebook.

“OK, Alexandra Pelosi’s work station is behind me and the Daily Show is filming to the right of me! Am I dreaming? Three minutes to go tiil debate time!!!!”  (In my haste, I misspelled ‘til.)

Not sure if this is up to the maturity level of a nearly 30-year-old reporter, but oh well.

The debate starts. Sarah Palin and Joe Biden’s voices boom in televised echoes through the gymnasium-turned-press room on the Washington University campus. Between typing my notes on important matters of public policy and the future of the economy, I can’t help but get sidetracked, staring – blatantly, even – at the other journalists surrounding me, watching them as they feverously type away. There is a hum. There is a vibe. They are churning out the messages millions of Americans will read in the morning. Again, I am in awe.

Toward the end of the debate Palin remarked that she liked speaking to the American people directly rather a having the mainstream media tell viewers what they just heard. I thought about this awhile. Yes, Palin has been under much scrutiny. I know the few interviews she has done have received poor reviews. So, yes, the media does create a filter between her and the public.

But what are filters for? To disseminate information to the public in a manner they can understand and relate to. To explain complicated matters those with expertise are all too familiar with. To be a voice of question, reason and challenge. Filters can distort, but they can also make things more clear.

I also decided that the public is intelligent enough to get information from the source directly as well as from various news outlets acknowledging that each as its own “filter,” so to speak.

The debate ends and I have a new, refreshed resolve within myself for the good and just purpose of news. Thousands of reporters descend on a single college campus to listen to two politician talk. Why? Because it is our right and our obligation to be here and empower those (readers) who cannot.

As one student I interviewed said, “I am proud to have been here.” I feel that way, too.

Plus, I got a picture with John Oliver.

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