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What are you talking about ? Experts agree that in the presidential election of 2012, internet will have more influence than TV.

Sure: cnn.com, foxnews.com, gop.com, democrats.org, whitehouse.gov, etc.

And OWS gets a lot of online coverage.

On the large news outlets, that's mostly smearing campaigns, like OWS not having a clear goal (they do) and attendees being rude to jewish passersby (that guy is a known offline troll and a jew himself).

Check the news, Twitter and facebook have literally caused revolutions in Arab states where traditional media are a tad more controlled than in US.

Those states did not employ the Roman strategy of bread and circuses for the middle class. In contrast, the ruling class in the US has perfected it, in the form of fast food and media. As long as the majority of the population has that, no revolution will take place, and few will actively look into politics (which is what happened in the arab spring, people started to be active in politics). The new media is an active form of information transfer, you have to look for stuff. In the old media, everything is brought to you (prefiltered), which is much more convenient.

You live in a country where this happened.

Actually I don't, but that's beside the point :)

If you believe that twitter only gets 1000 votes, please read the link. In a single district, an unknown candidate got 3000 donations through internet.

I'm pretty sure part of that was also the novelty factor. However, I'd love to be proven wrong on my convictions. It just hasn't happened yet.

What are you talking about ? Experts agree that in the presidential election of 2012, internet will have more influence than TV. And OWS gets a lot of online coverage.

Check the news, Twitter and facebook have literally caused revolutions in Arab states where traditional media are a tad more controlled than in US.

You live in a country where this happened. If you believe that twitter only gets 1000 votes, please read the link. In a single district, an unknown candidate got 3000 donations through internet.

We've been on a few sites, but making it onto /. is something special.

Running for state rep means earning the trust of many voters in a few short months. Word of mouth goes a long way, but voters can't be reached effectively by email. The net's contributions make it possible for me to keep up a full time campaign at five nines while still keeping my day job.

I decided to run because my current state rep needed to retire. The 15th district needed someone better. I want to show the politicians in Topeka just how much difference a geek can make.

With your help I got their attention. Keep it up; we plan to show those people the power of technology. Keep checking the blog for updates and new comics.

-Sean
sean@seantevis.com

Here are the cartoon's link and the guy's home page.

Here are the cartoon's link and the guy's home page.

I still have no idea why anyone would give this guy money or vote for him.

Why?

The very fist panel here is almost enough to make me wish I lived in Kansas just so I could vote for him. And an excellent title - It's Like A Flamewar with a Forum Troll, but with an Eventual Winner. Apparently a LOT of people are willing to donate $8.34 (or more) to downmod a Troll out of office.

I looked over the rest of his site, which only reaffirmed that first impression. He seems like a smart funny reasonable... and yes sci&tech savvy guy trying to a troglodyte out of office. Then I skimmed his opponent's site (which has even less info), which does nothing to diminish that first impression.

-

Let's look at his education policy. Apparently his entire platform on education is "we should have the best schools". How would he go about making that happen, you ask? Why it's simple! By making sure they're the best, of course!

While I completely agree with you, usually our elections come down to choice of two, equally ambiguously-intentioned candidates.

Presenting: The Other Guy's Issue List

Copied and pasted here in it's entirety

Serving District 15 for 6 years... Arlen Siegfreid supports: * Quality Education * Economic Development * Control of Government Growth & Taxes * Public Safety & Security * Family Values Arlen has also issues a white paper on Reappraisal Reform. Stay tuned for a more detailed outline of Arlen's platform and positions.

I still have no idea why anyone would give this guy money or vote for him

he doesn't have to be perfect, he just has to be better than his opponent. Read the comic already. Panel 1 should do it.

Here's the actual cartoon on his blog:

http://seantevis.com/kansas/3000/running-for-office-xkcd-style/

I still have no idea why anyone would give this guy money or vote for him. Is it just because he's a nerd?

Let's look at his education policy. Apparently his entire platform on education is "we should have the best schools". How would he go about making that happen, you ask? Why it's simple! By making sure they're the best, of course!

How about some links to the guy?

Tevis' website and the comic in question should get most people started.

How about some links to the guy?

Tevis' website and the comic in question should get most people started.