Players

Key Players in Election Blogosphere

Pro-McCain related to the "right-o-sphere"

1. McCain e-staff, McCain e-staff
2. Rick Davis, McCain campaign manager who is pouring McCain money into his consulting firm, link title Davis Manafort, and is also part owner of internet firm, 3eDC
   1. more on 3eDC: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/220379.php, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118515181783374359.html
3. Former Weekly Standard blogger/online editor Michael Goldfarb became Deputy Communications Director of the McCain campaign in June, writes The McCain Report, video
   • "We've seen over and over again that the blogs are the most effective fact-checking tool that we have," - McCain spokesman, Michael Goldfarb, to Michelle Malkin. (quote from video)
4. Patrick Hynes , McCain's consultant for blogger outreach, New Hampshire-based author of a conservative blog, Ankle Biting Pundits
5. Nicco Mele, webmaster of Dean for America, was approached by McCain. He is now at Harvard Kennedy School of Politics, Interview w/ Mother Jones, National Review Online about Mele and McCain.
   • email: nicco_mele@ksg.harvard.edu
6. Liz Mair, former conservative blogger, featured on rightroots, who is now the Republican National Committee’s Online Communications Director, eCampaign Division. Bio
7. Jennifer Rubin, pro-McCain blogger and D.C. editor for PajamasMedia, Rubin on McCain conference call, Rubin articles in New York Observer
8. Kellie Boyle, 46, of McLean, Virginia phone co-founded www.hockeymomsformccain-palin.com. Boyle is a part-time public relations and marketing consulting for Arlington-based LM&O Advertising, where her husband works.
9. Soren Dayton, a DC-based political consultant. "I work on grassroots politics within the Republican party and have several other side projects." Was a former Eye on 08 blogger following 2008 GOP Primary, who went to work for the Political Dept. of McCain's campaign in January 2008, then joined New Media Strategies, then The Next Right website, and is now also blogging at RedState.com, where he posts anti-Obama coverage. Was previously owner of a software company. Used Facebook for anti-Obama campaign. Was suspended from McCain campaign after he forwarded an inflammatory anti-Obama YouTube video mashup to his private Twitter feed. Dayton's thoughts on the right blogosphere. linked in
   • Cell: 703-300-7465
10. Patrick Ruffini, co-founded www.thenextright.com (sort of a GOP dailykos), served as eCampaign Director at the Republican National Committee, overseeing the Party’s online strategy for the 2006 election cycle, read more, and was e-campaign director for Guiliani's presidential campaign.
11. Possible sources: Contributors to website, techrepublican.com, Republican Web consultant David All ("John McCain has taken a number of steps in just the recent few months (that) help him catch up with Barack Obama," Republican Web consultant David All said. "Now is he going to surpass Barack Obama when it comes to online outreach? No, I still think there's a fundamental difference," All added. He says Obama has a more grass roots-focused, distributed campaign model.).
    • David All contact
12. RNC Facebook group admin Cyrus Krohn (Washington, DC) eCampaign Director; Brad Tidwell (Tulane), Eric Sherred (Purdue), Brian Athey (Washington, DC), Todd Van Etten (University of Vermont), James Richardson (Washington, DC), Cyrus Krohn (Washington, DC)
    • Krohn: "It depends on what your definition of 'behind' is," Krohn told a group of college students visiting Capitol Hill recently. "If you look at people who are spending countless hours developing user-generated content, then, yeah, we're behind. But in terms of activity in the blogosphere, I think we're at parity, if not better."

Pro-Obama AKA Triple O -- Obama's online operation

1. Patricia Wilson-Smith, Executive Director, Black Women for Obama
   1. “We’ve also created a website that is a clearinghouse of information about the 2008 campaign, and Senator Obama,” said Wilson-Smith. “The site is a collection of articles and op-ed pieces written by BWFO contributors, as well as multi-media and other content relevant to Obama’s campaign and the election in general.”
2. Joe Rospers, Obama campaign new media director, Blue State Digital
3. Sam Graham-Felsen, the campaign's blogger in chief, posts stories of supporters. The 27-year-old used to write for the Nation, for which he did a story on Obama's popularity among young people online. He joined the campaign shortly after that article ran.
4. Joe Trippi, an Internet consultant and longtime Democratic strategist... "Obama is "not as dependent on Web ads as McCain," Trippi said. "If you're farther behind online in terms of people creating their own Web content on your behalf, then you have to [produce] more Web ads and you have to be a little more creative." Trippi, who has been working on Democratic presidential campaigns since 1980, couldn't stress enough the effect he says online political content -- everything from voter-generated videos to candidate speeches posted on YouTube to official campaign Web ads -- will have come November: "This will be the first election where that's what influences the outcome," he said.
5. Possible sources: Online campaigning analyst Andrew Rasiej ("The reason why that large online community is so important," Rasiej said, "is because the Holy Grail of online politics is converting online energy into offline action — people voting." Rasiej says Obama's broader online base will give Democrats a richer pool of data, from cell phone numbers to e-mail addresses, when it comes to get-out-the-vote efforts before Election Day. Said Rasiej: "The data will deliver a much more efficient process to the Obama campaign for getting out the vote.")
6. Peter Daou did blogger outreach for Kerry, was Internet Director for the Hillary Clinton for President Exploratory Committee. Formerly wrote Daou report on Salon.com, letter Daou sent on behalf of Clinton campaign,

PUMA

1. Cristi Adkins, a registered nurse from Reston, co-founded Clintons4McCain.com .
2. Diane Mantouvalos, co-creator of Hireheels.com, justsaynodeal.com. Every Sunday, Diane Mantouvalos hosts a conference call for the Just Say No Deal coalition.
3. Robin Murray, an Indianapolis therapist and social worker whose nine-minute YouTube video, "Mad as Hell/Bitch," detailed examples of sexism in the campaign and became a visual anthem for many feminists.
4. Boston area blogger Darragh Murphy, founder of Puma PAC (whose name stands for "People United Means Action")
5. Will Bower of PUMA
   1. Puma Founded by Republicans

Clinton

Peter Daou, 41, Internet director for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.); he's seen as the Yoda of the blogosphere because of the Daou Report, a comprehensive snapshot of the Web's blue and red blogs that he wrote until joining the Clinton campaign.

Firms

1. McCain: LM&O Advertising, Inc. registered HOCKEYMOMSFORMCCAIN-PALIN.COM, reg info
2. McCain: 3eDC, US News and World Report, McCain expenditures to 3eDC listed here
3. McCain: CD Inc [1], see more about CD Inc in "also interesting" on Media page
4. Obama: Catalist LLC, progressive online campaigns, other clients include ACORN and SEIU
5. e.politics founder Colin Delany, site that focuses on the tools and tactics of Internet politics and online political advocacy.

Funders

1. Susan B. Anthony List, anti-abortion and conservative, funds Team Sarah. History of funding ads targeting Democrats, Reality Check on SBA List, PR contact.

Team Sarah members

New Hampshire coverage

Shannon Mcginley contact info