What is a politico?
A politico is any person who is actively involved in politics. The term is derived from the Latin word politicus, meaning political.
While a politician can definitely be a politico, a politico does not have to be a politician. A politician is someone who seeks or holds public office. A politico, on the other hand, can play any active role in political parties. Fundraisers, campaigners, speechwriters, consultants–even volunteers who man phone banks or put up signs along the highway can be considered politicos. A politico can even be someone not affiliated with a political party, but who passionately follows politics and politicians.
The 2008 Presidential election contributed heavily to the common use of the word politico. While Democrat Barack Obama appears to have used the Internet the most effectively in this race, it was the rare politician who did not make use of websites, social media, blogs and online video and podcasts. The free flow of information, both accurate and not so much, ignited passionate debate among individuals who might otherwise have had little interest in politics. For good or for ill, the Internet allowed average Americans unprecedented participation in the political debate, and many amateur politicos caused more harm than good with negative blogging, anti-candidate websites, and online petitions. On the positive side, sites like Project Vote Smart and The League of Women Voters provide non-partisan, comprehensive information on candidates, ethics and lobby reform, social policy, and Congressional issues.
Whether sites are conservative, like The Weekly Standard and National Online Review, or liberal, like Daily Kos and LiberalOasis, aspiring politicos are only a mouse click away from more information than they ever wanted about politics in the U.S. and abroad.
Politico is a Latin term translating as politician. Essentially it refers to anyone who is a politician, but it also can refer to people active in politics who don’t hold public office. This could include people like fundraisers for politicians, those who campaign on behalf of a politician, or those people who follow politics closely and are passionate about the political system. A politico can also be someone who is involved in the politics of an office, a school, or any workplace. A union member involved in keeping a union going might be a politico. The term has come into use more recently with the 2007 founding of the popular US print and Internet paper, The Politico, which is freely distributed in Washington DC, and has an extensive Internet following. The focus of the paper is all politics, especially the politics of the US Congress, and the Executive and Judicial branches of the government. Sometimes journalists from this paper, and other papers that follow politics are referred
