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Internet and Politics: Elections
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One of the more interesting intersections between the Internet and politics has been the ascendancy of political videos on YouTube. The phenomenon exploded this fall when the video of former Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) calling a staffer for now-Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) "macaca" likely cost him the election. But the flurry of political clips didn't subside with the election – this week three of the 20 most-viewed videos and three of the 20 top-rated videos feature members of Congress or parodies of them.
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The point is, the Internet and user-generated content hold the ability to shake and reshape American politics down to its core. While bloggers held some power in the 2004 elections, the influence of the Internet will soar come 2008.
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Any number of factors affects the probability that a person will vote, and the internet is just one among them. For instance, in the hotly contested 2004 election, the post-election survey by Pew Internet and People & the Press projects found that partisan identification exerted a big pull toward the voting booth. Those with strong political party connections are very likely to vote, especially in campaigns where the perceived stakes are high. In addition, better educated people are likely voters, and the impact of having a college degree on the chances of voting in 2004 was about twice as powerful as someone's use of the internet for political purposes.
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