Daily Digest: Is The GOP Ignoring The Web?

The Web on the Candidates

• A new site called HealthCare 08, a project of Healthcentral.com, is provides the best online representation of the candidates’ policy positions we’ve seen this cycle (“recidivist blogger” and web consultant Craig Stolz was the content lead.) It plots the candidates’ positions on six health-related issues on left/right and important/least important axes, with cute animations to boot. Click on an issue and the candidates automagically rearrange to show their positions and bounce around, all happy-like. The site makes it clear that the candidates don’t fall neatly along left/right lines when it comes to health care — Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, and Mitt Romney cross over to the left on stem cell research, for example. You can also plot your own stance on the issues by answering a couple of simple survey questions. Your position is then plotted on he graph alongside the candidates. It would be great to see this graph applied to other major issues — maybe the producers could license it?

• Progressive Michigan blogger Julielyn Gibbons, who works with liberal group Progress Michigan, is liveblogging today to coincide with the Michigan primary. The group is anticipating a big push from Right-to-Work petition gatherers, who want to allow workers to bypass unions to get jobs. With the Dems absent from the primary, the onus is on progressive groups to push their issues in the face of a full-on Republican swing through the state.

• Asa Hopkins has updated his Caucus Calculator, which makes it easy to calculate the number of delegates to award the candidates, for the Nevada Democratic Caucus. As before, a mobile version at http://caucusmath.com/m will be helpful for folks on the ground.

The Candidates on the Web

• The Michigan Republican primary is today, and while there’s no Democratic primary to speak of (with Kos is imploring Dems to vote for Rommney), we haven’t heard have any significant Republican web strategy to get out the vote. After Iowa and New Hampshire, we were treated with story after story about how Barack Obama and eventually Hillary Clinton used Facebook and social media to good effect. But few stories have mentioned Republican efforts outside of Ron Paul. Even Mike Huckabee, who’s been tight friends with the blogosphere, has been absent when it comes to online organizing and targeting. If we’re missing something, please let us know.

• John Edwards is again using Eventful to help promote his campaign appearances. His campaign has commented on the Edwards Los Angeles metro area demand page, inviting supporters to attend an event this Thursday at the local SEIU offices. Eventful and Edwards have had a fruitful partnership in the past; it’s surprising that no other candidate except Ron Paul has taken advantage of the site.

• Dennis Kucinich was invited to today’s MSNBC debate in Las Vegas before Iowa and New Hampshire, but after a poor electoral showing MSNBC rescinded their invite. So Kucinich sued MSNBC, and won. Meanwhile, Mike Gravel has seemingly disappeared from the campaign trail, only showing up when someone suggests he’s dropped out of the race.

• The Washington Post’s Ben Pershing notes that the Congressional Management Foundation has handed out its annual Gold Mouse Awards, given to the best Congressional web sites (pdf). Unfortunately, most Hill sites are just plain bad. “Despite some bright spots, overall the quality of congressional Web sites continues to be disappointing,” the CMF says in its report. David All is disappointed. “Please. Somebody at the Capitol. Do something remarkable with your website or just communicate more effectively. Quit being sub-par and below average,” he pleads.

In Case You Missed It…

Just as people, particularly young voters, are beginning to pay attention to the presidential race, Allison Fine discovered that 14 states have already closed their voter registration with another 5 set to do so within the next week!