The Government Revolution, aka Government 2.0
Obama relied on the voter, and the voter's checkbook in order to win. Citizens voted for him with both donations and regular votes, marking the beginning of a totally new kind of democracy.
This dual-vote makes our government much more accountable to the people. If for any reason Obama loses favor, that loss of favor is amplified by loss of both funding and votes. By winning the way he did, Obama has ushered in a new age of accountability.
Obama used the Internet to win. With a bottom-up organization of his campaign he awoke the American people from their apathy.
Candidates who want to win will need to follow in Obama's footsteps. They will need to use the Internet's organizational capabilities to the fullest. And those candidates that win in this manner will be more accountable than any other pre-Obama candidate.
Internet organization is creating a whole new avenue for democracy. Political scientists will need to assess a country's democracy in this new, digital dimension.
The Internet's flattening and equalizing powers are reaching into politics. More changes are yet to come.
Barack Obama will bring the Internet into our government and make it more creative, dynamic, and responsive. Transparency will abound: the voting records of elected officials will be more easily accessible; citizens will know instantaneously what bills are passed; amendments to bills will be tied to their authors; and processes shrouded by bureaucracy will become visible.
The Internet campaign organization model will spread all over the world. Candidates everywhere will need to value technology and science in order to take office. On November 4th, 2008, technology has finally taken the place in the United States government that it deserves, revolutionizing a more than 200-year-old antiquated system. Technology's new role in government has fundamentally changed how our politicians think, how citizens vote, and how democracy is defined.
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PDF: https://dl.getdropbox.com/u/10047/Government_2_0.pdf
Scribd: http://www.scribd.com/doc/7753882/The-Government-Revolution-aka-Government-20