Well, the short answer to your question is a resounding yes! Really, all you need to do is look at President Obama being elected and the way he ran his last two election campaigns with grassroots campaigns, planting ideas, planting seeds, and a vast, massive media campaign via YouTube, the Internet, social media, and all those forums to inspire and incite those ideas. I'm neither supporting nor opposing Obama. But it's certainly a case study in the power of how ideas and movements can get spread.
All the Best,
Sean