Youtube clip of representative sparks debate

YouTube is known for its variety of videos that offer entertainment for everyone. Extreme sports enthusiasts can find videos showing gruesome injuries from failed stunts. TV show fans have access to numerous clip montages of different shows set to techno and pop music. Those looking for a laugh can watch videos like "My New Haircut," a comical film that has been recreated several times.
Now YouTube also offers plenty of information for people who love politics.

One recent video dealing with a political issue was posted by a group called the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund on March 7. The video shows pictures of people holding up signs saying things like "I’m listening," and "I heard that."

What the signs refer to is the audio of the film, taken from a speech by state Rep. Sally Kern, a republican, in January. Kern wasn’t aware the speech was being recorded, and spoke about problems she thinks homosexuals in America are causing.

She said, "[Homosexuality is] not a lifestyle that’s good for this nation," and "No society that has totally embraced homosexuality has lasted more than, you know, a few decades."

She also included Islam in her statements.

"I honestly think it’s the biggest threat our nation has…even more so than terrorism or Islam," Kern said.

The video was viewed nearly one million times as of Wednesday and has evoked several responses, some of them other YouTube videos. A number of online blogs and activist sites have posted articles about the speech. CNN showed the video on air and on their Web site. The Victory Fund’s film has taken Kern’s message far past Oklahoma, and far more than the 50 people present when she gave it are now listening and reacting.

Joel Cramer, a broadcast journalism professor and lawyer, said Kern exercised her right to free speech.

"Free speech doesn’t always feel good," Cramer said. "It isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always nice."

YouTube and other new media have given people everywhere the opportunity to say what they want and share it with the world. One example is Amber Lee, also known as Obama Girl, part of barelypolitical.com, which shows music videos including "Crush on Obama," sung by Lee. The videos have reached a diverse crowd, and Lee has been on several news programs both from the U.S. and other countries. Still, Lee’s videos may not be doing much for the election.
"There is a little bit of political background [in her videos], but I don’t think it will swing any voters," said Mat Taylor, a freshman.

Taylor said many of the YouTube videos do not show all the political views of the nation because most YouTube users are from a younger demographic.

"I think it is more one-sided," Taylor said. "The users are a more liberal crowd."

Though some of the opinions on YouTube lie along partisan lines, it has become a functioning piece of today’s politics, which was evident in the recent CNN/YouTube debates for the presidential candidates. People taped their questions for the candidates, sent them in to YouTube before the debate, and the candidates answered.

"It’s indicative of the fact that YouTube and blogs in general are going to play a more significant part of our politics in the future," Cramer said.

YouTube isn’t the only new media being used for more than entertainment. MTV and MySpace.com teamed up in February for a dialogue with presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul who have since dropped out of the race. MTV and MySpace.com held similar dialogues with John McCain, Barack Obama and John Edwards earlier in the race.

The goal is to make the nation’s younger generation more aware of politics and current issues, and some think it’s working. John Wood, a political science professor, said he thinks new media involvement, like that of MTV, MySpace.com and YouTube, is "one of the reasons Barack Obama is doing so well among young people."
This election has seen higher numbers of the young vote, ages 17-29, come into play in primaries, with a 5 percent median increase in voter turnout according to a Pew Research poll.

"I think it’s a good idea because it might get people who are politically apathetic more interested in politics," Wood said.

Web sites like YouTube are frequented by today’s youth for different reasons.

"I usually go on [YouTube] two or three times a week," Caroline Thomas, a freshman, said. "I watch a lot of comedy stuff…it’s a comic relief for me after the day."

Taylor said he sometimes uses YouTube to catch key points of political speeches and debates he missed on television. He said he had heard of the Victory Fund’s video about Kern, but hadn’t watched it.

Franklin College students may find themselves working with YouTube for more than personal reasons.

Cramer said that students would be working with it at school.

The use of YouTube and the other sites like it as mediums of delivering information could be very helpful, Cramer said.

"If we start using it intelligently, I think it could be extremely useful to communicate…political ideas in particular," Cramer said.