Good Government

While even your grandmother probably maintains a blog, elected officials continue to be wary of the practice.  Few public officeholders blog on a consistent basis and this reluctance to use such a potentially powerful medium probably has several causes.  Many lawmakers fear that political opponents could take a blog entry out of context and use it as a campaign weapon against the author.  And while blogs can make an elected official seem more accessible, it also provides an avenue for intense criticism from members of the public, criticism that, whether accurate or not, could influence other voters.  But on the whole, the potential benefits of blogging for lawmakers outweigh any potential risks.  Blogging is a quick and cheap method for reaching out to constituents and encouraging a more participatory democracy.  Here in Minneapolis, Councilmember Cam Gordon maintains a blog and he persuaded the City Council to pass a motion permitting all Councilmembers to use city resources to maintain blogs.  In fact, political blogs are more likely to proliferate at the local level before lawmakers at the federal level get up the gumption to blog at any meaningful level. 

 

I’ve often wondered what I’d do with this blog if I ever ran for office.  My advisors would probably urge me to mothball the whole thing, but I’d probably resist.  The people deserve to know what they might be getting themselves into if they elect me.