Durbin breaks new ground with live blog discussion

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., wants to craft a new national policy for high-speed, broadband Internet access that could include deciding who gets it and whether government incentives should be used to spur competition to provide it. So, naturally, he is seeking advice -- but not by plying the traditional corporate sources who clamor for attention on Capitol Hill.

Instead, Durbin is using a keyboard to hold live blog discussions this week with Internet users across the country. In the process, he is conducting a first-of-its-kind interactive experiment in Internet democracy that experts say could revolutionize how a bill takes shape in Congress.

The project, dubbed "Legislation 2.0," involves four nightly discussions with Durbin and his staff, ending Friday night. Durbin says the real-time discussion will help to mold the final bill, which he plans to introduce in the early fall.

With Durbin the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, what he comes up with could influence Internet access for years to come.

"It's just like a town meeting," Durbin said. "This was a town meeting on the Internet about this bill. There certainly is a new source of communication here."

Many politicians remain hesitant about blogs, which are personal websites containing online journals and commentary. And even if they do blog, they typically don't open themselves to feedback, said Julie Germany, deputy director of the Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet at George Washington University.

"This is really the exciting thing, when political officials and candidates use technology to engage in the sort of dialogue with American voters that they might not normally engage in," Germany said. She called it a "more intimate" way to communicate.

"Frankly, I'm surprised we haven't seen more of this," she added.

Durbin's staff saw the broadband initiative as an ideal way to try out the concept. "We're kind of road-testing this. We're going to see what comes of it," he said.

The liberal-leaning OpenLeft.com is hosting all the discussions; the first one, on Tuesday, lasted several hours.

About 45 people joined in the discussion, ranging from a California hip-hop disc jockey to academics to Internet users in rural areas, who are often neglected by large broadband providers, said Matt Stoller, co-founder of the website.

"Those people are not traditionally incorporated into the political process, but their feedback will now be incorporated," Stoller said.

The debate centered on a variety of issues, including potential incentives to expand access in rural areas and the thorny question of whether the government should treat broadband access as a "right" or as a regulated commodity, such as electricity or water.

Participants seemed to reach a consensus that broadband access should be a basic right for all. Some also advocated for a free, national wireless Internet network, while others debated the market impact of government regulation and tax credits.

Some participants thanked Durbin for -- as one blogger put it -- "pioneering the idea of open legislation."

Durbin said, "There were some real experts there -- and then a few just having fun. I didn't know what to expect."

Stoller said that the Internet was growing as a political force in policy-making and that the live blogging was a significant step in that direction.

"We're hoping this can become a model," he said. "It's a 21st-century think tank."

Source: St Louis Post-Dispatch