Talking Politics

Campaign-finance reform, Internet style

by Seth Gitell

PAULIE for president: the future of politics?

A Milford man may have stumbled onto the future of politics.

Paul Piwko, 35, says he is running for president. He isn't really, but his Web site is shedding light on the political potential of the Internet.

Piwko is a part-time filmmaker who puts reality-style short films on his Web site. Think The Blair Witch Project. But instead of chronicling the travails of three student filmmakers lost in the woods, Piwko's shorts are all about the quest of a regular guy named Paulie -- played by Piwko -- to become president. (During the presidential debates in New Hampshire, Piwko and his followers carried PAULIE FOR PREZ signs.) He started work on his "mockumentary" nine months ago, but the project has taken on a life of its own. He now conducts interviews partially in character. "I've gotten hooked on politics," he explains.

"We're trying to show how the Web can be used to wage a political campaign," Piwko says. A high-end digital camera, combined with a Web site, is a powerful tool. It's pretty easy to get a political message out to "one-third of the population" -- those who have Internet access. By the next presidential election, that might jump to two-thirds, and by 2008 it's reasonable to believe that everyone will be online, Piwko says. The impact this will have on traditional politics could be huge. A nontraditional candidate could do the bulk of his or her campaigning over the Internet -- circumventing the money and power obstacles posed by the two-party system.