Few Americans read the official party platforms that are produced every four years at a party’s presidential convention. But that does not mean the statements are unimportant. As South Carolina Republican party chair Katon Dawson explained in 2008 in a National Journal online article, “It’s your mission statement for your party. It’s the vehicle you use to get involved as an activist in the issues that matter.”
In 2008, the Republican party reached out beyond its convention delegates for input. Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, the Platform Committee chairman, opened up the Republican Party’s national website to solicit comments and feedback from partisans across the United States. The Democrats, too, launched a “Listening to America” project where local groups of partisans could meet and discuss their ideas for the national platform.
The national platforms are only one way for America’s parties to use new technologies. And while the major American parties, Republican and Democrat, have extensive online outreach, the Internet is arguably even more valuable to America’s third-party movement, which consists of partisans who often have difficulty obtaining valuable media coverage and publicity for their candidates.