TechPresident's Lisa Sabater offers an extensive post about a campaign-related blog phenomenon in progress. Erin Kotecki Vest, a mommyblogger and BlogHer contributing editor wrote an open letter post asking Hillary Clinton to step down for the good of the country. The TechPrez post details, using various measures, how wildly popular the post has become. She asks (in her headline as well as the body) whether this one post could result in a measurable shift in a key Clinton demographic.
An ancillary but probably more salient question is whether the post reflects a shift in the mom demographic. While blogs may influence opinion, I still think they are more interesting as windows into the zeitgeist. Vest's post could not have generated that degree of excitement if she wasn't tapping into something already their among her readers and fellow bloggers and their readers.
The post itself laments the division over Hillary without calling her out for the campaign tactics that have fomented the latest round of divisiveness. Nonetheless, her argument gives an exit for women who don't want to see Hillary's enemies succeed, but worry about what her candidacy will mean.
Stay tuned.
RIP, JOHN OLESKY
5 months ago
5 comments:
Hi Scott - I posted Erin's letter on Tuesday when she first put it up and there's a torrent of comments here.
Thanks for pointing out that it's received notice. Erin's actually going to be in Cincy sometime soon and hopes to try and peek in on what's going on with the campaigns in Ohio.
I think the focus on sex and race has been an interesting part of the Democratic race. The impression seems to exist if you are a woman that you must automatically support Hillary or that if you are black you should automatically support Obama. This means with this assumption, those who disagree with this theory receive much more attention. The same has happened locally with a few prominent members of the black community stating they support Hillary.
There is the historical aspect to this race if either Obama or Clinton win, I think that's only natural that there be an interest in that aspect but I also think the reality remains that even if a majority of women would support Hillary or a majority of blacks would support Obama, there is always going to be those for whatever reason do not agree. The internet gives them a voice, but I don't think link numbers demonstrate that Moms are moving away or towards Clinton. It shows people are talking about the post, some of which probably disagree with the post, agree with parts of it or agree with all of it.
How egregiously does Senator Clinton need to exagerate her record in ed reform to run afoul of Ohio's campaign laws? From Koret (perhaps Democratic histories differ):
In the 1980s, as Americans focused on the message of A Nation at Risk, Arkansas awakened to the idea that it needed to strengthen its education system and boost its students' performance. The reform era opened with sundry initiatives by then-Governor Bill Clinton (and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton), including initial efforts to set standards, test teachers, and focus on school leadership.
In hindsight, however, just about all of those high-profile moves were cosmetic, superficial endeavors that didn't begin to tackle the underlying problems and were quickly weakened or undone. For example, the state's first set of statewide curricular standards--called course content guides--were developed in the 1980s but rapidly proved to be inadequate.
The plan included raises for teachers, new taxes to pay for them, and mandatory competency tests for both new and working teachers. When the teachers were finally required to sit for the National Teachers Examination two years later, reports emerged that more than one-third of the teachers in parts of the state failed to earn a passing score. Because of the potential political fallout, as many tell the story, the cutoff score was quietly lowered so that fewer than ten percent actually failed--and many of those teachers retained their jobs after retaking the exam. In the end, the plan generated a great deal of controversy but not much change in the state's teaching corps.
But Eric, she's tested and ready! Has been for 35 years!
I think they are - but a lot of groups are as well.
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