Why Blog? by Congressman John Conyers, Jr.

[hiley]

WHY BLOG?

Cross posted at http://www.blackprof.com/ , where I am a guest poster for the next two weeks.

First, I want to thank Blackprof.com for inviting me to guest post for the next two weeks. I know many of the names associated with this blog, either personally or by reputation. I have also perused a number of the postings here, which are really top notch. I am honored to be a part of this blog.

Next, let me answer a question which many may have about my participation on this blog, my own blog www.conyersblog.us
and many other progressive sites: why does a Congressman blog?

For me, the journey into blogging started with the Howard Dean for President campaign. That campaign's groundbreaking use of the internet made many of us stand up and take notice of a new generation of progressive activists, dissatisfied by the corporate mainstream media (or the "MSM" as they call it. These activists also shared with me a dissatisfaction with the passive politics as usual that has -- at times -- become a modus operandi for the Democratic party.

After the Dean campaign, I began to talk with many of the architects of this internet strategy, most often with Joe Trippi, about whether the Dean model could be used to benefit congressional Democrats. Trippi was emphatic that it could.

Universally speaking, the experts -- the people who had used the internet so successfully in the Dean campaign -- had one word of caution. So many politicians who were intrigued by the Dean campaign saw the internet as a cash machine and little else. Not only is such a view shortsighted, it is ineffective, as many politicians have seen the internet activists tune them out after the third fund-raising appeal in one week. I decided to follow a different model and became the first Member of Congress to start his own blog with reader comments.

Snip---

http://www.conyersblog.us/archives/00000275.htm#comments

paineinthearse is on a little Sabbatical but I am sure will be back soon..
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=340&topic_id=234&mesg_id=234
Please visit John Conyers Group here at du.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=340

[hiley]

1. hello

John Conyers is a good guy and quite a patriot.