Connecting
Below are examples we’ve gathered on political campaign websites connecting their visitors with other political sites:
General Practices of Connecting:
- Link to any other site
- Party Affiliation
- Endorsements
- Link to Government Site
- Link to Party Site
- Voter Registration
- Link to Civic/Advocacy Group Site
- Link to Press Site
- Position Alignments
- Position Comparison to Opponent
- Link to Local Site
- Position Comparison to Other
- Link to Portal Site
- Comparison Section
- Link to Citizen Site
- Link to Opponent Site
Specific Examples of Connecting(with student thoughts on each):
Congressman Glenn Nye (VA-2nd)
This is an excellent example of connecting, through the use of hyperlinks to third party sites, with the main intention of validating the Congressman’s claims that his efforts (specifically a letter) fighting the White House on a controversial proposal to scale back health care coverage for combat injuries normally covered by VA, were instrumental in getting the White House to drop the proposal. This is especially important for Congressman Nye, who is a 1st term congressman representing a district (VA-2nd) with the highest concentration of active duty military personal in the country. It was a great idea to include the links to the Huffington Post, the Gavel, etc. because even as a supporter of Nye (he is my hometown representative), I initially thought that his office was probably exaggerating his involvement in getting the White House to drop the proposal in order to try and score points with Vet’s and military service members in his district. The links to the third party websites validate his involvement and keep his press release from looking like unsubstantiated spin. ~ethos
Beyond just using the connecting practice to validate their website, more practical uses come into play. The website of Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine has a link to a website providing details of how the stimulus money is being spent in Virginia. ~ethos
Another example of this form of connecting comes for the website of Nebraska Democratic Senator Ben Nelson, under his “explore Nebraska” section. He has links to various tourism departments of the state of Nebraska to facilitate travel to his state, which I would imagine is no small task. ~ethos
Another version of connecting is “strategic” linking to demonstrate political alliances. The website of Rep. Barney Frank (MA-04) has a link to the Democratic House Leadership, which Congressman Frank has close connections to as one of the more influential Democratic members. ~ethos
A related form of strategic connecting is linking to groups as a demonstration of your values or stances on issues. Republican Senator Tom Coburn has a link to Americans for Prosperity to show his opposition to pork barrel projects. ~ethos
Despite running a terrible 2008 Presidential campaign, Fred Thompson’s website features a nice section for connecting his audience to positive coverage and news. His website is now devoted to his PAC, but it was similar when he was still a candidate. Overall, it is a decent site for connecting. Too bad the candidate is a failure. ~Acta
Marion Thorpe’s website for FL senator in 2010 may be just awful, but there is an interesting section for connecting, with links to childhood obesity and Alzheimer’s websites. Two groups that I guess he wants to show support for, as everyone knows a fat kid and an old person. ~Acta
A popular feature of many campaign websites is a news scroller on the front page that displays all favorable news the campaign wants. An example of this type of box which is widely used can be found on Paul Hodes campaign website. ~Acta
My long-time love affair with debbie wasserman-schultz is reaffirmed with her nice site and great news/connecting portion of her site. ~Acta
And Al Franken’s website has a great section of endorsements, which also acts as a connecting area. Really, Al Franken’s website is great in every facet of the subject’s discussed in Web Campaigning. ~Acta
John Edwards for President Campaign
John Edward’s campaign website permits visitors to “Connect With the Campaign” with “44things,” “del.ici0.us,” “e-ssembly,” “facebook,” “flickr,” “gather,” “myspace,” “party builder,” and “YouTube.” ~Hellcat
John Campbell for Congress campaign website permits visitors to “Connect with John” using “facebook, ” “YouTube,” and “flickr.” In addition Campbell uses links to John McCain’s Website and to the National Republican Congressional Committee website. ~Hellcat
Rob Portman for Senate Campaign
Rob Portman for Senate campaign website permits visitors to “Connect with Rob” using “facebook” and “flickr.” ~Hellcat
Walt Minick for Senate campaign website permits visitors to “Connect with Rob” using “facebook” and “flickr.” ~Hellcat
Mike Conaway for Congress campaign website permits visitors to “Connect with Mike” using “facebook, ” “YouTube,” and “flickr.” However, the “myspace” link is not active. ~Hellcat
U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss (GA) has a press kit located on his Web site where he includes a link to an article by Georgia Trend magazine where he is named the 2009 Georgian of the Year: http://www.georgiatrend.com/cover-story/01_09_saxby.shtml ~Lifting
US Senator Johnny Isakson has a legislation and votes icon where you can click on it and it will take you to a page where he has a link to the US Senate homepage. Johnny says you can find more specific information there about a particular vote. ~Lifting
US Senator Jim Martin (Georgia) has a place where he links to my.barackobama.com because he says you can go there and phone-bank for Jim from home. ~Lifting
U.S. Senator Richard Burr (North Carolina) has links to other Web sites under his icon for Related Links and Useful information. ~Lifting
U.S. Senator Kay Hagan has a blog section on her Web site where you will find an entry where a link is included where you can visit to find your voting location. It takes you here http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/PrecinctFinder.aspx and you can look for North Carolina voting information. ~Lifting
Jim Demit’s site is pretty darn good! It has a great volunteer page with about 15 different options, and tons of ways to connect to his campaign via Twitter, Friendfeed, MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube. ~MT
The Vote Nader “Action” page is check-full of connecting examples. ~MT
Dennis Kucinich (Kuchinich.us)
Like Kuchinich’s campaign and his supporters, his Website is a bit fragmented. There are many parts of the site that are not consistent with the look, feel and navigation of the main page. With that said, both the “volunteers” page and the “forum” are really great tools for connecting. ~MT
A very clean site, and absent much clutter. Nice inclusion of functions towards the top half of the site (”above the fold”), including a newsletter subscription, coupled with Facebook, Blogger, and Twitter logos. ~MT
A super site demonstrating not only great Web design, but also easy access to “take action.” Though, this candidate really likes stickers—bumper and “Web.” ~MT
I like how he pastes much of the article into his own site but also allows the reader a ” Click Here To Read the Full Article” option which takes the reader to the actual site of the newspaper. ~Magical
Martin uses “The Latest” section to provide news stories with links. Another who gives the reader the option to “read more” with the link, which then takes the reader directly to the newspaper site. ~Magical
She has on her home page a story from Forbes Magazine “Can Meg Whitman Save California?” which provides a direct link to the Forbes story on the Forbes site. ~Magical
Jerry Brown has a breaking news section that provides direct links to various sites. ~Magical
Scott Murphy is another who has a latest media section with direct links to the media pages. ~Magical
Don Young (R - AK):
Young has a section of his website devoted to providing links to news about his most recent Congressional race. There is an especially strong connection made where the news source to which he links has officially endorsed him. But the strongest example of connecting on Young’s site is the “Photo Gallery.” Though there are no hyperlinks, Young’s willingness to be pictured at events or with other people (hunting with Gov. Huckabee, for instance) certainly creates a connection between visitor and the people he poses alongside. ~Osborne
Michael Castle (R - DE):
Castle simply lists the organizations that have endorsed him, a strong connection. But Castle also has a portion of the site (or, more accurately, a portion of the right sidebar) that he calls the “Voter Resource Center.” In the “Center” are 7 links to external websites with GOTV-related information. Almost all of the links direct visitors to the state’s Department of Elections website. ~Osborne
Dennis Rehberg (R - MT):
Another one with news links and a photo gallery featuring individual and institutional supporters. There is also a video section in which a senior citizen is saying something about Rehberg, though I didn’t have the courage to watch the video. I suppose that would be a very limited form of connecting, as it doesn’t appear the old man is either famous or contact-able. And as long as I’m criticizing, the site looks awful, like it was made a decade ago. Unfortunately for Rehberg, the site is copyrighted 2008. ~Osborne
Earl Pomeroy (D - ND):
He has everything the other 3 have, except Pomeroy has an “Upcoming Events” area as well. At some point, I assume, Pomeroy listed area events, which, from the short sentence still posted in the area, may or may not be limited to events he is attending. If, in fact, Pomeroy was in the business of plugging area events not tied to his campaign (and from the archive it appears he was), Pomeroy was doing a great deal of connecting. He also, I saw, did an endorsement himself, for Obama, on the main page. ~Osborne
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D - SD):
Sandlin’s site has all of the normal fodder too, but she has also has a “Resources” section that includes links to information on South Dakota, how to support troops abroad, a [broken] link to Kids Voting, and several GOTV-related sites. ~Osborne
As a repeated fall back for these labs, Lindsey’s website continues to be one of the best I’ve seen. While his ‘news’ section only includes article excerpts, his multimedia section is fantastic. Though most of it is comprised of his ads, the ‘Additional Videos’ connect to a broad range of sources. These link you to four different local news websites, youtube, blip.tv, cbsnews.com, foxnews.com, and The Washington Post. ~Rush
Following his internet-friendly trend, Demint’s website takes connecting in the opposite direction. Each piece in his ‘news’ section has link underneath it which allows you to connect to him- by linking to the article via blogs and social networking sites. I’m assuming reverse connecting still counts? ~Rush
This site is connection crazy. On her home page is a section called, oddly enough, ‘links.’ What follows is exactly that- an unbelievable list of links. These include: Federal government sites; national, state, and local party sites; local TV, local and national print, and online media outlets; and think tanks. She ensures that her website is the place to be before you go anywhere else. ~Rush
This is a very impressive site, and I should have used this as an example of involving. Everything you need is under the heading ‘blog & news.’ On the right side of the screen is a list of links to various GOP websites, as well as a list of every blog that has made itself known to the Cornyn website, making each amateur voice just a click away. (this also includes links for facebook, youtube, blip.tv, twitter, flickr, and myspace- all involving). His news is presented in blog form; the two most recent are a link to a video of his speech at CPAC, which is preceded by a post advertising his upcoming speech with a link to the agenda on the CPAC website. This is followed by an article from moveon.org, and while he doesn’t link to the article, he includes a link for readers to respond to the article. Also, whenever there is a mention of a speech or event, it is coupled with links to local news coverage of that event. ~Rush
This one is a little different. A side project of teammitch.com, this is the campaigns official blog, entitled “Mitch’s Bluegrass Blog.” This gives the impression of being a more relaxed forum than the standard campaign site, but includes a good deal of connecting. In the right column are a list of ‘recommended readings,’ a collection of links to other blogs. In the blog itself are posts that include links like the most recent, jumping to an op-ed piece Mitch wrote for The Washington Post. Each mention of something important (say, his reelection) includes link to several news outlets giving different interpretations of the event. And when a specific article is referenced for an entry, it includes snippets of that article but also includes a link to the full story. ~Rush
Dean Cannon’s website has some good examples of connecting. His site posts flattering news coverage. The news coverage is posted under “News” and can also be found in a box on the side labeled “Recent Campaign News.” However, he does also posts the full text of the article, and may benefit from reading Page 114 of Web Campaigning. The site also posts upcoming events that people can attend, including a tea party. ~Scion
Alexi Giannoulias’s website is chock full of examples of connecting. The front page includes articles and editorials on Alexi and his proposals. You can also click on YouTube videos featuring him or find out about upcoming events. It’s all right there on the page and very prominent. He also includes the full text of the articles, and doesn’t even provide the courtesy of a link that at least Rep. Cannon does. ~Scion
Dave Aronberg is all about connecting and the various ways to do so. His homepage has the latest headlines from various media agencies, with the full text of the most recent article below. There is also a column with selected quotes about Sen. Aronberg, and a box where you can view photos of events. The site also includes a link to his legislative page. Finally, his site has a list of his endorsements from various groups and editorial boards. ~Scion
Arnold’s site includes various methods of connecting. The site has, as the others did, news stories on the Governor and his initiatives. It also has a link to another site touting budget reforms, which is a major part of the Governor’s agenda. ~Scion
Finally, I chose Kermit Marsh’s website. He is honored when you choose to visit it. He has a ton of endorsements on his site, in fact, I think it includes the entire town of Westminster. The sheer weight of the endorsements just goes to show that he is well respected by everyone in the right organizations and with the right affiliations. How many of those endorsements do you think came from those he appointed to those positions, however? Just wondering. ~Scion
Sen. Debbie Stabenow has an “Email Me!” link on the right side of her page. This allows constintuents to connect with her directly. ~Clever
Sen. Sherrod Brown has a Newsletter signup box at the bottom of his page. ~Clever
Congressman John Larson has an interesting poll on the right side of his page. He recently re-did his website and wants to know what people think. As far as connecting there are links for internships and appointments as well as grants. ~Clever
Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen has a tab for contacting her. She has an appointment form and a like to write her. It’s a great way to connect with those visiting the site. ~Clever
Sen. Bill Nelson has a whole page of “useful links” that cover a variety of topics allowing him to connect with voters on any issue that may affect them directly; it serves as a connection that will help him relate to constituents. ~Clever
During the 2008 general election campaign, then-candidate Barack Obama’s campaign created FightTheSmears.com to respond to the Republican attacks using various sources. The website links to other sites like CNN, YouTube, RushLimbaugh.com, and swamppolitics.com in order to prove the attacks wrong. In most cases, I think it’s a bad idea to send a visitor to another website if the campaign is trying to court that person’s vote. However, this website would have had no credibility if it did not re-direct visitors to non-campaign-related websites whose material could provide objective proof to respond to attack ads. ~Bully
Sen. Landrieu’s re-election campaign website used linking in a way that keeps the visitor on her site, but allows him/her to verify that the article had indeed been written through a non-imposing “Link to Article” link. This linking method makes the most sense because it provides a paper trail for the campaign, but still keeps the visitor on the website. ~Bully
The Edwards campaign used its website to urge supporters to write letters to the editor of their local newspapers. Instead of listing a plethora of newspapers and linking to their websites, the campaign created a system to allow supporters to enter their zip code and to choose their local paper from a list populated by the campaign. Supporters can use the website all the way through the process, from choosing the paper to submitting it to the editor, and it also provides tips on issues to write about. While this is not the typical way to link websites, the campaign’s system on the back-end automatically sends the letter to the editor to the newspaper the visitor chooses. ~Bully
Rep. Castor’s congressional website links visitors to Recovery.gov, the federal government’s site that details the nation’s economic recovery plan. The link is sleek, very visible, and more importantly, the timeliness of the link is perfect as the economic recovery is pertinent to all of her constituents. ~Bully
Rep. Kriseman, while ambiguous on his website about which office he is seeking in 2010, shrewdly links to important social networking websites (YouTube, MySpace, flickr, and Facebook) using attractive buttons at the bottom of his website. ~Bully
Krik has an endorsements section on his site listing several mayors, state senators and representatives, and county leaders, all from Illinois, that support him. ~Boring
Coleman’s site mentions his opponent Al Fraken all over the place! Our book would consider this a “cognitive bridge.” ~Boring
If this isn’t a political bromance, then I don’t know what is. This is a site for the Governor of Montana, Brian Schweitzer and his Lt. Governor, John Bohlinger. Under the multimedia section you can find pictures and YouTube videos of the two of them on a ranch, riding horses, posing on a fence, and faking a conversation with a local rancher for the camera. ~Boring
As expected, Lindsey’s site has news articles linking him with John McCain. ~Boring
Barbara Lee posted what she calls a “voter guide”, or a list of her own recommendations on her site for other candidates and even how to vote on different propositions. There is even a printable voter guide to take to the polls just in case you forget how she thinks you should vote. ~Boring
Kathy Angerer for State Representative
Kathy’s web site contains a link to register to vote which takes you directly to a Credo mobile information sheet. The sheet is easy to follow and allows you to register to vote in any state. ~Thoughts
Jim Martin for United States Senate
Martin’s web site has a section dedicated to recent articles about himself and his campaign. The articles come from a variety of news sources, but no link is provided to any of them. The full copies and the source name are available on the campaign web site. ~Thoughts
I really liked the connecting on Luke’s web site because he not only put news articles in full form on his campaign site, he also provides a link at the top to view the original document from the source. Giving the viewer the option to research further and possibly not leave the site through a link. ~Thoughts
Dobbs’ web site offers a variety of links to supporters and related groups on his web site and has a place for state coordinating. I was impressed with Dobbs’ sites use of connecting because it was one of few I saw that had headers on the home page just for links. ~Thoughts
Edward’s site gives a large variety of options of was to connect, with his campaign, many organizations, and with other supporters. On the site is a list of resources, which lists numerous sites which can be used to connect with other individuals. He also has links to One Corps and for voter registration, using the same company as mentioned above, Credo. ~Thoughts
U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (WI)
Feingold has a “RuSS Feed” with news clips that open the media outlet’s site in a new window. The most interesting one is a link to a press release on WisPolitics.com that includes an entire copy of a letter that Senator Feingold wrote to the Secretary of the Treasury concerning his displeasure at the way AIG was spending their bailout money. The letter begins “I deeply troubled” which troubles me that an error is present in the very first sentence. I wonder if the letter was sent that way or whether the press release’s version is incorrect. ~What I Think
Hendrix, running for U.S. Senate in North Carolina, has one of the worst campaign websites I’ve seen lately. However, he does devote an entire side column to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America organization that links to their website (which incidentally looks way better than his). ~What I Think
U.S. Representative Paul Hodes (NH)
Hodes has news clips in which the newer stories link directly to the media outlet’s website (not in a new window unfortunately). On the very old stories from early last year, the campaign has copied the text into the campaign website to “archive” the story. On some of the slightly old stories, you either get “the webpage cannot be found” or a page describing archive rates and services. ~What I Think
Price, running for U.S. Senate in Kentucky, is a great example of non-connecting. She doesn’t have a single external link except to donate to her campaign and also to a website promoting a book she wrote (which has some crazy cover art by the way). Oh, and the book promotion site links to Amazon and Barnes and Noble…which can hardly be considered political actors. ~What I Think
Deakin, running for U.S. Senate in Arizona, has an “Arizona Counties” interactive map that links to either the county’s GOP website or the chair’s email address …well except for Gila County which doesn’t have any links. ~What I Think
Mar 21st, 2009 at 6:31 pm
This is an excellent example of connecting, through the use of hyperlinks to third party sites, with the main intention of validating the Congressman’s claims that his efforts (specifically a letter) fighting the White House on a controversial proposal to scale back health care coverage for combat injuries normally covered by VA, were instrumental in getting the White House to drop the proposal. This is especially important for Congressman Nye, who is a 1st term congressman representing a district (VA-2nd) with the highest concentration of active duty military personal in the country. It was a great idea to include the links to the Huffington Post, the Gavel, etc. because even as a supporter of Nye (he is my hometown representative), I initially thought that his office was probably exaggerating his involvement in getting the White House to drop the proposal in order to try and score points with Vet’s and military service members in his district. The links to the third party websites validate his involvement and keep his press release from looking like unsubstantiated spin.