Dean may well be the bee's knees, but still.

June 4, 2003 5:23 PM

Another post praising Howard Dean leads to charges of DeanFilter. There may be something to those charges: there have been several uncritical and laudatory Howard Dean posts on MetaFilter over the past few months, some of which seem interchangeable. And, as matteo points out, it's probably only going to get worse. We complain (rightly) when a post reeks of viral marketing; why shouldn't this be any different? Shouldn't we be more skeptical of breathless posts that coo over politicians? Aren't we (well, not me per se, but American voters) being sold something? Dean may well be the bee's knees, but still.
posted by mcwetboy to Etiquette/Policy at 5:23 PM (17 comments total)

Yes, we are. And Dean's got a creepy smile. And he ain't the bee's knees.
posted by gramcracker at 5:29 PM on June 4, 2003

The problem with the latest post wasn't that it was a Howard Dean post, but that it was essentially a doublepost.

It makes sense that Dean would have a lot of support on Metafilter given his campaign's embrace of blogs and Internet communities. I don't think it's viral marketing. There have been a couple of Bob Graham posts of late that I found interesting and worthwhile. If John Kerry or Joe Lieberman did something nerdy/techy/interesting that would captivate this community, posts on them would be welcomed. It's not our fault that some of these candidates are more boring than a drill bit.

Don't forget, also, that political discussion in 2003 will necessarily lean Democratic, not just because Mefi members swing that way, but because there's no competition for the GOP nomination.
posted by PrinceValium at 5:34 PM on June 4, 2003

The actual usefulness of MeFi as focus group has been discussed already here, I think -- fact is, especially for an American candidate, MeFi does not tell you much useful data -- strange, confusing demographics, lots of foreigners who can't actually vote for the candidate, etc
Maybe some marketing person for a software company -- not to mention hardware, iPod MetaFilter threads anybody? -- can actually find MeFi useful as a focus group, after all we're all computer users and a good percentage of us actually designs their own blogs and stuff, so it makes sense for technology (even if, apparently, our dear leader's TiBook really sucks, so we probably really aren't the greatest Apple fansite ever).
but are we really a good focus group to test a political candidate? I doubt it

the problem is, Dean is the only anti-War Democrat who has a (very slight, right now) chance of actually getting the nomination. there's lots of anti-War users, therefore it's only natural that the man has a few fans around here.
and even some of those who are not citizens and can't vote for him find some of his speeches interesting, and OK for a MeFi thread. I, for example, have sometimes quoted Dean in the past because I thought that (his "partial-birth is a bogus, ugly issue" speech, for example) he made a lot of sense. also, he's handy when we're discussing the always funny "all Presidents are tall" topic (for non-fans and casual readers: Dean is short)

I'd be actually worried about viral marketing if an almost-newbie user with no other discernible interests would post regularly about Dean and about little else. you know, maybe that could be an overzealous campaign worker or simply an annoying Dean fan. but I don't think that's the case

on preview: PrinceValium makes a lot of sense: there won't be any Republican primaries to speak of (unless of course McCain goes _really_ nuts this time -- giving credit to that nice Bush campaign 2000 smear -- and actually challenges the Florida Governor's brother for the Presidential nomination). we'll be getting lots of Democratic Primaries FPP's, too
*cries*
posted by matteo at 5:56 PM on June 4, 2003

In the interests of full disclosure, I start working for PIRG tommorrow, thereby completing my descent into prototypical leftie stereotype. I'll be pushing environmental issues on the unsuspecting Oregonians, which is almost by definition Democratic campaigning, given Bush's environmental record. But, um, yeah, I'm not actually being paid by Dean, so I suppose that makes it still fair to post about him.
posted by kaibutsu at 6:23 PM on June 4, 2003

I did not want to start a MeTa thread about it, but since we are here ... (thanks mcwetboy)

I will not protest if I see a post about Dean (or any other candidate), his views etc. as long as adds something interesting to the story, e.g. compare primaries / 2004 election with similar others in the last 100 years, identify trends, and so on.

This post seems to be paid by the party (or Dean). It is 100% propaganda. If this kind of posts are allowed, any kind of propaganda should be allowed!

I am afraid trolls will use more intelligent techniques to camouflage their posts (after all, our trolls are better than others'). Currently MetaFilter tends to the left, fact that indicates bias. In one year we could have MeFi = Democratic Party. Would you like to see this happening? Should we make a new rule requiring that every new post must have at least one link to a page supporting the official point of view of the Party? ;)

And for those who like to / must convert others: you are wasting your time here, we already know more than is presented in the media!
posted by MzB at 8:34 PM on June 4, 2003

Dean dean dean dean dean dean.

That said, surely there are better places for pure political punditry. I went to a Dean Meetup just tonight; there must be one in your area.
posted by Yelling At Nothing at 12:45 AM on June 5, 2003

there's no competition for the GOP nomination.
(unless of course McCain goes _really_ nuts this time

Saw McCain wants to start an investigation into the WMD, yet not sure if trying to find them, or go after Bush.
How many on Meta-filter have a party they actually support 100%?
Even when I was registered to a party, I never voted 100% for them.
Even throw in the abortion issue since were here too, not all Christians support Bush on this, nor have I attended(on a monthly basis) a Christian Church that supported pro-life and I've attended a handful.
posted by thomcatspike at 6:22 AM on June 5, 2003

do you mean that Protestant ministers in America are actually pro-choice? (I'm asking, I don't have the slightest idea cause I'm a Catholic)
posted by matteo at 7:45 AM on June 5, 2003

Currently MetaFilter tends to the left, fact that indicates bias. In one year we could have MeFi = Democratic Party. Would you like to see this happening?

CURRENTLY it tends to the left? Metafilter started out left and has been slowly drifting toward the center as its population has grown. The 2000 election here on Metafilter was Gore vs Nader.
posted by Mars Saxman at 8:32 AM on June 5, 2003

CURRENTLY it tends to the left? Metafilter started out left and has been slowly drifting toward the center as its population has grown.
Hmm, I thought otherwise, but what do I know, I'm a newbie! :)

The 2000 election here on Metafilter was Gore vs Nader.
I am not against a Gore vs. Nader type of post, I just do not like one sided agenda.
posted by MzB at 9:34 AM on June 5, 2003

Matteo, how do I explain, as I don't have a denomination per say. The churches I went/go to believe in the Bible's Doctrines, similar to Evangelical w/o the fundy part...most of my pastors attended Biola University or Dallas Theological Seminary. Yet not all that come out of those schools agree. Went to a large Christian High School which was not affiliated to any one church. This issue divided the school in halves...friends too. The reason I bring it up, as it will divided the GOP again too, {{{are you listening other sides}}}. Worked for a Congressman, who a large part of his supporters whom I met, disagreed on this one big issue he supported. But that was when pro-life was just gaining support and few thought we would see a reversal in Roe vs Wade.

Does the word Christian denote Catholic in Europe, as it does not for me, here? and I can go to any church that is what my Holly Spirit is for, the message not the man behind the pulpit.(maybe I should of e-mailed you this sorry all)
posted by thomcatspike at 9:59 AM on June 5, 2003

affiliated to any one church. This issue... add...pro-life/pro-choice [to clarify]
posted by thomcatspike at 10:04 AM on June 5, 2003

Now if negative advertising were an industry... oh boy, would MeFi be raking in those millions or what?
posted by MiguelCardoso at 10:48 AM on June 5, 2003

I'm not a troll, I don't work for Howard Dean, and I admit that it wasn't a great post.

Wait, I take that back. I clearly am being paid large amounts of money to push steaming piles of Dean down your throat. And my Bob Graham post, that was propaganda, too. It is all propaganda for my secret plan to have two presidents.

And inspire whiny-ass meta threads.
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 2:31 AM on June 6, 2003

there's really no need to get snippy about it -- the criticism is not personal, and the thread's question -- are we going to see more and more Democratic Primaries fpp's? -- is perfectly legitimate

also, one seriously doubts that Dean has the money to actually _pay_ for any kind of viral marketing -- he must be way too busy paying the printers for those cool "The Doctor Is In" posters and stickers
posted by matteo at 11:46 AM on June 6, 2003

there's really no need to get snippy about it

you're right, but I don't feel like I brought the snippiness to the tahble.

and the thread's question -- are we going to see more and more Democratic Primaries fpp's? -- is perfectly legitimate

here and now, i pledge not to post one, but we are going to see them. why? because people talk about politics, and write about politics, and make websites about politics.
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 12:40 PM on June 6, 2003

And I forgot to add:

Vote for Howard Dean, he's the Cat's Pajamas!
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 12:56 PM on June 6, 2003