Internet a key tool for reaching untapped bloc

Friday, December 26, 2003

By Rachel Alembakis, Special to the Post-Gazette

LONDON -- At first, the London "Clark in 2004" MeetUp followed a familiar script, as attendees spoke of what drew them to the meeting and to the Democratic candidacy of retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark and then handicapped his prospects for beating President Bush in the general election.

But then the gathering moved on to consider overseas voter registration, the feasibility of a registration drive in a country where the number of American citizen residents isn't known and the legalities of involving foreign nationals in campaigns for U.S. elections.

The 20 people drawn to a downtown London pub that November night had high hopes of assembling an organization to spread their message promoting Clark's candidacy to Americans abroad as well as at home. But that pub session was by no means isolated. In London alone, there are now also groups organizing on behalf of the Democratic candidacies of former Vermont Gov. Howard B. Dean and Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry, each connecting with their members via the Internet site MeetUp.com.

Internet activism isn't limited to Democrats, either. Republicans Abroad International, headquartered short blocks from the U.S. Capitol in Washington, uses its Web site to rally members in more than 60 countries.

"I don't know how we would be able to do this if not for the Internet," said Republicans Abroad deputy director Ryan King. "Most of our correspondence is via e-mail, redirecting people to local-country chapters and helping people to register to vote."

Although Republicans Abroad is independent from the Republican National Committee, its Web site labels it "the international arm of the GOP" and declares that it "helps the Republican Party develop policy and campaign strategy at the highest levels." Moreover, it has been very powerful in organizing international get-out-the-vote drives.

Precision about how many Americans live and vote abroad is difficult. In most stable regions, U.S. citizens typically don't register with their embassy. The majority of Americans overseas simply register back home as absentee voters, using their last stateside address.

Still, the Republicans Abroad Web site asserts that their voter power is obvious, claiming "6 million Americans living overseas -- a number larger than the population of 24 states."

Even if the votes of Americans abroad are hard to quantify, that doesn't mean their impact on elections is negligible. International absentee voters -- particularly those in the U.S. military -- were a particular benefit to Bush in his first presidential race.

"During the 2000 election, President George W. Bush carried the state of Florida on the 5,700-net vote yield from Republicans overseas, thanks to a massive international advertising campaign and strong grassroots leadership on the part of Republicans Abroad," its Web site asserts. "In addition, Republicans won two Senate seats and six seats in the U.S. House of Representatives because of Republican absentee ballots cast from overseas."

Democrats living outside the United States hope to provide similar strength for their candidate in 2004.

"It's a bit strange to be abroad and being at a political meeting," said Susan Moore, an American living in London since December 2000. "But I hear there are a lot of Americans abroad, and I know that the Republicans did a lot of work getting out the vote abroad in 2000, and I hope the Democrats can do the same now."

Moore shares two characteristics with most others drawn to the campaigns of Clark and Dean: This was one of the first political meetings she had ever attended, and she found out about the session via the candidate's Web site. But other participants discovered the meetings on MeetUp.com or had heard about them through media coverage of other groups organized to support rival U.S. candidates.

About 250,000 Americans live in the United Kingdom, according to the U.S. Embassy. In the last election, 13,000 U.S. residents in Britain voted through the embassy's consular section.

The United Kingdom is the most active Republicans Abroad branch, King said, but attempts to contact the London chapter were unsuccessful. During Bush's recent trip to London, chief political aide Karl Rove met with the local RA branch, although in a purely unofficial capacity, King insisted. Other active chapters are based in Canada, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Singapore.

Increased international activism among Democrats has one direct consequence: Democrats Abroad ("the official organization of the Democratic Party abroad") can seat a number of voting delegates at the nominating convention in Boston next July, said Sharon Manitta, press officer for Democrats Abroad U.K.

"Starting the year before an election, you get a swell of interest that builds and builds and builds," Manitta said. "It peters out for the next three years. [But] this really is the first Internet election, and certainly the MeetUps have given a new impetus to things."

While Republicans Abroad does use the Internet as an information clearinghouse, King was not aware of his party using the MeetUp.com site for organizing, as Democrats have. But the GOP organization does use traditional media to get its message out.

"We're going to do two very targeted advertising campaigns in Stars and Stripes [the Pentagon-authorized daily newspaper for military personnel in Europe, the Pacific Rim and the Persian Gulf] and the International Herald Tribune in May and all through September," King said. "We generally blanket those two publications. And any other television sources that will see us, we're more than ready to go on and tell our cause."

Because Americans abroad are, of course, relatively fewer than the domestic voting pool, groups supporting Democratic 2004 contenders straddle an awkward divide -- trying to beat the drum locally while recognizing that most campaign action is far away. Yet some participants believe that their distance affords them a view that could be useful to their candidate.

"London for Dean has three goals: to raise awareness for the candidate, to raise votes and to raise funds," said Susan Trevelyan-Syke, acting chairwoman of the group, an editor and businesswoman from Chicago who has lived in Britain for more than a decade. "We're in a position in the world where we can see our country in perspective."

There's another dimension to the activism of Americans abroad. If the number of active supporters reflects a candidate's strength, the choice of a candidate also mirrors issues that matter most to supporters.

For Dean backers in London, that issue may be universal health care.

"Dean is a good candidate because he reflects well overseas," said Patrick Giles, a lawyer who knows the former governor personally. He said Dean "reflects the issues that an American president should reflect.

"Health care, for example; people living overseas can't imagine living in America without [the] universal health care" most of them already enjoy, Giles said. "I'm considered by my associates in the U.S. to be a leftist past [Cuban revolutionary] Che Guevara because I'm in favor of [universal] health care, but I couldn't imagine not having it."

For Clark supporters, the attraction is his international experience as the former NATO supreme commander.

Karmen Ross, a human rights activist married to a British citizen, knew of Clark through her work with non-governmental organizations in Bosnia and Kosovo. "I think he is exceptionally competent, an exceptional man," she said. "And he has always said, as regards Western Europe, it's about engagement, engagement, engagement."

Despite supporting rival candidates, the Dean and Clark groups shared some characteristics. Notably, supporters split roughly into two demographic sub-groups: college students and mid-level to experienced professionals -- mainly in the fields of finance, banking or law.

In its London pub meeting, the Clark group bantered for a few minutes as attendees purchased drinks. Then after introductions, they settled into sharing why they support the general before attempting to create an organizational structure.

Early in the session, a philosophical divide sprung up between the true believers and the more pragmatic members, who just believe Clark to be the right Democrat to take on Bush.

"I'm only here because my gut instinct is that Clark is the best opponent to beat Bush," said Andrew Chick, who has lived in London for 11 years and works in re-insurance. "As we went around the room tonight, explaining why we were here, I don't know how many people would say they're passionate about Wesley Clark, but they are impressed by him."

Soon after, the group was divvying up roles, focusing on administration, media contacts and outreach to other activists and students. They also discussed using the Internet for information gathering and spreading their message in Britain. "This is really about the Internet," one participant, Liz Siena, told those arrayed around several tables in the pub's rear. "I mean, didn't we all just log on and find out about it that way? We should use it here as well."

The "Dean in 2004" MeetUp at a Waterstone's bookstore coffee shop in London's Piccadilly Circus, occurred in October, just like the candidate's national meetings throughout the United States. About 20 attended. Dean's organization is more established, with its first London gathering last June.

In contrast to the more pragmatic cast of the Clark conversation, the Dean attendees were largely true believers. Among them were Gretchen and Ralph Berggren, a retired couple from Santa Fe, N.M., in London on vacation, who decided to attend the monthly Dean meeting as they normally would at home.

"It's our first night in London, and we were looking on the Internet to find something to do," Gretchen Berggren said. "My husband was checking the Dean Web site, and he found a group meeting here in London, so we decided to spend out first night here."

Another attendee, Daniel Grood, came from Luxembourg. "I've never been to a MeetUp, never been active before. But I'm extremely, extremely upset at what's going on, and I don't know how to express it," said Grood, who has lived in Luxembourg for 25 years. "I came because I happened to be in London, and I wanted to see a MeetUp. I would like to do a Dean MeetUp in Luxembourg for Democrats Abroad there."

Berggren, Grood and others praised Dean's integrity with a fervor not unlike a prayer meeting. Over cappuccinos, they also discussed an upcoming visit to London by Repubican David Kelly, Dean's defeated 1994 gubernatorial opponent in Vermont, as well as organizing a student wing and determining when to register to vote.

There is ostensibly a London group supporting Kerry. But the "Kerry in 2004" London MeetUp in late September wasn't so popular; only one showed up, and she left after about 45 minutes when no one else appeared.

Although Republicans Abroad does hold events in London, the MeetUp.com site lists no gatherings for Bush in the city.

Leaders of the overseas political groups said there are not only geographic but also, more importantly, legal limits on what can be accomplished abroad. By federal law, non-Americans are barred from giving cash or in-kind donations, such as hosting a fund-raising party or paying for the catering. These restrictions limit the number of participants as well as the amount of activity that can go on, said Trevelyan-Syke of the Dean group.

"The Dean campaign is very, very strict about that," she said. "As a result, we have to maintain a friendly, arms-length relationship with non-American supporters, which is a shame, because there is such enthusiasm from non-Americans."

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