Assigned Reading: Leadership Institute Media Session 12.13.

The below is required reading for the members of the 2006-07 Clinton Chamber Leadership Institute Class in preparation for the session on Disintermediation that I will be facilitating on 12.13.206.

This reading is required only in the sense that these concepts are driving some of the most important economic innovations happening in the world right now. Hundreds of billions of dollars and the future shape of our society depend on how we understand and make use of these concepts.

• Read the Wikipedia article on, disintermediation.


• Short post by me on Internet video disintermediation.

Also, examine the concept of the Long Tail.

• Wikipedia Entry


• Video explaining the Long Tail


• The Long Tail website for the book of the same name.

Lastly, I'd like for you to read the following two newspaper articles. Although these are political articles, and this is a (sometimes very) political blog, the politics isn't what I want you to look at. Please read the articles as attempts to convey information to you the reader. If you don't take an interest in state politics, pretend for a moment that you do.

Quad City Times: Senate Republicans elect leaders while conservatives walk out

By Todd Dorman – Saturday, November 11, 2006

DES MOINES — Defeated and divided Republicans in the Iowa Senate chose their leaders Friday, but only after a walkout by a disgruntled group of conservatives.
The Senate GOP lost five seats in Tuesday’s election, which gave Democrats a 30-20 majority in the chamber.

GOP members re-elected Sen. Mary Lundby of Marion as their top leader during a closed-door meeting at the Statehouse. But before the vote, eight Republican senators walked out of the session.

“We took an unusual beating in this last election and we must change direction,” said Sen. Paul McKinley, R-Chariton, who led the walkout. “We believe we must get back to the principles that brought Republicans to the forefront 20 years ago when Ronald Reagan ran.”

McKinley was joined by veteran Sens. Mark Zieman of Postville, Steve Kettering of Lake View, Brad Zaun of Urbandale, Nancy Boettger of Harlan, Jerry Behn of Boone, Jim Hahn of Muscatine and incoming freshman Senator-elect David Hartsuch of Bettendorf.
“It’s about getting back to our base,” Zieman said.

He contends the split occurred when conservatives were not allowed to discuss issues before the vote.

The Republicans who remained chose Lundby unanimously. Senator-elect Larry Noble of Ankeny was absent.
“There are a lot of Republicans who are unhappy. I was sorry that there’s been a division at this time,” Lundby said. “We’ll be waiting for them to come back.”
Lundby said she is confident Republicans will put up a unified front.

“We’re good, hard-working, strong Iowans. We all have strong opinions,” she added. “That doesn’t make me a bit nervous.”

Along with Lundby, Republicans elected four assistant minority leaders, including Sens. Ron Wieck of Sioux City, David Johnson of Ocheyedan, Larry McKibben of Marshalltown and Jeff Angelo of Creston.

Leadership elections likely will be more tranquil for victorious Democrats.
Democrats are expected to re-elect Sen. Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs as their leader and Jack Kibbie of Emmetsburg as Senate president.
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Todd Dorman can be contacted at (515) 243-0138 or todd.dorman@lee.net


DES MOINES REGISTER: Lundby elected to lead Iowa Senate GOP
Eight conservative Republicans walk out of Statehouse meeting

By JONATHAN ROOS, REGISTER STAFF WRITER, November 10, 2006

Mary Lundby of Marion will continue to lead Iowa Senate Republicans, overcoming the protests of a group of conservatives who walked out of a closed-door leadership selection meeting today at the Statehouse.

Sen. Paul McKinley of Chariton led the walkout by eight GOP members. They were calling for change in the party’s direction in light of Tuesday’s election that left Democrats in control of the Legislature and cast Republicans in the role of the minority.

The 11 Senate Republicans who stayed for the rest of today’s meeting gave Lundby a vote of confidence, said Sen. Pat Ward of West Des Moines. Newcomer Larry Noble of Ankeny was unable to attend.

“My hope is we can bring ’em back together and we’ll work for the good of Iowa,” Ward said.

Senate Republicans went into the election tied with Democrats, 25-25. They emerged with just 20 seats.

Democrats also seized control of the House, winning 54 of 100 seats.

Lundby, considered a party moderate, replaced Stewart Iverson of Clarion as Senate Republican leader in a Statehouse shakeup that occurred late in the 2006 session.

Senate Democrats and Republicans shared power during the 2005 and 2006 sessions because of the 25-25 tie. Now, Lundby becomes the minority leader. Sen. John Putney of Gladbrook was chosen today to serve as the party whip. Assistant party leaders will be Sens. David Johnson of Ocheyedan, Jeff Angelo of Creston, Ron Wieck of Sioux City and Larry McKibben of Marshalltown.
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The 2007 session starts Monday, Jan. 8. Members of the new Senate Democratic majority meet Sunday and are expected to keep the party’s leadership team intact with Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs assuming the title of Senate majority leader and Jack Kibbie of Emmetsburg serving as Senate president

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Now, answer the following questions for yourself: What specific issues divide the GOP senators? What specifically led to the walkout? What sort of "change in direction" do the dissident senators seek? What do I know now about the state of the Iowa Republican party that I did not know before reading these articles?

Now, read the following article from the very partisan but also very plugged in blogger, Krusty Konservative.

Lundby Elected Minority Leader after Konservatives walk out

After receiving 11 votes from here Republican colleagues, Mary Lundby was elected Senate Minority Leader. However there is major rift in the Republican Kaucus in the Senate.

Before the vote was taken, Senators, McKinley Zieman, Boettger, Zahn, Hahn, Kettering, Behn and Senator-elect Hartsuch walked out of the meeting after their request that the leadership elections be postponed until Senators have a chance to regroup after the election and so that all Republican Senators could be present.

Senator Paul McKinley (District 36, Chariton) said, "Business as usual is over. Senate Republicans have to start representing the interests of Iowans by providing Republican solutions to Iowa problems. It used to be that social conservatives could work side by side with social moderates, because we all agreed on the principles of limited government and fiscal responsibility.

We have to start dealing with the issues--- taxation, letting people keep more of their own money, protecting safety and fighting crime, charting the course for alternative energy, revitalizing our rural communities and staying true to our family values."

Senator Mark Zieman (District 8, Postville) said, "I view this as a battle of Republican values. By not allowing a discussion of the last election before a leadership vote, it tells me the leadership didn't want the majority to know the facts!”

Senator Nancy Boettger (District 29, Harlan) said, "If you want to build unity in the party, you have to have open discussion."
Senator Brad Zaun (District 32, Urbandale) said, "Bottom line is-- that with such a close election for leadership we needed all members present to vote in this very important election."

Senator Jim Hahn (District 40, Muscatine) said, "This is the same scenario that they ran past us last spring, I didn't get any information before they had this vote-this is the same thing that happened now. They won't let us talk about what happened in the 2006 elections, what went wrong, how money was spent. I think we need to have an opportunity to discuss that and find out what went wrong and what we need to do to correct it.”

Senator Steve Kettering (District 26, Lakeview) said, "Clearly Democrats out organized us, out fundraised us, developed better ads and in general ran a much better campaign in this last election than Senate Republicans. It is vital that as we select leadership for the future that we have an informed discussion of what occurred in what was a disastrous election for Republicans. They didn't allow that today.”

Senator Jerry Behn (District 24, Boone) said, "Without all 20 of us there, it is not a true representation of the full caucus. There is no reason not to postpone the vote. We need to have an open and free discussion of our Republican principles and who would be the best face of those principles to Iowa.”


Dr. David Hartsuch (Senator-elect, District 41, Bettendorf) said, "Before we could consider any leadership votes, we needed to consider the significance of the Democrat tsunami so that we can determine the best course of action which reflects the will of the people. Unfortunately that didn't happen."

Can you better answer the above questions after reading the blog post? Again, pretending for the moment that you actually care for the nuances of state politics, does the fact that you know that the blogger in question is very partisan affect whether or not the article is informative? After reading it would you be more or less likely to find out additional information on this story or this topic? How much does the known (or unknownd) political position of the writer affect your decision?

Definitely be prepared to discuss in class. Feel free to start the discussion here in the comments.