The Way of the Whigs

      By: Michael Silberman  |  October 5, 2004

      Garrett and I are coasting into Reagan National just before 11pm now, on a Delta flight that's not even 1/3 full (sadly). We're returning from an afternoon at Haavahd's Kennedy School of Gov't, where we were Joe Trippi's guests at his IOP study group. Although Garrett's the Harvard guy, we're both going to lay claim on beinging the first from our respective graduating classes to speak at Harvard until someone tells us otherwise. One of the points that Trippi made this afternoon is replaying itself itself in my head. He was responding to a question about how Dean campaign's use of internet and its ability to foster a political culture of empowerment will change the future course of politics. Trippi explicitly predicted (and repeated again in his panel discussion later in the evening) that whichever of the two mainstream political parties in America first fails to embrace the internet and personal empowerment revolution will go "the way of the Whigs" by 2008. He suggests that a new party will fill the void, and the attempts of Ross Perot, John McCain, and Howard Dean are all evidence of this loudening drumbeat in American politics.It's a bold statement. Part of me wonders if he's not making this prediction for the theatrical purpose of attaching himself to a stake that he can claim to have driven into the ground, which is perfectly reasonable for a political expert like himself. However, I actually don't think he's saying this to make news. My less cynical side agrees with him: The personal empowerment revolution has begun, and the medium where it is taking place (on the internet) is also the one place where it can not be stopped. Howard Dean's candidacy may be over, but he helped bring a developing revolution from the shadows into the mainstream, accelerating the process. Now it's just a question of when companies, organizations, and political campaigns will get on board. Watching this evolution unfold and helping it along should be quite a ride. Who wakes up and "gets" that the old rules don't apply? I'm putting my money on the corporations for the sector that figures it out first. They're noticing that the floor is falling out beneath them as their target advertising demographic turns off the TV and goes online (Lost Boys, Wired 12.08). Most importantly, they stand the most to lose.
      Cross posted to The Blogatron

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      Comments

      Justin Miller — Wed, 10/06/2004 - 04:55

      I liked the Wired article -- pretty interesting, and seems to hit the nail on the head for our demographic. I thought this was interesting:

      "This younger generation has a filter mechanism," observes Jim Lentz, group VP of marketing at Toyota Motor Sales USA. Lentz has his own focus group at home: two sons, ages 17 and 21. "They can be doing their homework, listening to music, watching TV, on the PC, and on the phone, all at the same time. It drives my wife crazy. You assume they're just screwing around - but they're not." This ability to focus is governed by a complex neural network called the reticular activating system, which filters sensory input to keep the brain from being overwhelmed. When you grow up in an always-on world this system may adjust to cope. "They have a total ability to block out anything they don't want to get through," Lentz marvels. "From an advertising standpoint, that's what makes this animal so scary."

      Danny Rose (not verified) — Mon, 10/11/2004 - 17:14

      I can imagine the internet plus McCain Feingold triggering a realignmnet. ACT is doing the work this year traditionally done by the party -- but it's not tied to the party. If a populist candidate catches fire with the grassroots and goes independent, the wealthy progressives and the 527s will have a choice to make....