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In response to BlogHer's ongoing survey, "Should BlogHer interview presidential candidates or stick to their spouses?," women in this community have sent a clear message to presidential candidates to "wake up to the blogosphere" and answer 12 policy questions, either via video or the printed word.
In dozens of blog comments here, here and in this survey, respondents also urged candidates not to "ignore" women, and to start reaching out to existing and influential communities of women online (where most say they get their news), rather than creating candidate-specific sites that "pander" to women or moms specifically. Finally, the grand majority of women who voted reject interviews with potential First Spouses unless candidates participate too.
We gave women bloggers the final word on the survey, asking in our final question, "Do you have a message for the candidates about reaching women online that you'd like to share?" The answers are blunt and demanding; As of 10 a.m. Friday Dec. 21, members of this community cast 276 votes, including 118 open-ended comments to this question. Here's a representative sample of messages to candidates entered into the survey ( full survey results here):
Do you have a message for the candidates about reaching women online that you'd like to share?
"Yes. Stop expecting that we will be happy with hearing from your spouses and surrogates. If you have the time to talk directly with mostly male outlets, then you should have the time for us -- especially since we are 52% of the population and you need our votes to win this election."
"Women who are already online aren't looking for cutesy websites pandering to us. We're looking for you to come to us -- where we already are online -- and talk about real issues."
"I'm going to chalk it up to ignorance - we're not just women, we're women bloggers with the potential to reach tens of thousands more voters. Not just female voters either. Shockingly, I have male readers too."
"We (you and us) need this important opportunity to hear on another. We are women that wear many hats and part of a unique generation - mothers, businesswomen, wives (sometimes all!) who carry our weight in this country. We need to understand who you are because we're going to talk about you one way or another, and we are LOUD."
"To ignore organizations like BlogHer is to ignore the power of women who blog. Candidates, you're underestimating this important group if you think we have short memories and no influence!" Read all responses
When I announced the survey on BlogHer.com last week, I wrote that "our political team is confused by the response of presidential candidates to BlogHer, and to some other organizations and blogs by women. For the past six months, BlogHer has invited seven leading presidential candidates -- Democratic and Republican, we're non-partisan -- to participate with BlogHer's influential, passionate community of now 7.6 million techno-savvy women, who write and read thousands of influential blogs. While our editors, Morra Aarons-Mele and Mary Katharine Ham have made in-roads with the campaigns and we do have another year until Election Day, at this point we've been told no, both in words and in actions, as have some other women's blogs and political groups."
Fully 94 percent of respondents to this survey indicated that, one way or another, they want to hear from the candidate whose name is on the ballot. Of this 94 percent, more than 64 percent of respondents said they prefer BlogHer to talk with the candidates only, followed by bloggers who said "Both" candidates and spouses (nearly 30 percent),. The answer "Spouses and supporters" earned only 2.6 percent of respondent support:
Do you want BlogHer to talk with the candidates themselves -- Obama, Hillary, Mitt, etc.-- or will their families and supporters -- Oprah, Chelsea, Ann, etc. -- do? Full survey results
Candidates 64.73%
Spouses and supporters 2.55%
Both 29.45%
Other 3.27%
While bloggers were insistent in their survey votes and comments that they want presidential candidates to talk with the BlogHer community, bloggers hit an understanding note about how candidates could participate, with roughly the same number of bloggers saying they want candidates answer on video (44 percent) as bloggers who say they want candidates to answer in print (43 percent):
Do you want presidential candidates to answer policy questions in the Voter Manifesto? Full survey results
Yes on video 43.91%
Yes in print 43.17%
No, the candidates don't have to but the campaign should 10.70%
No, I have a
