Candidate Blogs: Bob Orr from NC

The idea of a candidate blogging for an election can seem scary to professional political consultants.  After all, the purpose of a campaign is to pitch a message, not let some wet behind the ears politician write what he really thinks.

Or at least that's the way it used to be.  Candidate blogs may seem foolish, but over time, I think they are a powerful weapon against the entrenched interested in our state and national capitols. 

Witness Bob Orr, whose running for governor of North Carolina.  His political blog, Blog Orr 08, has real posts, is regularly updated, and is intelligently written.  That's a real positive, as the man seems to be smarter than your average bear - or politician.  Not that it's difficult to do - whenever a talking head goes on about the brilliance of a politician, it reminds me of sportcasters talking about the brilliance of quarterbacks.  Most of the time, they should be saying, "He's very smart, for a football player." 

Having a politician blog is a smart thing.  Check out Jolie Justus, a Missouri state senator with her own blog, Fresh Meat.  The bloody cleaver isn't the best image, but I have to say I appreciate her view more, even if I don't agree with them.

Team Kinder is a start on the Republican side in Missouri.  As Lieutenant Governor, Peter Kinder has a bigger megaphone than Justus, but we'll have to see how he uses his blog over the course of the campaign. It's not enough to have one - it has to be part of the campaign, just as much as direct mail and phone banks.

For some politicians, having a blog can launch them from perennial candidate to possible contender.  Jacob Turk, out in Kansas City, is running against longtime Kansas City politico, Emmanuel Cleaver.   His blog, at Turk for Congress, is built to help introduce Jacob to the voters of the 5th District.

Whether or not that strategy works this time, I can guarantee that the use of the blog will raise awareness of the Turk campaign, just as it raises awareness for Justus and Orr.  Blogs by candidates, in the final estimation, make the lawmakers accountable to their public, if for no other reason than connection with their constituents.

And I'd like to see more, please.

hattip:  RedState

Comments

[David All]

I'm not sure if I would point to Orr's site as the model for a candidate's blog. In fact, just the opposite.

First, the basics. He's losing any sort of energy and traffic that a blog might drive to his campaign by not having any sort of action tools available for the reader.

Part of the problem is that he's using the worst blogging platform available - blogspot - instead of building the entire site on a much more sustainable open-source platform as we have done on TeamKinder.

Now let's dig in a bit more.

The "new world of blogging" as Orr calls it, isn't new. In fact, most of us have been clicking away for quite some time. Then we come across this gem:

"To begin with this blog will not be set up for comments to be posted. That's a reflection of the need to monitor the comments which imposes a certain time requirement on an already stretched thin campaign staff."

Give me a break. If you're not allowing comments -- both good and bad -- you're not truly embracing the modern world effectively.

Is the TeamKinder Blog firing on all pistons as I think it should be? Not exactly. We need to have more content. I get that.

But as this space has noted on more than one occasion, we're making progress. And, don't forget, it's early.

[Darin Codon]

I have to strongly disagree with the "Kinder" lobbyist who posted the analysis above.

In my humble opinion - and over a decade of interactive marketing experience - Blogger has the potential of blowing away the competition.

Why? It's all about choosing a horse in the race. Personally, I like Wordpress and use it in the Tech Trends blog ( http://bransonedge.3floors.com ) . However, I believe in Google and the millions spent in tools to make their product better.

Jolie Justus started with Myspace - great for rallying young radical democrats. But, unbecoming for a Senator.

[E.C. Huey]

I'm in Orr's state of North Carolina and I launched my blog as part of a bid for a local school board position next year. I just hit 10,000 visitors. Accountability is key, and so far, this has been very successful for me.

E.C. Huey
Greensboro, NC
main site:www.hueyforguilfordschoolboard.org
blog site: http://erikhuey.wordpress.com/