February 05, 2007
Blogger Spotlight: Political Forecast's Chris Woods
As part of our increased WH '08 coverage the Blogometer will be talking to leading bloggers in key primary states to get a better feel for who local bloggers are and what motivates them. Today we talk to Chris Woods of IA's Political Forecast.
What is your full name?
Christopher Woods
What is your age?
21
What's your hometown?
Des Moines, Iowa
Where do you live now?
Des Moines, IA
What is your educational background?
I'm a junior Politics major at Drake University. I should be graduating next May, pending a regular academic schedule.
What is your occupation?
I don't really have a full-time job beyond being a student. I do occasional work study jobs on campus, but mainly I study, go to class, and blog. I have done a few weeks of campaign work for Chet Culver's gubernatorial campaign in Iowa (back in the primary) but other than that my political efforts have been voluntary.
When did you first get involved in politics and why?
I first got involved in politics in high school, when I joined the speech and debate team. It got me interested in the process itself, as well as policy and theory. My sophomore year of high school was when I joined the team and I worked my way up to Team Captain my senior year. I participated in the National Forensics League and competed in foreign extemporaneous speaking, student congress, and Lincoln-Douglas debate. My senior of high school was when I got the most involved, thanks to my AP US Government teacher, Mike Schaffer, and I began getting involved in the John Kerry caucus campaign by volunteering a few nights a month.
When did you start blogging and why?
I started blogging on August 1, 2004, a few months before the 2004 election. The first post I wrote about was on the 9/11 Commission report. I realized just how unprepared our government was for the attacks and how the Bush Administration had basically ruined the country's leadership through the resulting Iraq War. I guess you could say the main reason I started blogging was because Iowa needed a strong political (and Democratic) voice talking about the issues facing our country -- I envied folks like Duncan Black at Eschaton, Markos Zuniga over at Daily Kos, and Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo. I wanted to be like them. From then, it has been like living a dream.
How are blogs changing politics in your state?
Blogs are slowly but surely changing politics in our state. We weren't really noticed until the Democratic primary for the governor's race in Iowa. Prior to that, most blogs had kind of talked about Iowa politics, but not in-depth. Starting in about December of 2005, I gave up trying to write about national politics and specifically started focusing on Iowa politics. In November of 2005, the Iowa Democratic Party invited me and a few other bloggers to cover the Jefferson Jackson dinner, where Sen. Tom Daschle was the keynote speaker. It was the first time they had invited bloggers and they've done so for all of their big events like the state party convention as well as the hall of fame dinner since then. Anonymous blogs get a lot of the attention because they can spread rumors and talk about candidates like a gossip magazine, which always gets the attention of people in Iowa. Drew Miller has taken the lead in launching a new community blog in Iowa, called Bleeding Heartland and we hope that gets a lot of attention from candidates and elected officials. Already we're doing profiles of the new members of the Iowa legislature and doing some investigative work.One of the best memories I have about the changes in the mood of politicians in Iowa towards the netroots were the comments I got from Governor Chet Culver and Lt. Gov. Patty Judge the night of the victory celebration--they personally thanked me and said that work online was just as critical to the field working talking place on the ground across the state.
What's your favorite most unsung specific example of a blogger affecting a political figure, organization, philosophy, or movement?
I can't say I have a favorite unsung example, but I do credit the netroots with stopping the Bush/Congressional Republican plan to privatize Social Security--the netroots helped lead the movement against it. Now we're also taking the lead on Net Neutrality, an issue that folks don't know much about but will soon, and it will have a big impact on them.
Join us tomorrow when we talk to Blog for Iowa's Sam Garchik
Posted by Conn Carroll at February 5, 2007 12:39 PM
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