Politics and Tech in 2007

So, today I decided I’d watch Sunday morning politics. I hate politics and can’t stand watching most politicians lie through their teeth. Anyway, that’s a topic for another post. As I was watching George Stephanopoulos talk about the war in Iraq and the president’s new plan I wondered how many Americans actually follow current politics. I would argue, not many. Most people are too caught up in their daily lives with paying the bills, work, spending time with their families etc to pay attention to politics. That is definitely compounded by the fact that most Americans have a “bad taste” in their mouth when they think of politics. I know I do. Playing the word association game, when I think of politics here’s what comes to mind – lies, money, more lies, corruption and more money. The lack of transparency and “mud slinging” during political campaigns further worsens the state of affairs.

So what does this have to do with technology? Well, we can improve things by applying technology. We can empower voters with solid information and tools to help them make an educated decision. No opinions, just facts. Here are some thoughts that come to mind.

Major Issues
First thing that’s important to me as a voter are the major issues. Give me a “scorecard,” if you will, for each candidate with the major issues identified such as health care, social security, abortion, taxes etc, and their stance. Sounds simple, but it’s actually pretty hard to find on the web. Each candidate would get their own scorecard so voters can easily compare and contrast. You can standardize it, brand it and distribute it throughout the web.

Voting & Legislation Passed
Next, give me the cold hard facts including legislation passed and voting history. If I’m planning on voting for a candidate I want to see their entire voting history from day 1. I don’t trust opponent campaign ads with selective voting information. Give me it all. This sounds crazy, but I want to make the decision for myself. You could aggregate this information and add nifty analysis on top of it.

Promotion/Marketing
If I’ve decided to vote for a candidate why can’t I put a widget up on my blog to promote that candidate? People have been putting those stupid signs on their lawns for years and years. Why not do it on your blog or website before or during an election?

Fundraising
If I’m promoting a candidate on my blog why couldn’t I offer my readers the ability to contribute funds right there? Talking tech, this could be a widget that directly interfaces with the campaign payment system. To make this work, bloggers and website owners would not get any portion of the money donated. I know that sucks, but it gets to “hairy” and will definitely lead to abuse (e.g. ppp).

Mostly, these are just random thoughts on how we could use new technology to improve the political system. If any of these things are out there let me know and I’ll update this post.