For the Democratic and Progressive blogosphere, Jim Webb represents Campaign 2.0 -- the purpose of this post is to tell you why, and fill you in on our plans a bit. Jim is very interested in the netroots, and in running a different kind of campaign. This is a chance for the Democratic/progressive netroots community to really take things up a notch.
Lowell Feld (U:"lowkell") and I (Greg Priddy) have been in contact with Jim and with the campaign staff, and have discussed with them a strategy to get Jim's message out to the netroots, interact with the online community in Virginia and nationwide, and jumpstart the campaign with some much-needed funds before the end-of-the-first-quarter filing deadline, which is a cricital milestone for the campaign, and less than three weeks away. Our fundraising goal is
$300,000 in three weeks. Yes, it's ambitious, but we think it can be done.
Jim Webb is planning to make himself available for a significant amount of direct interaction with blog readers, in several places and formats -- live blogging himself, a series of interviews with Lowell and me on various campaign themes and policy issues, some of which will have him available to answer questions afterward, and conference calls with some of the major players in the blogosphere -- in Virginia and nationally.
We hope to accomplish several things with this, including getting Jim's message out, giving him your inputs through direct interaction, and answering some of the questions you have had about him and his positions on the issues.
Another important thing we hope to accomplish is to validate the netroots fundraising model. One of the reasons Jim had to think long and hard about entering the race is that he didn't exactly relish the idea of having to spend several hours a day "dialling for dollars" from big donors. He'd much rather convince thousands of netroots folks to support him $100 at a time (or more if you can afford it) than have to curry favor with a bunch of Washington lobbyists. We're going to try to validate a new business model here, which has the potential to really shake things up, in the sort of way Kos has described in his book, Crashing the Gates. We also hope to get lots of volunteers signed up, once we've made the case for why you should support Jim's candidacy.
Jim Webb's candidacy really has the potential to shake up the stale Democratic establishment with a huge gust of fresh air from the netroots, and show the world what the Democratic blogosphere can do, how far it's evolved, and how powerful it's grown. We're in this thing to win.
So, what do you all think? Do we all want to help elect a candidate who: opposed the Iraq War since 2002; is pro-choice; supports civil unions; is a true populist in the "Jacksonian Democracy" sense; believes in "reining in the unbridled power of the Presidency;" will shake up the Democratic Party; will win back the working class "Reagan Democrats" and, in doing so, help "turn America blue" once and for all?
I know that folks on Daily Kos have a lot of questions for Jim Webb, so let me finish by throwing this out -- I'll be posting an interview with him Tuesday evening about why he came home to the Democratic Party, and why he's running for the U.S. Senate. Jim Webb will be online, and available to take your followup questions.
Campaign website: Webb for Senate
Donate: Webb for Senate - Donate Online