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Photo by Molly Priddy
Internet helps lawmakers blend politics
and the personal under the capitol dome
By MOLLY PRIDDY
Community News Service
UM School of Journalism
HELENA – They’re wired up here at the capitol, and not just from the gallons of coffee consumed during long hearings.
With technology advancing faster than you can say Facebook, it was inevitable that the Legislature would evolve with it. Lawmakers are now in constant contact with constituents, and constituents can keep constant tabs on them.
Almost everyone here, journalists included, has a laptop opened to write e-mails or to update their status on Twitter or to blog about what so-and-so from across the aisle just said.
“My blog totally rocks,” said Rep. JP Pomnichowski, D-Bozeman. “It has really kind of taken off this session.”
Pomnichowski, 42, has been blogging since her first campaign in 2006 and tries to update her site every couple of days. The entries offer constituents an insider’s view of the Legislature, she said.
“I just like to give the perspective of a representative from the House floor, from the committees,” Pomnichowski said.
But her blog also highlights personal interests, including her fascination with shoes. Pictures of her favorite pairs can be found alongside her voting information.
Sen. Jon Brueggeman’s blog mixes the personal and political too. Visitors to the site can read entries explaining legislation or click their way to one of his favorite motorcycle sites.
A self-described moderate Republican, Brueggeman said he prefers to speak for himself online instead of through the official party filter.
“I’ve got a little bit of a different take on politics than other Republicans,” said the 29-year-old from Polson. “There’s a huge void in politics where the reasoned middle doesn’t have a clear voice.”
He also said he uses the blog to connect to young people, a demographic glaringly absent from the Republican Party.
“I think the party has failed at getting its message out to the young people,” Brueggeman said.
The Internet also helps Montana’s citizen lawmakers maintain their domestic lives and livelihoods away from home.
“We can’t stop our lives,” Brueggeman said. “There are quite a few of us who have the ability to multi-task.”
Two years ago Brueggeman and other lawmakers pushed for and won a $1,500 computer stipend, which is now afforded to legislators every four years. He also helped develop the online legislative agendas available on the Legislature’s own Web site.
“Montana is one of the more progressive states in the way it delivers information to the citizens,” Brueggeman said.
The Democratic and Republican parties now have their own blogs. The GOP launched its effort this session to communicate directly with constituents. Likewise, the Democrats’ blog collects articles and posts notices about party events or issues.
However, the online revolution does have its downside. Even a casual observer can spot lawmakers occasionally playing online card games or watching YouTube videos during floor debates.
“That really drives me crazy,” Pomnichowski said. “It’s important for me to respect the legislative workday.”
House Speaker Bob Bergren said there are no rules outlining specific computer use, but lawmakers should remember the public can see them playing around. “It doesn’t look good,” he said.
Brueggeman agreed that lawmakers should pay attention to state business, but regulating online behavior won’t be easy.
“It gives people a chance to not listen to the debate,” Brueggeman said. “It’s tough to see how it’ll balance out. We’re kind of wading in new territory.”
Despite the occasional Solitaire dalliance, most legislators say they use their computers to look up bill information or to instantly communicate with the world outside the capitol.
Rep. Tom McGillvray, a Republican leader in the House, doesn’t bring a computer to the floor because he has an office at the capitol. Taped under the screen of his desktop computer is a handwritten note that simply says, “Twitter.”
Twitter is an up-and-coming online tool that lets people update their personal status for anyone interested with short, succinct messages, called “tweets,” that use only 140 characters.
“I like Twitter,” McGillvray said. “It may give more people that interpersonal touch of the Legislature.”
McGillvray, 51, said he caught the bug after seeing President Barack Obama tweet. Even former presidential candidate John McCain tweets occasionally, despite admitting during the campaign that he didn’t know how to e-mail.
It’s also a helpful way to get the GOP message across without going through the media, McGillvray added.
“We need to help people to have access from a legislator’s point of view as opposed to having our actions filtered through the media,” McGillvray said. “We want to expose ourselves to a younger generation that uses technology to communicate.”
McGillvray said he intends to get more personal in his updates – if he can remember to do them, that is.
For those Montanans who aren’t quite up to tweeting, there’s always good old fashioned online audio and TV to keep up with the action.
All floor sessions and many committee meetings are broadcast across the Internet on the Legislature’s Web site and on TV. Lawmakers are still getting used to the idea that constituents are always watching.
Brueggeman said the big-brother like surveillance puts an extra layer of pressure on legislators to faithfully represent their districts. The hard part is actually remembering people outside the capitol bubble are watching, he said.
“You kind of forget it is being broadcast out,” Brueggeman said. “It can be a double-edged sword.”
Even the legislators on the floor use the broadcasts to make life a little easier. Rep. Janna Taylor, R-Dayton, often watches the House sessions on her computer while the real action plays out around her.
Taylor, 60, said she watches online so she doesn’t have to constantly crank her head around to see who is talking.
She also advocates using computers as the “green” thing to do. Getting a hard copy of entire bill wastes paper when you can pick and choose which pages to print, she said.
“You should only be allowed to get your bills in paper if you’re totally technologically challenged,” Taylor said.
Sen. Donald Steinbeisser, who still uses paper on the Senate floor, readily confesses his technological inadequacies. “I’m a Johnny-come-lately,” the 73-year-old Sidney Republican said.
Still, he’s had a computer since 1996, and he’s no stranger what it can do.
“I use it every day,” he said, “but I don’t like ‘em.”
and the personal under the capitol dome
By MOLLY PRIDDY
Community News Service
UM School of Journalism
HELENA – They’re wired up here at the capitol, and not just from the gallons of coffee consumed during long hearings.
With technology advancing faster than you can say Facebook, it was inevitable that the Legislature would evolve with it. Lawmakers are now in constant contact with constituents, and constituents can keep constant tabs on them.
Almost everyone here, journalists included, has a laptop opened to write e-mails or to update their status on Twitter or to blog about what so-and-so from across the aisle just said.
“My blog totally rocks,” said Rep. JP Pomnichowski, D-Bozeman. “It has really kind of taken off this session.”
Pomnichowski, 42, has been blogging since her first campaign in 2006 and tries to update her site every couple of days. The entries offer constituents an insider’s view of the Legislature, she said.
“I just like to give the perspective of a representative from the House floor, from the committees,” Pomnichowski said.
But her blog also highlights personal interests, including her fascination with shoes. Pictures of her favorite pairs can be found alongside her voting information.
Sen. Jon Brueggeman’s blog mixes the personal and political too. Visitors to the site can read entries explaining legislation or click their way to one of his favorite motorcycle sites.
A self-described moderate Republican, Brueggeman said he prefers to speak for himself online instead of through the official party filter.
“I’ve got a little bit of a different take on politics than other Republicans,” said the 29-year-old from Polson. “There’s a huge void in politics where the reasoned middle doesn’t have a clear voice.”
He also said he uses the blog to connect to young people, a demographic glaringly absent from the Republican Party.
“I think the party has failed at getting its message out to the young people,” Brueggeman said.
The Internet also helps Montana’s citizen lawmakers maintain their domestic lives and livelihoods away from home.
“We can’t stop our lives,” Brueggeman said. “There are quite a few of us who have the ability to multi-task.”
Two years ago Brueggeman and other lawmakers pushed for and won a $1,500 computer stipend, which is now afforded to legislators every four years. He also helped develop the online legislative agendas available on the Legislature’s own Web site.
“Montana is one of the more progressive states in the way it delivers information to the citizens,” Brueggeman said.
The Democratic and Republican parties now have their own blogs. The GOP launched its effort this session to communicate directly with constituents. Likewise, the Democrats’ blog collects articles and posts notices about party events or issues.
However, the online revolution does have its downside. Even a casual observer can spot lawmakers occasionally playing online card games or watching YouTube videos during floor debates.
“That really drives me crazy,” Pomnichowski said. “It’s important for me to respect the legislative workday.”
House Speaker Bob Bergren said there are no rules outlining specific computer use, but lawmakers should remember the public can see them playing around. “It doesn’t look good,” he said.
Brueggeman agreed that lawmakers should pay attention to state business, but regulating online behavior won’t be easy.
“It gives people a chance to not listen to the debate,” Brueggeman said. “It’s tough to see how it’ll balance out. We’re kind of wading in new territory.”
Despite the occasional Solitaire dalliance, most legislators say they use their computers to look up bill information or to instantly communicate with the world outside the capitol.
Rep. Tom McGillvray, a Republican leader in the House, doesn’t bring a computer to the floor because he has an office at the capitol. Taped under the screen of his desktop computer is a handwritten note that simply says, “Twitter.”
Twitter is an up-and-coming online tool that lets people update their personal status for anyone interested with short, succinct messages, called “tweets,” that use only 140 characters.
“I like Twitter,” McGillvray said. “It may give more people that interpersonal touch of the Legislature.”
McGillvray, 51, said he caught the bug after seeing President Barack Obama tweet. Even former presidential candidate John McCain tweets occasionally, despite admitting during the campaign that he didn’t know how to e-mail.
It’s also a helpful way to get the GOP message across without going through the media, McGillvray added.
“We need to help people to have access from a legislator’s point of view as opposed to having our actions filtered through the media,” McGillvray said. “We want to expose ourselves to a younger generation that uses technology to communicate.”
McGillvray said he intends to get more personal in his updates – if he can remember to do them, that is.
For those Montanans who aren’t quite up to tweeting, there’s always good old fashioned online audio and TV to keep up with the action.
All floor sessions and many committee meetings are broadcast across the Internet on the Legislature’s Web site and on TV. Lawmakers are still getting used to the idea that constituents are always watching.
Brueggeman said the big-brother like surveillance puts an extra layer of pressure on legislators to faithfully represent their districts. The hard part is actually remembering people outside the capitol bubble are watching, he said.
“You kind of forget it is being broadcast out,” Brueggeman said. “It can be a double-edged sword.”
Even the legislators on the floor use the broadcasts to make life a little easier. Rep. Janna Taylor, R-Dayton, often watches the House sessions on her computer while the real action plays out around her.
Taylor, 60, said she watches online so she doesn’t have to constantly crank her head around to see who is talking.
She also advocates using computers as the “green” thing to do. Getting a hard copy of entire bill wastes paper when you can pick and choose which pages to print, she said.
“You should only be allowed to get your bills in paper if you’re totally technologically challenged,” Taylor said.
Sen. Donald Steinbeisser, who still uses paper on the Senate floor, readily confesses his technological inadequacies. “I’m a Johnny-come-lately,” the 73-year-old Sidney Republican said.
Still, he’s had a computer since 1996, and he’s no stranger what it can do.
“I use it every day,” he said, “but I don’t like ‘em.”
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