The Notroots
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Blogging, General PoliticsMichael Reynolds has a must read post about Daily Kos and what it really means in the grand scheme of things.
I am a netroots skeptic. I don’t think politics has moved to the web. I think there is a disconnect between web-world and real-world. Remember “meet ups?” Go to MeetUp.com, scroll through the political stuff. Lots of zeroed-out groups. Remember “flash mobs?”Yes, the web is a good tool for raising money, but mostly just because it’s easier to find a web address than to get an 800 number which may or may not exist for the candidate or issue of your choice. The web is the new 800 number, not an end in itself.
I think blogs do a good job of annoying reporters, and a good job of communicating with other bloggers, and a good job of preaching to the converts, but I don’t see a sea change in politics. Most of America, the overwhelming majority of Americans, could not name a single blog. I think in here, inside this box, Kos is a big deal. But if he’s such a big deal, how come he can’t sell his book?
Reynolds is on hiatus now. He will be missed.
This entry was posted on Friday, June 9th, 2006 and is filed under Blogging, General Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
June 10th, 2006 at 1:21 am
If you’re using DailyKos as your benchmark for blog success you’re using a horrible example. Markos and his buddies are 0 for 15, and probably more after that recent Bilbrary-Busby charade. This is because the Kos’ views are certifiable. Coming from a moderate site, you should know that Kos is aloof and supports the most liberal candidates they can find. Since most of America isn’t of the “Cut and Run, impeach Bush first” variety, they fail.
Measuring blog sucess by Kos is like measuring human physical ability on the fattest, slowest kid in the 50 yard dash, it simply isn’t a good comparison. I note that the blogs often assail each other with point-counterpoint and those of us who keep informed undoubtedly inform our peers of the news and arguments. Blogs, like any other political device, aren’t going to work if you don’t spread the word. Kos may be “spreading the word” and “speaking truth to power”, but their message is so idiotic they can’t get anyone but the tiny minority of “true believers”.
June 10th, 2006 at 7:29 am
Kos strikes me kind of like a 24/7 pep rally, if nothing else. Politics on the web is still more for the true believers than the unwashed masses. Some of those went to political meetups and such before the web, but now people can “talk” politics without leaving their home.
Official politician’s websites have been a cheap, quick, effective way for pols to get updated messages to their supporters. They’ve also a good way to reference semi-detailed plans to people without having to carry around a stack of pamphlets - “If you go to my website, you’ll see that I have a 10 point plan on how to…”.
For the electorate as a whole, the web is still tangential to tv commercials, yard signs, and bumper stickers.
June 10th, 2006 at 6:54 pm
A much better model for blog success is porkbusters. It’s quite likely that some of the pork recently cut from real spending bills would have gotten through absent serious blog work highlighting the foolishness of these projects.
June 11th, 2006 at 7:44 pm
Although I don’t spend a lot of time on Kos, and I find many of the commenters quite annoying, I think all of this “0 for 15″ talk is specious and misleading. Many, if not most of the candidates the netroots get behind are candidates with serious uphill battles. Paul Hackett was always a longshot because of his district; same for Busby. The fact that the races were much closer than originally expected can be, at least in part, attributed to the netroots. I supported Busby, but I don’t feel like a loser because she lost. Anything else would have been an incredible upset. But despite all of the efforts by Republicans to claim that “a win is a win,” the results of races like Hackett’s and Busby’s are causing a great deal of consternation among the Republicans who actually know something about political races. Unless you really think the Republicans wanted to spend tons of effort and $5 million in CA-50. And for primary candidates like Lamont or Ciro Rodriguez, the message to incumbents is that you can’t take your supporters for granted.
I suppose Kos could support Hilary Clinton and Ted Kennedy and Eliot Spitzer. That would bring up their won-loss record, but that’s not where the effort is needed.