Liberal

Dunay: Liberal momentum should be carried into 2016 election season

“Thanks Redditors! Wish I could upvote every one of you for helping keep the Internet open and free!”

That was the message from President Barack Obama that Redditors woke up to on Friday morning, shortly after the Federal Communications Commission announced a new set of regulations regarding net neutrality.

Also on Friday, The Human Rights Campaign submitted its brief, titled “The Peoples’ Brief,” to the Supreme Court in anticipation of this summer’s case on same-sex marriage.

In both cases, grassroots movements circulated online by Americans across the country heavily contributed to the progress of these issues. In a political landscape so polarizing that everything has to be partisan, these wins are huge momentum gains for a more liberal cause.

The Democratic Party must use these strategies and victories to its advantage while campaigning for 2016.



It is often forgotten in today’s age of big money in Washington, SuperPACs and “House of Cards”-style corruption, that DC politics originated from a grassroots phenomenon. The protesters who stand outside the White House picketing the Keystone XL pipeline and the citizens who take to the streets to host marches are still just as important as the top lobbyist in Washington.

Back in September, the FCC announced it would be debating the merits of net neutrality while under pressure from big companies such as Time Warner, Comcast and Verizon. Shortly after the announcement, the FCC opened up its website to the public for comments regarding net neutrality and by the time the FCC closed the forum, five months later, more than 4 million comments had been submitted.

Soon after the Supreme Court announced it would hear four same sex marriage cases this summer, the HRC created “The Peoples’ Brief” which received widespread celebrity support and an undisclosed mass number of signatures by common citizens. “The Peoples’ Brief” is an amicus curiae brief detailing political, economic and social reasons why the court should rule in favor of same sex marriage. It’s essentially a petition to the Supreme Court. The justices have the discretion of reading it or not and it is their job to remain unbiased. However, the brief is simply a way for the common citizen to indirectly participate in the arguments of the case.

In both instances, citizens simply organized in the best way they know how — via the Internet. They were able to spread their messages quickly and efficiently as well as easily urge friends and strangers to join their cause. The success of the pro-net neutrality movement and the progress of getting same sex marriage on the Supreme Court’s docket was substantially helped by America’s voice on the Internet.

Although we await the true outcome of both issues — the exact regulations on net neutrality have not been announced — the Democratic Party should act now. Both net neutrality and same sex marriage have widespread liberal support. With that being said, a slightly disorganized Democratic National Committee would benefit from this online liberal momentum and should use it to promote more grassroots communities on the Internet.

Using engines like Reddit, Twitter and Youtube would not only help the DNC spread its message about dynamic social issues but also lesser-known concerns like prison reform, recreational drug use and Wall Street reform.

The simple point is, with proper use of the Internet, Democrats have endless possibilities. As we’ve seen in the past, Obama has tried, with success, to reach his supporters through Reddit AMAs, Youtube skits and brief Internet interviews.

Frankly, if the Democrats take advantage of the Internet’s legion of users, it could be the last straw for the GOP and its public appeal — especially to Millennials.

Eric Dunay is a freshman in the School of Architecture. His column appears weekly. He can be contacted at ebdunay@syr.edu or on Twitter @ERock_28.





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