Hello, all,

A few weeks ago I made a proposal that the Berkman Bloggers' Group
attempt to web-enable the Massachusetts 8th Congressional district.
Right now, there are three candidates for the seat, and none of them
have weblogs.

This particular race will be interesting for a number of reasons:
1. The incumbent is Ed Markey (D), a longtime congressperson who also
wrote the 1996 Telecommunications Reform Act. He is widely rumored to
be looking to replace John Kerry in the Senate if Kerry wins this Nov's
presidential election.
2. Markey has run unopposed or with only token opposition for many
cycles. The musical-chairs prompted by Kerry's run has shaken things
up, adding new candidates to the mix.

The Berkman Bloggers' Group has unique expertise. Perhaps you haven't
thought of it this way before, but where could candidates go to find a
room full of people who could provide as thorough an introduction to
blogging as we can -- without being attached to any software vendor,
political consultant, or tech services firm pitching their own services?

Frankly, I can't think of a single smarter room they could go to. Not
only that, we usually have dinner afterward!

Given the unique circumstances of the 8th district race, the newness of
blogging, and all the work we have collectively been doing, we're in a
unique position to do something good.

What follows is the draft text of a letter that I would like to send to
Kenneth Chase (http://www.chaseforcongress.com) and Jim Hall
(http://www.jimhallforcongress.com). Look it over carefully. Do you
agree with it? What would you add?

Lisa W.


Dear Candidate,

Members of the Berkman Bloggers' Group would like to extend to you free
and nonpartisan technical assistance to help you set up a weblog to
communicate directly with voters.

Weblogs have played a major role in this election cycle -- catapulting
previously unknown candidates to the forefront of races and freeing
candidates from the neccessity of big-donor dog and pony shows, PACs,
and soft money by giving them a way to connect with individual voters
and build grassroots networks.

The time, space, and attention local news outlets will pay to a
particular race is small. This scarcity has reduced many political
campaigns to soundbites and attack ads.

By contrast, a weblog allows you to go direct to voters to talk, not in
edited soundbites, but in your own voice, about issues that you are
passionate about -- as often as you wish, in as much detail as you wish,
and whenever you wish. Not only that, a weblog allows voters can
respond directly to you with their comments, concerns, and compliments.

We believe that our democracy can only be helped when candidates can
talk to voters citizen-to-citizen, and we hope that you do too. If you
would like to schedule a weblog tutorial session please drop us an email.

Best of luck,


Lisa Williams
on behalf of the Berkman Bloggers' Group