DNC Launches FlipperTV

As the Republican presidential candidates prepare to finally answer questions tonight directly from the American people at the CNN/YouTube debate, the Democratic National Committee launched FlipperTV, a unique, new online video tool that is part of the DNC’s ongoing efforts to hold Republican frontrunners Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, and John McCain accountable for their positions and flip flops along the campaign trail.

For months now, Democrats have been tracking the Republican presidential frontrunners in the field, compiling a video library of candid moments as they campaign across the country. Found at FlipperTV, www.democrats.org/flippertv, Americans can now watch and download this video and use the footage as they wish, putting raw material into the hands of the American people to hold these candidates accountable for their comments and actions.

By crowdsourcing, the DNC is seeking to engage people by making data available for their own personal use, enabling users to sort through the video and expose the Republican frontrunners’ flip-flops, contradictions, and policy positions that show how out of touch Republicans are with the American people. FlipperTV will allow activists and voters to download video to their computers, edit it to create new user-generated video, and judge the candidates’ flip-flips and exaggerations for themselves.

“The idea behind FlipperTV is simple: let the American people hear directly from the Republican candidates unscripted and in their own words, and let them decide if they want four more years of Bush’s failed policies or a Democrat who will bring change to the White House,” said Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. “This video will come directly from the campaign trail, letting voters see who they truly are, not who their campaigns want them to be.”

FlipperTV already has more than 70 separate events on video and will quickly upload new footage as it happens, starting with clips from tonight’s Republican CNN/YouTube debate. Online video has played a critical role in the political process and in 2006 was essential to Democrats defeating Republicans like George Allen, Conrad Burns, and Lincoln Chafee. Already, candid videos have captured John McCain singing the words “bomb Iran” to the tune of the Beach Boys song “Barbara Ann” as well as Mitt Romney saying that instead of serving in the military, his sons are helping the country by campaigning for him.