Well folks.. it appears that our Liberal Party in Canada has decided to tap into the former Howard Dean adviser's knowlege to make better use of the internet - which folks in the blogosphere down here almost take for granted now.
The US political adviser credited with reinventing campaigning by using the Internet to raise millions for Howard Dean's presidential bid is going to teach Liberals how to do the same for their leadership campaigns. About 50 Liberals, including some of the potential leadership candidates, caucus members, volunteers and organizers, will hear from Joe Trippi, the former Vermont governor's campaign manager, at an event in Toronto next week.
Its good to see the Liberals trying to learn from Mr. Trippi: They have just been swept out of power after a long run - mostly because people thought they needed a break from power. Longevity in power creates scandal and laziness (shades of 2006 for the Republicans perhaps?), and this party really needs to re-invent itself. With Paul Martin's resignation and a new leader to be picked in December, any new ideas to help capture the imagination of the grassroot voter is more then welcome by me. It also may be necessary, as Canadian rules for financing political campaigns are a tad tougher then American ones; they allow an individual to donate up to $5,200 to a candidate's campaign, while The candidate can give only $10,200 of his or her own money, and donations from corporations or unions arent allowed.
Mr Trippi did take heat however from an "anonymous" Democratic source:
Mr. Trippi has attracted some controversy for the way he has run campaigns, says one Democrat, who also helped out on the Dean campaign. "He's extremely talented, he has a funky personality," said the Democratic organizer, who noted, however, that Mr. Trippi is "arrogant in his ideas...I don't know the last candidate he produced a win for. I'm not sure what Joe could possibly have to offer that would be relevant or new in Canada. But he's American and so by definition he must be smart," the organizer said.
I cant speak for all of that.. but I can tell that anonymous Democrat what Mr Trippi can offer Canadian politics in at least one sense; the blogosphere up here is very under-utilized by both the Canadian public and the Canadian politicans. I think he can show these folks how better to utilize it and how to use it to get the grassroots excited about specific political campaigns.