Dialogue and discussion
Flack alluded to this a few days back, and I just wanted to follow up a little bit regarding engagement, or lack thereof, between elected state Democratic officials and the state and local bloggers who supported them and, more often than not, share their ideological vision.
Now, as readers know, I'm not one of those guys who think bloggers are the key to success. The self-righteousness of some commenters at Daily Kos and, well, everyone at Open Left is pathetic to me. There's a real disconnect between what the national progressive blogosphere can do/has done, and what has really taken place.
Likewise, I'm not here to be a mouthpiece for anyone's particular ideology, and I call out Democrats as well as Republicans when I disagree with them. But the blogosphere has helped open doors and permitted direct discussion between our elected officials and everyday folks like you and me. So when folks ignore the great opportunity these forums offer, it's baffling to me.
And to credit non-like-minded folks, state Republicans get it. If you head over to Peach Pundit and sift through 8,237 posts on Fred Thompson, you'll see Republican members of the Georgia General Assembly directly engaging with the readers there. In the past two weeks, I've been able to directly communicate and openly and rationally debate with GOP officials like Rep. Earl Earhart, while Sen. David Shafer runs one of the best political blogs around.
I don't agree with those guys on many things, but I appreciate the fact they're out there defending their ideas and being willing to discuss them with those who don't agree with them.
And the progressive bloggers here in Georgia can barely get any of the elected Democratic officials to acknowledge us.
Credit where credit is due, but the state party structure has done a very solid job of working to reach out to bloggers, and that's to be commended. I can only hope some of our Democratic representatives follow this lead.
Now, as readers know, I'm not one of those guys who think bloggers are the key to success. The self-righteousness of some commenters at Daily Kos and, well, everyone at Open Left is pathetic to me. There's a real disconnect between what the national progressive blogosphere can do/has done, and what has really taken place.
Likewise, I'm not here to be a mouthpiece for anyone's particular ideology, and I call out Democrats as well as Republicans when I disagree with them. But the blogosphere has helped open doors and permitted direct discussion between our elected officials and everyday folks like you and me. So when folks ignore the great opportunity these forums offer, it's baffling to me.
And to credit non-like-minded folks, state Republicans get it. If you head over to Peach Pundit and sift through 8,237 posts on Fred Thompson, you'll see Republican members of the Georgia General Assembly directly engaging with the readers there. In the past two weeks, I've been able to directly communicate and openly and rationally debate with GOP officials like Rep. Earl Earhart, while Sen. David Shafer runs one of the best political blogs around.
I don't agree with those guys on many things, but I appreciate the fact they're out there defending their ideas and being willing to discuss them with those who don't agree with them.
And the progressive bloggers here in Georgia can barely get any of the elected Democratic officials to acknowledge us.
Credit where credit is due, but the state party structure has done a very solid job of working to reach out to bloggers, and that's to be commended. I can only hope some of our Democratic representatives follow this lead.
posted by Jmac at 8:21 AM
5 Comments:
Is it possible that the constituents that the Democratic party is interested in courting and supporting are people who either do not own computers or do not have time in their schedules (due to long work hours followed by long commute times) to spend surfing and commenting on blogs? Just throwing that out there. I know there are more cynical or more pessimistic responses...
Bravo, but I think the Democratic party will utilize the netroots better in 2008
Amen brother
The reason as I see it is because the bloggers represent the extreme left of the party - or at least more to the left than the mainstream of the party. In places like New York and California, those people might be relevant. However, in Georgia, Democrats do NOT want to be embracing the extreme left. In order to remain relevant in a conservative state, Georgia Democrats need to maintain conservative values. Those conservative values are not reflected by the liberal bloggers.
oh they're reading us, but polus got it right, we're really not about reaching the folks who already are engaged enough to blog, we know you're interested.
I was upset that they didn't invite anyone from the state committee to their caucus shindig, it was rude. But I think now that it's been pointed out, they'll maybe realize that they should include their own people in the invitation list to events like the one Porter held last week.
But be very clear, Jane and the DPG don't run the House Caucus, they run the DPG office. So it's not fair to blame her or her staff for Porter's clannish ways.
aquariusrizing
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