Chris Bowers
Encyclopedia
Chris Bowers is a blogger for DailyKos and a manager of their email list. He was a blogger and co-founder of OpenLeft
, and was until July 2007 a front-page blogger for MyDD
. His focus is on polling and data-driven analysis of US politics, as well as of the blogosphere.
Bowers was a member of the Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee, representing the 8th district of the Pennsylvania State Senate
, and a former resident of Philadelphia
. Now he resides in Washington D.C. He is a former union organizer, and a strong supporter of organized labor
.
Bowers has overseen netroots surveys that he says demonstrate that progressive Internet activists are driven more by partisanship and pragmatism than far-left ideology, and that show bloggers are influential on rank and file Democrats.
lined up, but I am waiting to hear from the Edwards camp..." about the controversy over bloggers Amanda Marcotte
and Melissa McEwan, recently hired by John Edwards
. When Edwards announced he would not fire the bloggers, Bowers announced he considered the event significant enough to tip him into supporting Edwards in the 2008 Democratic Presidential primary. Further, he initiated a blogger campaign to email traditional media outlets with additional facts about William Donohue and the blogger employed by Republican Presidential candidate John McCain
, Patrick J. Hynes. Bowers reported some success in these efforts in that several media outlets (including the Associated Press
) did report on the items Bowers suggested were relevant.
The second campaign in 2006 was a Google bomb
(or less pejoratively, a "search engine optimization") campaign against a list of Republican candidates. The idea was to elevate perceived negative stories in traditional media outlets about these candidates in Google searches. Bowers attempted to distinguish this from other well-known Google bombs, such as Miserable Failure or Flip Flop search terms returning biographies of George W. Bush and John Kerry during the 2004 election, by returning only serious and factual articles about the targets.
.
Bowers is a Fellow at the Commonweal Institute.
OpenLeft
OpenLeft was a political blog founded July 9, 2007 by Matt Stoller, Chris Bowers, originally of MyDD, and Mike Lux, a former official in the White House under President Bill Clinton Covering political and social issues from a progressive standpoint, it spearheaded a number of causes, including...
, and was until July 2007 a front-page blogger for MyDD
MyDD
MyDD is a collaborative politically progressive American politics blog. It was established by Jerome Armstrong in 2001. Its name was originally short for "My Due Diligence." In January 2006, the name was changed to "My Direct Democracy" as part of a site redesign, with the new tagline "Direct...
. His focus is on polling and data-driven analysis of US politics, as well as of the blogosphere.
Bowers was a member of the Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee, representing the 8th district of the Pennsylvania State Senate
Pennsylvania State Senate
The Pennsylvania State Senate has been meeting since 1791. It is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such...
, and a former resident of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. Now he resides in Washington D.C. He is a former union organizer, and a strong supporter of organized labor
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
.
Bowers has overseen netroots surveys that he says demonstrate that progressive Internet activists are driven more by partisanship and pragmatism than far-left ideology, and that show bloggers are influential on rank and file Democrats.
John Edwards Staff-Blogger Controversy
In February 2007, Bowers stated "I have a pretty vicious rant and an important action alertAction alert
An action alert is a message that an organization sends to mobilize people - often members of their group and supports of a specific point of view - calling on them to take action to influence public policy. Typically, action alerts are in reference to a timely issue, where prompt action is needed...
lined up, but I am waiting to hear from the Edwards camp..." about the controversy over bloggers Amanda Marcotte
Amanda Marcotte
Amanda Marie Marcotte is an American blogger best known for her writing on feminism and politics. Time magazine described her as "an outspoken voice of the left" and said "there is a welcome wonkishness to Marcotte, who, unlike some star bloggers, is not afraid to parse policy with her...
and Melissa McEwan, recently hired by John Edwards
John Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...
. When Edwards announced he would not fire the bloggers, Bowers announced he considered the event significant enough to tip him into supporting Edwards in the 2008 Democratic Presidential primary. Further, he initiated a blogger campaign to email traditional media outlets with additional facts about William Donohue and the blogger employed by Republican Presidential candidate John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, Patrick J. Hynes. Bowers reported some success in these efforts in that several media outlets (including the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
) did report on the items Bowers suggested were relevant.
Other notable activities
During the 2006 election, Bowers again came into the spotlight for two internet campaigns he initiated. The first was called "Use It or Lose It" where he and other bloggers analyzed the FEC reports for "safe" Democrats and implored them to donate some of their campaign finance reserves to other Democratic candidates in more competitive elections. As a result of this campaign, several Democrats did donate additional money, including John Kerry and Barney Frank. Bowers estimated the effort generated a minimum of $2.3M for Democrats in competitive campaigns from "safe" Democrats.The second campaign in 2006 was a Google bomb
Google bomb
The terms Google bomb and Googlewashing refer to practices, such as creating large numbers of links, that cause a web page to have a high ranking for searches on unrelated or off topic keyword phrases, often for comical or satirical purposes...
(or less pejoratively, a "search engine optimization") campaign against a list of Republican candidates. The idea was to elevate perceived negative stories in traditional media outlets about these candidates in Google searches. Bowers attempted to distinguish this from other well-known Google bombs, such as Miserable Failure or Flip Flop search terms returning biographies of George W. Bush and John Kerry during the 2004 election, by returning only serious and factual articles about the targets.
.
Bowers is a Fellow at the Commonweal Institute.
External links
- Bowers profile at OpenLeft.com
- Video of debate/discussion with Chris Bowers and Conn Carroll on Bloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tv is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast online to viewers...
- Bowers profile at Commonweal Institute