PRESTOPUNDIT -- "It's a team sport, baby!"

"it is a matter of time before [the computer and the internet] transform the way we govern ourselves". -- Gray Davis

From a great piece by Nick Schulz in the LA Times on the internet and the Davis recall. A tasty chunk:

There have been 31 attempts to recall California governors, but so far none has gotten the requisite number of valid signatures to make it to the ballot — 12% of the number of people who voted in the last gubernatorial election. But combine direct democracy with technology and the process gets a goose.

For instance, there is a proliferation of Web sites, such as http://www.RescueCalifornia.com , that makes the once-arduous process of signature gathering a lot easier.

At http://www.RecallGrayDavis.com , the Web site for the recall organization started by former California Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian, it's possible to download and fill out the petition form in a matter of seconds. You have to mail it in, but it still means that if you're listening to the radio at work and another story about the California budget crisis airs, you no longer need to vent your civic frustration at the water cooler. Instead, log on and turn your anger into action.

Pat Knepley, a California resident, recently wrote to the Los Angeles Times, proudly claiming that she had done just that: "I signed the recall petition against Davis. I took the initiative to download it through my computer because I am so frustrated with what he is doing and has done to our state."

Political revolutionaries, especially of the armchair variety, never had it so good.

Or consider how new technology can steamroll the traditional dynamic between business and politics.

The California Business Roundtable, made up of California chief executives, came out against the recall effort, believing the tumult would not be good for business. But in short order, the Roundtable and its member businesses such as Safeway and Southern California Edison were inundated with complaints about their position.

"I've gotten besieged with e-mails," Doug Kline of San Diego-based Sempra Energy told The Times. "Most of them say something like, 'We can't believe you've opposed the recall of Gray Davis. He's hurting small businesses.' "

Not that long ago, establishment groups like the Roundtable would have spoken for business interests in California. But with e-mail and the Internet, the monopoly on message has been broken.

Moreover, the Internet creates an echo-chamber effect, amplifying political noise across various forms of media. Most talk-radio shows now have an online component, and they use their Web sites as repositories to get information to their fans and listeners. Fans of the "John and Ken Show" can go to http://www.JohnandKen.com , where they'll be fed news and information of the recall.

And Web logs — "blogs" — the increasingly popular online diaries, are fast becoming another recall tool. PrestoPundit.com and similar sites have a small audience, but they have outsized influence because journalists and news junkies spend a considerable amount of time searching blogs for story ideas, commentary and political dish. When an issue catches fire in the blogosphere, it can boost the buzz and prolong the life cycle of a story. Just ask Trent Lott.

Yep, that's PrestoPundit mentioned there. Check out the "tracker" on the major blogs and you'll notice that folks from the NY Times, Reuters, Fox, etc. are reading. They've been reading me. And I'm just one of the new kids on the block.

Posted by Greg Ransom