Politics Moves Online: Campaigning and the Internet (Century Foundation Report)
by By Cornfield, Michael
Category: Political Science , Public Policy , General

The popularization of the Internet has shepherded a revolution in business and personal communication. But how has online technology been used in mainstream American politics? In Politics Moves Online, Michael Cornfield provides a comprehensive guide to how the Internet has been used in political campaigns. He shows, for example, how candidates such as George Bush and John McCain in 2000&#151;as well as political action committees and the media&#151;struggled to figure out how to fit the Internet into their ongoing operations. Through a series of insightful cases, he examines how candidates use the Web as a campaign tool and as a fund-raising mechanism, and how voters use the Internet to gather information and become more knowledgeable voters. He finds that while many political pundits have argued that the Internet can be a revolutionary force in politics, citizens and politicians alike have yet to find innovative uses that go beyond conventional political operations.