What Fanselow Taught

I’ve been awful hard this election cycle on Julie Fanselow, the Larry Grant campaign official blogger,for some of her tactics and statements in this campaign. For the past five months, this blog and the Grant campaign have been in almost daily conflict.

Now, that it’s over, it’s time for reflection and I must say at the end of the day, the way Julie Fanselow ran the Grant campaign blogging and Internet operations provide some lessons for Republicans. This election was the first time that blogs mattered. I think we’re heading to the point where blogs are going to become a crucial part of campaigns.

My big concern with campaign blogging is that many candidates will ask for a blog, but have no idea what it is or how to make it work. It’s trendy and fascinating, but what the heck is it? Blogging for the sake of blogging is a costly waste of revenue. Fanselow was paid $15,200 by the Grant Campaign. She made the connection to ACT Blue and the Daily Kos network to raise $72,000 in (Mostly out-of-state) contributions. Blogging and her making connections with groups like MyDD and Daily Kos proved critical for providing Grant much-needed cash.

The blog and the various liberal blogs she networked with throughout the state found themselves well-ranked on Google. Fanselow also posted all of the Grant campaign’s ads on YouTube. I appreciated that as someone who doesn’t watch TV.

Profiling local candidates and showing Grant with the folks worked well. In many ways, it’s a good example for candidates to study on how to run a campaign blog. The campaign blog’s primary failing was the same as most campaigns: excessive and bitter negativity.

Fanselow worked hard and as much as I’ve critiqued the way the Grant campaign has been run, I tip my cap to her for hard work and for running a model blog campaign. I’ll take away many lessons from this past campaign.

It is easy to forget that committed, intelligent, and talented people, who may oppose your viewpoints, help make this Republic work. If you want a place where there is no organized opposition, go to Cuba or China. No, thank you. America is free in part because we have a system where people can fight for what they believe to be right and then the people get to have their say once it’s all said and done. If we ever get away from that, we’re all going to be poorer for it.

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