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August 31, 2005The Policy Aftermath Of Katrina
While Americans remain focused like a laser on the utter personal tragedy wrought by Hurricane Katrina, the thinkers at the America Abroad section at TPMCafe already have begun to ponder the public policy implications of that tragedy.
Juliette Kayyem of Harvard University broached the subject first in a post she dubbed "The War on Katrina." "Consider this a marker for what seems to be of importance as we analyze how we did in confronting this tragedy," she wrote.
Kayyem first noted that while the response to the hurricane proves that mass evacuations are possible, officials must make sure they are "equally distributed." "How to inform segments of populations that simply may not have access to information (unlike those reading this blog) is a definite struggle -- whether because of economic, language or other reasons."
Next on the Kayyem's policy list: natural disasters as public-safety issues. "We are no longer talking about levies, but talking about looting," she wrote. "The federal presence early on is essential; no city ... can deal with this."
Third, she wondered whether the consolidation of emergency-response units into the Homeland Security Department a few years ago was the right course to take.
Kayyem's brainstorming prompted two additional questions from Bruce Jentleson of Duke University: 1) Where is the federal government spending its money, and could different budget priorities have forestalled much of the damage in New Orleans? And 2) has the "overdeployment" of National Guard troops to Iraq impeded the disaster relief here?
Lee Feinstein of the Council on Foreign Relations addressed some of the same issues as Kayyem and Jentleson and offered a few pointed observations. He noted, for instance, that "given the advance warning about the magnitude and force of this storm, the apparent lack of preparation and coordination of relief and recovery efforts is harder to explain."
And of the "shotgun marriage that is the Department of Homeland Security," he asked these questions: "Will or can an agency focused on withstanding and preventing a foreign terrorist attack provide the same high-level attention to natural disasters or domestic challenges? What does the lack of preparation for recovery and rescue after Katrina say about the DHS' readiness to manage the consequences of a catastrophic terrorist attack?"
UPDATE: A contributor at RedState.org challenged the left's argument that more federal spending in New Orleans could have prevented the damage from Katrina.
"The left would have us believe that the Bush administration purposefully underfunded the levees, and that this underfunding directly caused (or at minimum, contributed to) the catastrophe in New Orleans," the anonymous poster wrote. "This is wholly false. The idea that the White House and Congress should have magically foreseen a [Category 4-5 hurricane] coming down almost head-on onto New Orleans, and should have therefore increased funding for the levees, and that doing so would somehow have stopped this tragedy, is absurd."
Posted by at 05:03 PM | Comments (0)
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President Bush is always in the sights of liberal bloggers determined to attack their nemesis for sleights both real and imagined. But August has been a particularly brutal month in the blogosphere for the leader of the free world.
A woman named Cindy has badgered Bush for most of the month outside his ranch in Crawford, Texas, in a vigil against the Iraq war. Now bloggers are rallying around a hurricane named Katrina to attack the president yet again for his extended break away from Washington.
AMERICAblog has led the charge, posting a series of increasingly pointed criticisms of Bush. John Aravosis is so aggravated by Bush's response to the disaster that he even chastised the Democratic Party for staying "silent about Bush's deadly vacuum of leadership."
BushTracker.net noted that Bush's current "vacation" amid disaster is not his first. "While the Indonesian tsunami hit near the holidays last December (making time off a little more logical), it took Bush several days to even make a statement about the suffering."
AMERICAblog harkened back even further, to a manmade disaster: the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. "So who else is having flashbacks to president MIA from 9/11?" Chris in Paris wrote in a reference to Bush's delay in returning to Washington then. "As the city of New Orleans struggles with looting, lack of police and equipment, Bush is nowhere near and is resting in the midst of chaos."
Both AMERICAblog and Markos Moulitsas Zuniga of Daily Kos posted a photo of President Bush pickin' and grinnin' with country music star Mark Wills. "Good to see Bush has gotten on with his life," Moulitsas wrote. "He's gotten good at that."
At The Huffington Post, meanwhile, Robert F. Kennedy said the hurricane is the result of global warming, and he blamed that global warming on the poor leadership of men like Bush and Haley Barbour, the Republican governor of hard-hit Mississippi.
GOP Bloggers said such attacks are to be expected from "infantile" liberals: "Liberals have an infantile need to blame President Bush for everything that goes wrong in the world. This includes natural disasters, and Hurricane Katrina provides a fresh opportunity to blame it on global warming."
The aftermath of the hurricane also is a hot topic on conservative blogs, but they are focused on aspects like supporting relief efforts and stopping the looting.
Posted by at 09:19 AM | Comments (0)
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In The Blog's-Eye: Sen. Thune's Star Dims, Glows
Politics is a lot like football, and holding elective office, a lot like coaching. One day you're the goat who blew the big game with that final play call; the next day, you're the hero who led the team to a championship win. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., knows the feeling well after this week.
First Thune was the whipping boy for liberal bloggers overjoyed that South Dakota was set to lose Ellsworth Air Force Base in the latest round of base closings.
They were thrilled by the prospect not because they loathe Ellsworth AFB or South Dakota but because they despise Thune, the man who ousted Senate Minority Leader Thomas Daschle. And they were thrilled because Thune had said during last year's campaign that he would be in a better position than Daschle to save the B-1 bomber's home base because of his ties to President Bush.
The fact that conservative columnist Robert Novak cited the news as evidence of Thune's dimming star made the episode more delicious. The setup was just too perfect. How could the bloggers not gloat?
So gloat they did, starting with the ever-popular Markos Moulitsas of Daily Kos, who took joy in seeing Novak, a target of the left all summer long, "cry over Thune's diminished star."
"[H]e's been made a fool by his own president, has proven his impotence to the [South Dakota] voters, and has likely lost 6,000 mostly GOP-leaning jobs in western South Dakota," Moulitsas wrote of Thune. "Not bad for a first-year senator."
Proud Liberal noted how quickly Thune's fate had changed: "The main theme of the Thune campaign ... was that Thune would be a more effective voice for South Dakota since he is in the majority party and he has/had a close relationship with Bush. Now, a mere 8-1/2 months into a SIX-YEAR term, that all seems like ancient history."
Fortunately for Thune, the storyline changed just as quickly in his favor, when the commission that picked the bases for closing reversed course on Ellsworth. The joyful jabs from liberals became ancient history, and conservative praise for Thune punctuated the blogosphere.
"The Democrats gloated when it looked like Ellsworth would be closed," Paul Mirengoff wrote at Power Line, "but now Thune gets the last laugh." GOP Bloggers added: " During his campaign against Tom Daschle, Thune said his relationship with Bush would help keep Ellsworth open. Well guess what? John Thune was right."
And in an allusion to Daily Kos' dismal record of endorsing political candidates, Little Green Footballs said mockingly: "Big oops, Kos! So what does that make -- 0-for-17?"
Moulitsas also addressed the issue after Ellsworth's salvation. Rather than give Thune any credit, though, he said someone "took pity" on the senator, and then Moulitsas took a poke at Bush for not protecting other bases dear to the hearts of Republican lawmakers. "That's what happens when you have an incompetent running the joint," Moulitsas wrote.
The takeaway for folks in the political game: The blogosphere is full of armchair quarterbacks, and their specialty is taking the lemonade you make from lemons and dumping that bittersweet concoction right square in your eyes.
Posted by at 11:34 AM | Comments (0)
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That is the career path some fellow bloggers envision for Scott Ott, the conservative voice behind ScrappleFace and the author of "Axis of Weasels."
Their praise came this week after Ott penned the response that Ott's fans think President Bush should give to grieving mother and anti-war protestor Cindy Sheehan. She wants Bush to explain why her son, Casey, died in Iraq, and Ott gave Bush some free communications advice.
An excerpt: "Mrs. Sheehan, everyone dies. But few experience the bittersweet glory of death with a purpose -- death that sets people free and produces ripples of liberty hundreds of years into the future. Casey Sheehan died that freedom might triumph over bondage, hope over despair, prosperity over misery. He died restoring justice and mercy. He lived and died to help to destroy the last stubborn vestiges of the Dark Ages."
True to his fictional form, Ott presented the response as Bush's addendum to an "internal White House memo." But bloggers gave Ott his due credit.
Michelle Malkin said Ott's post "puts the focus back where it belongs" -- on finishing the work "thus far so nobly advanced" by American troops. And Common Sense for America noted that while Bush's response sprang from Ott's imagination, it should be real.
Jeff Harrell of The Shape of Days first raised the prospect of ScrappleFace getting a serious day job. "Get this guy a job in a press office, soonest," he wrote. And Lorie Byrd of PoliPundit took that idea a step further: "He should be writing for the president."
The writing "is eloquent and moving and thought provoking," Byrd wrote, "and I wish it had been included in the president's recent speeches. Excellent work, Mr. Ott."
Ott charges $3,000 per appearance to deliver his own speeches, so he knows the market well. Is anybody in the White House reading?
Posted by at 11:22 AM | Comments (0)
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District of Columbia Mayor Anthony Williams launched his blog nearly two weeks ago, and it will be an interesting experience to watch. Although Williams has not offered any substance so far and has taken some constituency heat for largely ignoring the blog since its Aug. 15 opening, the two entries he has written indicate that Williams grasps the benefits of blogging.
First of all, the mayor said he is the one blogging. "While I'm proud of District government's communications staff," he wrote in the first post, "I believe that a blog can serve a useful purpose in connecting me and the citizens I serve." Consistent with that statement, the blog allows comments -- which is how Williams quickly learned that some people apparently will not tolerate superficial, once-a-week entries.
Second, Williams seems to appreciate that a blog is more than just a venue for regurgitating "blase press releases" and other content on his broader Web site.
"Generally speaking, I will try to be cogent and consistent," he wrote this week. "By this I mean: first, providing you observations you can't find elsewhere in over 100,000 pages of the Web site; and second, stating the same -- take your pick -- distinctive or disgusting comments, regardless of the audience and the circumstances. You should know my position on an issue, whether you agree with it or not."
Williams' staff also has been quick to implement suggestions about the blog from readers. More than one reader, for instance, called for posting comments in the traditional, reverse-chronological order. That change has been made.
And the mayor is just as quick to give his blog-related advice to his online audience. "[T]he blog is not a service request line. ... [I]t would be really helpful if you would call 727-1000, or write dc.gov," Williams wrote. "Get a tracking number. And if the service isn't helpful, let me know by sharing with me your tracking number. Giving me information on what, where, why and how is helpful. Making an expressive but not very helpful comment on ignorant public officials or employees isn't."
Finally, the mayor deserves praise for demanding accountability and civility at his blog: "I don't accept anonymous entries and apply other commonly accepted standards of decency."
I will check the blog periodically to see how committed Williams is to using the technology effectively, but the early signs are encouraging. The capital city's blog may well become a good model for other public officials inside the Beltway.
Posted by at 11:15 AM | Comments (0)
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Another 'Netroots' Group, Another Blog
First came the PLAN, and now comes the Agenda -- the Agenda for Justice, that is.
The group is another piece in the "netroots" puzzle aimed at reshaping the Democratic Party. It launched a public Web site today, a little more than a week after the official kickoff of the Progressive Legislative Action Network. The Agenda for Justice is "dedicated to supporting community groups, labor unions and grassroots activists working on behalf of progressive policy," and it has a blog to help further that mission.
PLAN technically has no blog of its own, but founder David Sirota blogs at his own site and for The Huffington Post.
Chris Bowers of MyDD plugged both groups in a lengthy post about why the Democrats' return to power "will be led not by the policy wonks, long dominant within the party, but instead by the unsung and unappreciated hacks."
He also gave his reasoning for why that movement must start locally. "We are going to need an alternative agenda that has not only a practical appeal but an ideological one," Bowers wrote. "We are going to have to start implementing this agenda at the local and statewide level because right now we simply can't implement one in Washington."
Posted by at 04:13 PM | Comments (0)
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The controversy surrounding the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame has lost much of its cache in the blogosphere, but Rep. Rush Holt will be doing his part to revive it come the first week of September.
The New Jersey Democrat will be the guest blogger at TPMCafe the week of Sept. 5. TPMCafe founder Josh Marshall said Holt will discuss the Plame case and a series of pending "resolutions of inquiry" that would compel the White House and key Bush administration agencies to release information on the case.
Posted by at 12:53 PM | Comments (1)
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Newcomers To Beltway Blogroll
I have added several blogs to the list on the left in recent weeks, and I wanted to make note of those I have not mentioned in previous posts. Some of the blogs are new to the Internet; I just learned of others through my contacts and wanderings in the blogosphere. Here are the newcomers:
Blogger Relations Blog: Issue Dynamics Inc., a firm that specializes in public relations and Internet strategy consulting, is the brains behind this blog. It's a spin-off of the "blogger relations" practice IDI formally launched in June. The unit helps companies create, participate in, monitor, and advertise on blogs.
Environmental Economics: The goal here is "the dissemination of economists' views on current environmental and natural resource issues." The lead bloggers are Tim Haab of Ohio State University and John Whitehead of Appalachian State University. One of the many listed guest contributors is Matt Clark of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Facing South: Published by the Institute for Southern Studies, the blog is the liberal organization's latest tool for grassroots activists, community leaders, scholars, policymakers and others working "to build a better South."
The Has Been: Bruce Reed writes this blog for Slate, and I guess that is "has been" as in former domestic policy adviser to Bill Clinton. But Reed still has a decent day job as president of the moderate Democratic Leadership Council -- well, not a great job in the eyes of Markos Moulitsas at Daily Kos.
Just Democracy Blog: Advancement Project, a civil rights organization, launched this effort last week. The mission of the blog is twofold: to draw attention to the project's "core work" on issues like voting rights and to experiment with ways of advancing the debate about racial justice.
Mystery Pollster: The editor's name is not the mystery. The blog is authored by Mark Blumenthal, a partner in the Bennett, Petts and Blumenthal firm who has been doing polling for Democratic candidates for nearly two decades.
Reasoned Audacity: Blogger Charmaine Yoest is a senior fellow for the Family Research Council and helped coordinate bloggers who attended that group's Justice Sunday II in Nashville 10 days ago. She also works with the Center for Military Readiness and National Council for Adoption.
Posted by at 12:40 PM | Comments (0)
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An Appeal For Federal 'Blog Slogs'
Mark Tapscott of the Heritage Foundation's Center for Media and Public Policy was so inspired by the weekend document dive into the records of Supreme Court nominee John Roberts that he hopes bloggers will tackle federal spending bills and regulations next.
The coordinated document search by bloggers across the country "is significant for many reasons, not the least of which is that it illustrates what can be accomplished via the concentrated power of bloggers as journalists," Tapscott wrote at Tapscott's Copy Desk. He then argued that citizen journalists should be corraled to take equally thorough and critical looks at the work product of elected officials and bureaucrats.
"Having the actual text available to the blogosphere before the final vote on that outrageous transportation bill, with its 6,500-plus pork-barrel projects, might well have forced major amendments to the measure or perhaps even a public outcry that could have forced a complete rewriting," he said. "At the very least, public understanding of what Congress is doing would have been much better."
Tapscott left open the idea of what to call such an effort, but "blog slog" is a natural fit. The term already has an apt definition -- "the activity of social networking and blogging together in a combined environment" -- and the traditional meaning of "slog" also perfectly describes what it takes to review the work of the federal government.
Posted by at 04:25 PM | Comments (1)
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The Sunshine State could become the first battleground between two blawgmakers -- well, make that one former lawmaker who blogs now (ex-Rep. Joe Scarborough) and one lawmaker whose press staff currently blogs for her (Rep. Katherine Harris).
Harris has been leading the Republican pack for the GOP Senate nomination in Florida next year. But because she is lagging Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in the polls, Republican Party leaders have been trying, unsuccessfully, to recruit another candidate.
Their latest target, according to AP, is Scarborough, who is currently a talk-show host with strong ratings for MSNBC. He said he has discussed a bid with GOP officials and has not yet ruled out a run.
If Scarborough were to join the race and voters were to cast their ballots based on who has the best blog, Scarborough would win easily. For one thing, he actually writes his blog, while Harris' deceptively named "Katherine's Blog" is authored by her staff, albeit as if she were writing.
But Scarborough's blog also is more engaging. Though his posts are irregular at best, he tackles some hot topics with the kind of barbs you would expect of a talking head. Take this snippet from his most recent entry on new U.N. Ambassador John Bolton: "[T]he charges against Bolton were always pathetic. We learned Mr. Bolton had once slammed a phone on the hook. Another testified that Bolton ran down a hall and shoved a document under a fellow diplomat's door! Egad! This man is a beast!"
The softball fare at Harris' blog, by contrast, consists of humdrum posts about economic figures, House floor action and the like. Not many voters will be inspired by the banter they find there.
Bloggers, meanwhile, already are commenting on the prospects of a Harris-Scarborough match-up. The early analysis at PoliPundit: "Frankly, I suspect Bill Nelson is smiling. If Scarborough runs, we'll see a contested GOP primary, in an expensive state, involving two regional types of candidates -- thereby draining resources away from the real campaign in the fall."
UPDATE: Scarborough announced over the weekend that he will not challenge Harris for the nomination, The Pensacola News Journal reports.
Posted by at 12:45 PM | Comments (0)
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Rooting Through The Roberts Documents
Some folks love to root through other people's trash in search of unrealized treasures, and now that "dumpster diving" tradition has an intellectual equivalent online: bloggers who are rooting through the boxes of documents on Supreme Court nominee John Roberts.
The documents consist of 5,393 pages from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and are from 34 folders identified by Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee as files of particular interest, according to U.S. Archivist Allen Weinstein, whose office released them last week. The library posted electronic versions of some of the documents, and on Friday conservative blogger Hugh Hewitt invited his readers to "adopt a box of Roberts documents for careful review and analysis."
"My guess is that most of these scribblers have never used an archive before and don't know how to look," Hewitt wrote in an earlier post about journalists digging through the boxes. So he decided to prove that "citizen journalists" can do the job just as good or better. Now a whole crew of volunteer bloggers is trying to make sense of the Roberts documents before he is ever grilled by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Radioblogger is keeping a master list of the effort -- a project he dubbed "one of the first ever blog directories of Supreme Court analysis."
The document divers are clearly wary of liberals who may be looking for even the flimsiest evidence to attack Roberts. Mark Tapscott of Tapscott's Copy Desk, for instance, said there is "no bad news in Abortion 1," the first box of documents, but he issued a warning about "one sentence that liberals might construe as being critical of the 14th Amendment." And after examining Roberts' comments on the laws of war Ed Morrissey of Captain's Quarters posted a commentary slugged "The Coming Smear In Box 31?"
Morrissey also reviewed a box related to "the arcane but politically potent issue of home rule for the District of Columbia" and concluded that "given the proximity and the sensitivity of D.C. home rule to the Senate, it could provide for some inside-the-Beltway debate in the upcoming hearings." Dafydd ab Hugh, another blogger at Captain's Quarters, examined more documents related to the issue.
But the documents do not appear to be yielding many valuable insights into Roberts. Phrases like "no blockbuster revelations" and "seems to be pretty tame" are commonplace in the blogger critiques available so far.
Posted by at 08:33 PM | Comments (0)
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Ohio Gov. Bob Taft pleaded "no contest" last week to four misdemeanor ethics charges, and now leading bloggers in his own Republican Party are urging him to resign.
The criminal charges stemmed from Taft's failure to disclose the details of golf outings, sports tickets, meals and gifts he received from lobbyists and businessmen. He issued an apology for his actions, as ordered by the judge in the case.
But an apology is not enough for either RedState.org or GOP Bloggers. Both blogs urged Taft to resign.
The "point of view" issued by RedState's directors said Taft's problems reflect a Republican establishment in Ohio that "has lost its way. ... The Ohio Republican Party has a great history, and it should stand up for the principles of the party by tossing Governor Taft before he does more damage. Without new ideas and fresh energy, the Ohio Republican Party might just meet the fate of the Republicans in Illinois or the congressional Democrats in 1994."
The time-to-go post at GOP Bloggers conveyed a similar message. "Well, he's one of ours and we were willing to give him every benefit of the doubt -- but now that he's plead no-contest to several criminal acts, it is time for Governor Taft to act in the best interests of the people of Ohio and resign the governorship immediately. ... [He] cannot be an effective force in the government of Ohio because he cannot command any loyalty and his besmirched honor prevents the rest of Ohio's political establishment from being identified with him."
An article in The Blade of Toledo, however, suggests that the effort to get Taft to resign will be a tough sell to Ohio's GOP establishment. Many county chairmen for the party do not share that opinion, the paper said.
Posted by at 03:56 PM | Comments (0)
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CapitolLink: The 'Political Inferno In Haiti'
Rep. Major Owens is not happy about U.S. policy toward Haiti, and he took his gripes to The Huffington Post earlier this week.
Owens recalled that in this year's State of the Union address, President Bush cited the spread of freedom as one of his goals. But then Owens blasted the Bush administration for not applying that principle to Haiti, a troubled country only 600 miles from American soil.
"For the rest of the world, freedom is Bush's primary export," Owens wrote. "But for Haiti, this White House regime has boldly dumped an epidemic of terror."
Owens' post includes a rap poem titled "Napolean's Revenge." Rap poems may well become the New York Democrat's signature in the blogosphere. He included another one called "Apologies Are Real Cool in his first appearance at The Huffington Post last month.
I'm an enlightened redneck and country music fan from West Virginia, so I'll leave it to someone more qualified than me to critique Owens' work as a rapper. But by all means, critique away in the comments section. I'd love to hear what you have to say.
Posted by at 03:23 PM | Comments (0)
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The blogger who co-founded Democracy Project is now embarking on a journalistic project for the American Enterprise Institute. Winfield Myers is the new managing editor of The American Enterprise magazine.
The demands of the new job will keep Myers from blogging in the future. "Mostly, it's a matter of time: I just can't pull off so many commitments simultaneously," he noted in his "Bowing Out" post today.
"While we've never tried to enter the upper echelons of the blogosphere -- frankly, we never had the time to post 'round the clock -- we have had some notable successes," he added. "From Condoleezza Rice cartoons to the FEC's efforts to limit Internet speech, on to the truth about Gitmo, Rathergate in cultural context, and the ongoing efforts to spread democracy to North Korea and the Middle East, we've covered a wide variety of topics."
Myers is not the only Democracy Project contributor with Washington ties. Earlier this year, COO Brent Tantillo started work as the counsel and legislative assistant for education issues to Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo. Tantillo is still blogging for Democracy Project.
Posted by at 03:17 PM | Comments (0)
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Is There An Echo, Echo, Echo In Here?
Conservative blogger Hugh Hewitt penned a column for the conservative Weekly Standard today. Now conservative bloggers are going gaga over all the praise Hewitt heaped on his compatriots in the center-right blogosphere.
The liberal blogosphere had similar experiences last week upon the release of a report about the growth of the "progressive blogosphere" and earlier this week upon the launch of the Progressive Legislative Action Network.
Who said the blogosphere is an echo chamber?
If you want to read what conservative bloggers are saying about Hewitt's column, go to Captain's Quarters, La Shawn Barber's Corner, Power Line and Tapscott's Copy Desk.
Hewitt also has a follow-up post on the tag-team reporting of bloggers who are investigating the funding scandal surrounding the liberal Air America Radio. Michelle Malkin, one part of the duo, links to Hewitt's post.
Hewitt's column is definitely worth a read, by the way, as is his book "Blog: Understanding the Information Revolution That's Changing Your World." The book helped shaped the philosophy behind Beltway Blogroll and earned a mention in my opening column, "The Power Of The Blog."
Posted by at 04:51 PM | Comments (1)
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Blog Fight By The Bay
An elected official in San Francisco who has a blog is irate over the actions of a one-time political ally who now runs an online news site. And now the spat between Supervisor Chris Daly and San Francisco Sentinel founder Pat Murphy is part of the public record because Daly has requested an investigation into Murphy's efforts to raise money for his publication.
The San Francisco Chronicle has the details on the fight. Daly also issued a press release on his site, and on his blog he lamented Murphy's change of attitude about Daly.
Although the Sentinel is not technically a blog, Allison Hayward of Skeptic's Eye, an expert in campaign finance law, comments on the potential legal implications the complaint has for bloggers. "If a political blog has a fundraiser," she wrote, "is it a 'political fundraiser?' That appears to be the argument here, and is a point with obvious weaknesses."
Earlier this year, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors enacted rules that require people who produce campaign communications, including those on the Internet, to register with the city. The move came just after a blog swarm against the Federal Election Commission for weighing similar rules. The San Francisco board ultimately decided to exempt bloggers from the law.
Posted by at 12:46 PM | Comments (0)
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A Nationwide PLAN For Progressives
The Progressive Legislative Action Network, one of the groups on the blogroll to the left, officially launched this week, and David Sirota, the brains behind the network, celebrated the event with entries at his own blog and at The Huffington Post.
The goal of the group is to push progressive legislation in every state. It's the policy equivalent of the 50-state political strategy espoused by Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. John Edwards, the 2004 Democratic candidate for vice president, is the keynote speaker for the Seattle kickoff of PLAN.
The effort has captured the attention of various blogs, including Facing South, MyDD, Schweitzer for President and Swing State Project.
Posted by at 05:15 PM | Comments (0)
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Andrew Raseij wants to be the next public advocate of New York City, but this week the tech-savvy Democrat is an advocate of a different sort. He wants more politicians to "get it" when it comes to incorporating technology into the way they work, and he is using his bully pulpit as the guest blogger at TPMCafe to work toward that goal.
Raseij, a founder of Personal Democracy Forum, has a blog at his campaign site, and he is befuddled by how few politicians are using such tools themselves. His first post at TPMCafe lamented the fact that John Edwards preceded Raseij as a guest blogger on the site but did not have a blog during his failed presidential campaign -- and that Edwards still does not appear to be the voice behind the blog at his One America Committee. And Raseij wondered aloud about what might have been "if John Kerry had actually participated in a real conversation with his supporters."
"[S]omething hugely important and exciting is happening on the Internet, where people are connecting along common concerns and using new technology to empower themselves to identify problems, offer solutions and force the system to respond," Raseij wrote. "How much longer should we wait until we get some politicians who get it?"
He closed with this prediction: "The political party that figures this stuff out wins."
Posted by at 04:47 PM | Comments (0)
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The 'Netroots' Versus The Establishment
The unexpectedly strong showing of Democrat Paul Hackett in Ohio's Aug. 2 special House election has Democratic bloggers pumped about their party's political prospects. But an increasingly bitter battle between the Democratic "netroots" and the Washington establishment over the party's political strategy and policy priorities could undermine such efforts.
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"Every Republican should be on notice," one Dem blogger warns. "But so should the Democratic establishment."
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"Every Republican should be on notice," said Bob Brigham, a blogger at Swing State Project who traveled to Ohio's 2nd District in the last days of Hackett's race. "But so should the Democratic establishment."
The netroots have a bold vision that is based on the 50-state strategy of Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, the party gadfly whose 2004 presidential campaign ignited the fire within the belly of the liberal blogosphere. John Kerry doused Dean's flame in that race, but the "Deaniacs" are true believers in his often-liberal ideology and unconventional thinking.
Their determination to fight everywhere, and to use in-your-face, sometimes vulgar rhetoric about the war in Iraq and the GOP "culture of corruption," was apparent immediately after Hackett's defeat. At TPMCafe, blogger Josh Marshall invited readers to name vulnerable Republicans. The query elicited several typical responses, like incumbents who won with 55 percent of the vote or less in 2004, but the tone of the comments suggested a passion for unrestrained political warfare.
One reader calling himself "Electoral Math" pointed to a blog-published list that identified the House races won by less than 20 percent. That kind of spread is unlikely to prompt many bets from the DCCC or any other Washington-based campaign group, but the reader saw reason for confidence. "A 12-point swing takes every seat on that list," he wrote. "A more modest six-point swing takes 29 out of 47."
Nebraska Democrats, meanwhile, already have adopted a 93-county strategy. And a New Jersey group called the Blue 7th PAC is targeting Republican Mike Ferguson, who won 57 percent of the vote in 2004. No Democrat is in the race yet, but that doesn't matter to the PAC. It has a Dump Mike Blog and on Saturday will host an old-school political event with a netroots twist: a picnic to raise money for an unknown candidate.
Brigham is part of a similar effort in California. He is the treasurer of the new Leave No District Behind PAC, which organized quickly after Hackett's loss in Ohio. The PAC will send a campaign manager, field director, finance manager, communications director and scheduler to the 48th District, a heavily Republican seat recently vacated by now-Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox. All five people worked together in Ohio.
Brigham said the district is "the reddest of the red" and features an expensive media market. "Instead of betting on 30-second ads, we're going to bet on a team of passionate individuals." There is no candidate for now, but he said, "Forget the candidate; we have a campaign to win."
MyDD also is pushing hard to generate enthusiasm in California's 48th, and Daily Kos is showcasing the race, too. Both of those blogs, as well as Brigham's Swing State Project, played significant roles in driving money and volunteers to Hackett after the blog swarm began in Ohio.
Brigham added that many top-notch bloggers are within an hour's drive of the 48th and could be key players in that battle, just like the Ohio 2nd blog and others were from the outset of Hackett's race. "I'm hoping to see one of those in every district," he said.
Brigham, whose profanity-laced tirades against the DCCC and Chairman Rahm Emanuel are becoming legendary, condemns the Democratic establishment for not sharing the every-state, every-district mindset and for saving its money for late-campaign television ads. "Instead of war-chest stockpiling," he said, "campaigns need to invest on the ground, in the people."
But DCCC communications director Bill Burton defended the committee's work. He said Democrats now have more than 30 candidates to contest GOP-held House seats in 2006 -- 10 times more than the same point in 2003 -- and the DCCC "has broken records every quarter" of 2005 in fundraising. "What's realistic," he said, "is us expanding the playing field, which is exactly what we're doing. ... We think that we can really be competitive in a lot of GOP districts."
Burton also said numerous bloggers, including ArchPundit, Seeing the Forest and Sisyphus Shrugged, remain on good terms with the DCCC. "It's an ongoing relationship and a successful one," he said.
The DCCC has reached out to Brigham and other influential Democratic bloggers. Executive Director John Lapp posted an entry at MyDD the day after Hackett's loss, and Emanuel held a conference call with bloggers a week later. DCCC blogger Jesse Lee even tried Brigham's rhetorically brutal tactics in a defensive post at The Stakeholder -- one that he later softened.
But both Brigham's response to Emanuel's conference call and Seeing the Forest's agreement with Brigham's take show that the rift between the Democratic netroots and the political establishment remains wide. "I'm holding out hope for Emanuel. I'm waiting to be inspired," Brigham wrote. "But nothing leads me to believe that the DCCC realizes the importance of investing early and running full campaigns."
If necessary, Brigham added in an interview, the netroots are ready to take the fight to the GOP front lines themselves, with the help of groups like Democracy for America, MoveOn and Project 90, an initiative of former Dean campaign worker Walter Ludwig to recruit Democrats for races in Republican-dominated districts.
"The DCCC is not the only game in town when it comes to fighting for congressional districts," Brigham said. "It's no longer just the official wing of the party that fights."
Posted by at 08:06 AM | Comments (1)
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CapitolLink: Cindy Sheehan's Friends In Congress
Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a slain soldier in the Iraqi war, is getting all kinds of coverage -- both pro and con, in both the mainstream media and on the blogs -- for her ongoing protest outside the Texas ranch of President Bush. Her friends include two members of Congress who have made appeals on her behalf in the blogosphere.
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., posted an item at Daily Kos earlier this week. The entry included the text of a letter from Conyers and several other lawmakers that asked Bush to meet with Sheehan. "We have no illusions that the intercession of members of Congress will change the president's mind more than Cindy can," he wrote, "but we think it is important for all of us to show our support for Cindy ... in whatever way we can."
And Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., added his thoughts at The Huffington Post yesterday. "If we weren't watching this tragedy unfold in Texas with our own eyes, who would believe that a sitting president who had ordered soldiers off to war would not meet with the grieving mother of a fallen hero?" he wrote, failing to mention that Bush met with Sheehan once before. "Who could imagine that America could turn so cold and callous in a searing hot and dusty place?"
Former presidential candidate and Sen. Gary Hart, D-Colo., also shared his thoughts on Sheehan's crusade at The Huffington Post, and so did Sheehan, who called this "George Bush's Accountability Moment."
UPDATE: Via The Huffington Post, two more House lawmakers have added their voices to the chorus of support for Sheehan. Here are excerpts of what they have to say (and links to their full blog postings):
Rep. George Miller, D-Calif.: "The Republican majority in Congress has put party before country, refusing to ask any of the hard questions about the lead up to the invasion of Iraq, because those questions could damage the Bush administration's already weak credibility. By seeking answers to these questions, Cindy is simply doing the job that Congress should have already begun but has failed to."
Rep. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.: "One of the greatest concerns I have about [officials in] the Bush administration is their unwillingness to discuss issues with people whose positions are different than theirs. The president should hear firsthand from a woman whose views reflect those of tens of millions of Americans who believe that we have got to begin bringing our troops home as soon as possible."
Posted by at 04:11 PM | Comments (0)
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John Conyers of Michigan, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, has led the charge against legislation to renew the anti-terrorism law known as the USA PATRIOT Act, and he is not taking a break during the August congressional recess.
Yesterday he pointed readers of ConyersBlog to a column he wrote last month on alleged abuses of the statute by the Bush administration, and he invited readers to provide more examples. Conyers also posted blog items about the PATRIOT Act after action in the Judiciary Committee and on the House floor in mid-July.
Posted by at 04:09 PM | Comments (0)
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If SCOTUS (the Supreme Court) has a group blog dedicated to it, then presidents should have one, too, don't you think?
The History News Network certainly does. That's why HNN editor and founder Rick Shenkman has opened his POTUS blog run to another 15 contributors as of yesterday.
Maybe the next step is for someone to create a COTUS group blog, for the Congress of the United States. Then all three branches of the federal government will be covered. I write about congressional history periodically for National Journal magazine -- subscribers can see my latest piece, on the story behind the Freedom of Information Act, in this week's issue -- and have covered Congress for nearly 15 years, so I would love to see such a blog.
(Hat tip to Instapundit.)
Posted by at 11:37 AM | Comments (0)
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AdWatch: The Right Way To Advertise
Down the hall here at National Journal, The Hotline's Blogometer reports on the newest advertising network organized through BlogAds. It is called Buy the Right Ads and caters to advertisers who want a presence on conservative blogs.
The network includes big-name blogs like Ankle Biting Pundits, Hugh Hewitt, Michelle Malkin, PoliPundit and Wizbang, along with less-traveled sites like GOP Bloggers and Southern Appeal. Ad prices range from $10 a week to $300 at Hugh Hewitt.
The mini-network is the counterbalance to Advertise Liberally, which has been in existence longer. The top blogs within the liberal network, including AMERICAblog, Daily Kos and Eschaton, get far more traffic and thus are pricier. But the $800 for one week on Daily Kos is still much cheaper than ad space in other media.
Those numbers give weight to the conclusions of the new report "Emergence of the Political Blogosphere: A New Force in American Politics," which Beltway Blogroll noted earlier today.
Here is a relevant snippet from the report: "According to research conducted by MyDD.com, as of July 2005, the 98 most-trafficked progressive blogs totaled an amazing 15,181,649 page views per week, an average of over 2 million daily page views. That is over five times the size of the entire political blogosphere just two years ago.
"By way of comparison, the top 150 conservative blogs had less than 10 million page views per week during this period, and just over 1 million unique visits a day. In less than two years the progressive blogosphere had grown from less than as big as the conservative blogosphere, to nearly double its size."
Posted by at 04:09 PM | Comments (1)
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The mainstream media gets the credit for breaking the news that New Jersey Sen. Jon Corzine loaned nearly a half-million dollars to a union leader he had been dating. But conservative bloggers are doing their best to keep the story about "Senator Bling" alive long enough to undermine the Democrat's bid to become governor.
"Senators aren't supposed to be loaning money to people who have business with the government -- certainly not with people who make major political endorsements at election time," Mark Noonan said at GOP Bloggers. "What would we think if Hillary [Clinton] were to loan half a million dollars to the head of the Teamsters a month or two before a Teamsters endorsement of a presidential bid by Hillary? And then forgive the loan? Can you say, 'bribe,' boys and girls?"
Enlighten-New Jersey, meanwhile, noted that Corzine refused to answer whether Carla Katz, the president of Local 1034 of the Communications Workers of America who received the loan, is still receiving support from Corzine. "A simple, truthful, no would have been the expected answer if there were no additional financial ties between the union president and the senator. Refusing to answer the question speaks volumes."
Michelle Malkin and NJ Conservative also comment on the controversy.
The mini-blogswarm does not appear to be having much impact so far, though. DynamoBuzz noted that the latest Quinnipiac University poll still gives Corzine a 10 percent edge over Republican Doug Forrester and ranks corruption a distant second to taxes as the top issue on voters' minds.
A headline at Rob's Blog gave voice to what appears to be the prevailing attitude for now: Let Me Be The First To Say "So What".
Posted by at 12:27 PM | Comments (1)
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The New Politics Institute, a think tank that is affiliated with the New Democrat Network and whose founders include Daily Kos creator Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, issued a new report yesterday that examines the differences between liberal and conservative bloggers.
The report, "Emergence of the Progressive Blogosphere: A New Force in American Politics," was authored by two liberal bloggers: Chris Bowers of MyDD, who is now a volunteer for Democratic House candidate Ginny Schrader in Pennsylvania; and Matt Stoller, who is on hiatus as the editor of The Blogging of the President while he runs the campaign blog of New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Jon Corzine.
The report argues that conservatives dominated the political Internet for years thanks to sites like Drudge Report, FreeRepublic.com and NewsMax. But Bowers and Stoller said the presidential campaign of now Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean helped shift the focus toward blogs, and liberals and conservatives have used that new medium quite differently.
Bloggers already are reacting to the report. You can read more at AMERICAblog, Daily Kos, Frederick Clarkson, Swing State Project and Words Have Power.
UPDATE: Some coverage of the report is keying on an appendix that lists blog-related political tips. Personal Democracy Forum offers bullet points. Bowers also blogs about his report at MyDD.
Posted by at 07:16 AM | Comments (0)
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BillBlast: Pork Patrol
President Bush signed a nearly $284 billion highway bill into law today. The project is loaded with more than 6,000 earmarks for projects in lawmakers' states and districts.
The prevalence of all that "pork" prompted The Club for Growth to unsuccessfully urge a veto of the legislation. But the group remains focused on the issue. For the past several days, the blog has featured a steady diet of pork posts, including those critical of Rep. Don "Porkchop" Young, ferry boats in California and a horse-riding trail in Virginia.
Government Bytes, the blog of the National Taxpayers Union, also decried the earmarks. And Citizens Against Government Waste continues its fight against pork -- but not on its Waste Blog, which was closed for repairs back in May and still has not been revived.
Maybe the group should have lobbied for one of those earmarks to fix its small piece of the information highway.
UPDATE: The liberal Daily Kos also takes note of the bill-signing, leading with the kicker "Because you can never have too much pork" and then taking this shot at Bush: "[I]f the money appropriated by this bill does some good, that's wonderful. But the special interests involved is just more of what we have come to expect out of Bush-approved legislation."
Posted by at 12:47 PM | Comments (0)
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You know blogs have power when advocacy outfits like the National Abortion Right Action League start urging the grassroots to take their appeals to the top bloggers. That's exactly what NARAL did at its Bush v. Choice blog several days ago -- and the tactic is not scoring the group any points with some of those bloggers.
NARAL's complaint: Political blogs are talking about a woman's right to abortion, but they are not addressing the topic the way NARAL wants. The group provided links to Daily Kos, Eschaton, The Left Coaster, MyDD and Swing State Project, and urged NARAL backers to "go to them and make your voice heard. Use their comments sections to make sure that choice is being discussed as something that affects women, not just politics."
If NARAL officials thought that approach might elicit blog postings more to its liking, they thought wrong. Instead, Markos Moulitsas Zuniga of Daily Kos chastised NARAL for its "bloggy call to action" and for refusing to accept that abortion cannot be divorced from politics.
"Until NARAL (and the rest of the single-issue groups) understand that building a movement is more beneficial to their causes than singular devotion to their pet causes," he wrote, "I can't take them seriously. ... The groups I take seriously? MoveOn, Democracy for America, National Political Hip Hop Conference, the bloggers -- groups that are working to build an effective progressive movement, not a single issue."
Ezra Klein seconded Moulitsas' view: "NARAL's exhortations to tell bloggers that choice is a real issue that affects women's lives is somewhat invalidated by the fact that bloggers seem to have a better understanding of what the political landscape affecting choice looks like." Oliver Willis also took a critical look at NARAL's call to action.
But Dadahead said Moulitsas is the problem: His "attitude toward abortion rights is typical -- it's a 'pet cause.' I don't know that I've come across a more insulting statement on a supposedly progressive blog."
On the right, meanwhile, NARAL is taking all kinds of hits for its television ad on Supreme Court nominee John Roberts. Noting that the nonpartisan FactCheck.org has dubbed the ad "false," Captain's Quarters, GOP Bloggers and Michelle Malkin are among the blogs swarming against the group -- and against the mainstream media for agreeing to air a false ad.
Posted by at 12:38 PM | Comments (3)
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BillBlast: Toward Stronger Voting Rights
The 1965 Voting Rights Act turned 40 over the weekend, and bloggers took note of the anniversary. Some called for improvements to the law, and others called for improvements to the hostile rhetoric of the people rallying around the statute.
In acknowledging the anniversary, Media That Matters said "it is crucial that we commemorate the importance of this historic legislation but also address the flaws and discrimination that still exists in the American voting system." The blog pointed readers to more information at AlterNet and civilrights.org.
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., also addressed the topic at ConyersBlog. And Ed Kilgore, a contributor at TPMCafe, examined the dynamics of the legislative debate. Reauthorizing the statute "may be the only opportunity we'll get until Democrats retake Congress or the White House to shine a large spotlight on the shameful lapses in our system of voter registration and elections," he concluded. "It's a big and open question that should be discussed before attention to the Voting Rights Act anniversary fades altogether."
Rather than focuing on the law itselft, bloggers on the right noted with disgust the anti-Bush rhetoric of some people who marched to commemorate the law's enactment.
Sher Zieve of Conservative Tymes said "the Democrat left used this opportunity to furiously bash Bush, Republicans, conservatives and anyone else [not] in lock-step with them," while GOP Bloggers dubbed the gathering "a good old-fashioned hatefest" that was rife with race-baiting." Michelle Malkin called it the "March of the Moonbats."
The Waterglass said the hostility toward Bush from black leaders explains why he doesn't bother speaking to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People: "What's the point? Between the overused rhetoric of stolen elections and endless claims of racism, it would be like trying to talk to a wall."
The Voting Rights Act is up for renewal in 2007. If the rhetoric is that harsh now, imagine what it will be like in the run-up to the next presidential election.
Posted by at 04:20 PM | Comments (0)
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When lawmakers return from the August break, they will have plenty of pressing and attention-grabbing legislative topics to address, with fiscal 2006 spending and stem-cell research being chief among them. But James Greer of The Yardstick wants to make sure the program that authorizes HIV/AIDS care and services is not forgotten.
The Ryan White CARE Act is set to expire next month, and Greer made the case for renewing the law, which is named after an Indiana teenager who died of complications from AIDS in 1990. The law was enacted that year. Greer also used his blog to encourage people to contact their lawmakers in support of the statute.
Noting that HIV/AIDS "brings suffering and fear into so many lives," President Bush endorsed reauthorization of the act in his 2005 State of the Union address. "And as we update this important law," he added, "we must focus our efforts on fellow citizens with the highest rates of new cases, African American men and women."
Posted by at 04:17 PM | Comments (0)
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DSCC Solicits Web Advice From Bloggers
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is about to launch a redesigned Web site, but first it is soliciting advice from the political activists who know the Internet best: bloggers.
The DSCC blog From The Roots directed readers to a beta site of the redesign Monday. It had not generated any comments as of late afternoon.
Posted by at 04:18 PM | Comments (0)
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One of the frequent, and often accurate, complaints about the blogosphere is that it fosters an echo chamber, where people seek out and repeat only the opinions of like-minded people. No one's views of the world are ever challenged because no one wants to be challenged; they just want to believe what they want and rant to people who will say, "Amen, brother!"
That's not necessarily the case at NEI Nuclear Notes. Eric McErlain, a senior writer and editor there, said in an e-mail that NEI bloggers also are "using our blog to mobilize our supporters and engage serious environmentalists in an honest debate."
As proof, he sent along a link to an ongoing discussion about nuclear energy at the environment-oriented Sustainablog. The contributors at the two blogs apparently are partial to debating each other online for all to see.
McErlain recently encouraged NEI Nuclear Notes readers to join the debate at Sustainablog. But he also offered this word of appropriate caution for anyone daring to head into arguably hostile territory: "If you do stop by and comment, please be polite. Despite his opposition to our positions, Jeff [McIntire-Strasburg], the editor of Sustainablog, has been very kind to hear us out, something I'm grateful for, and he should know that he would be treated the same way here."
McIntire-Strasburg clearly visits NEI Nuclear Notes, too. He added in the comments, "Thanks for making note of our (continued) debate, Eric. I do welcome anyone who wants to join in."
Posted by at 12:38 PM | Comments (1)
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"Believe it or not, blogs are a mysterious entity here in D.C. I can't tell you how many people in this town have said something like 'I don't get the blogs,' or 'I have never looked at blogs,' or 'How do you get into the blogs?'"
That's what Joe of AMERICAblog said after attending the "Reflections of a Blogger" roundtable in Washington last week. The New Politics Institute, an offshoot of the New Democrat Network, hosted the discussion. It featured Markos Moulitsas Zuniga of Daily Kos and Joe Trippi, the former presidential campaign manager for Howard Dean who seized on the power of blogs to give momentum to the 2004 Dean campaign.
"I think part of it is that people in D.C. are so used to thinking that there are barriers to participating in politics," Joe added. "Or they can't grasp that so much information and insight is available for free. Blogs are so much less complicated than people in D.C. want to make them. In so many ways, the blogosphere defies any of the conventional thinking that pervades the D.C. political punditry. And, the same old people and groups don't and can't control it."
The event also spurred Eleanor Clift of Newsweek to write a piece about blogs, particularly the political impact they had in Ohio's 2nd District special election last week.
Moulitsas quickly responded to Clift's piece with a post dubbed "I'm Not The Gatekeeper" and a gentle reminder about where the real power of the blogs lies. "[T]he beauty of this medium is that a lot of 'small roles' add up to something incredible. It's a collaborative medium, one in which no one person can make the definitive difference, but together we can shake things up."
The powerbrokers in Washington don't "get" blogs, at least not yet, because power in the capital city has always resided in big places -- the White House, the offices of the House and Senate leaders, the tax and spending committees, the largest PACS and lobbying firms. In Washington, the small roles are filled by newcomers who have to pay their dues. But in time blogs and other technological tools just may force a shift in that balance of power.
Posted by at 07:10 AM | Comments (0)
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Blogging About Violence, Torture And Death
Amnesty International USA staked a claim in the blogosphere last month with three online journals dedicated to topics that do not exactly make for a fun read: violence against women, torture and the death penalty.
The Denounce Torture Blog has generated the most copy, dating back to early July, and the group has used the blog to lobby for anti-torture amendments to the defense authorization bill for fiscal 2006. The White House opposes pending amendments to reiterate that military prisoners should not be abused and that U.S. forces will adhere to international treaties on fair handling of prisoners. The Senate delayed consideration of the bill just before Congress adjourned for its August recess.
"This week," said a July 29 post, "we witnessed the proposal of three amendments addressing allegations of torture and ill-treatment of detainees in U.S. custody in the 'war on terror.' This is a major victory; it's becoming clear that Senators are paying close attention to their constituents' opinions on this issue."
Later last month, Amnesty launched its Death Penalty Blog. And this week, the group created Stop Violence Against Women, in part to advocate reauthorization of the federal law on that issue before it expires in September.
Posted by at 02:56 PM | Comments (0)
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TalkLeft takes note of the congressional debate over streamlining death-penalty appeals and where the nation's judges stand on the issue. The post points readers to a Los Angeles Times article about pending legislation on the issue.
State Supreme Court justices just voted almost unanimously for a resolution that puts them on the record over the issue. They oppose a federal bill that aims to streamline the appeals. So does TalkLeft, which concluded: "This bill is a bad idea. It would in effect kill habeas rights for prisoners -- the chance for federal court review of a state court conviction and sentence."
Abolish the Death Penalty also addressed the topic this week and pointed readers to a discussion at Legal Affairs Debate.
Posted by at 02:38 PM | Comments (0)
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National Journal magazine published a cover story last month that examined the role of the Internet, including popular blogs like Daily Kos, in moving the Democratic Party to the left. With permission, Daily Kos has reprinted the entire article.
That presents a good opportunity to point Beltway Blogroll readers to the article, to the subsequent analysis at Daily Kos, and to the comments by readers of that blog. You can read it all here.
Posted by at 02:15 PM | Comments (0)
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Conservative blogger Patrick Ruffini has added to his site a nifty new tool for tracking the hottest news about the Supreme Court nomination battle. It's "an automated clipping service for the first blogged Supreme Court nomination in history," and it's called SCOTUS Wire.
Ruffini described the technology in a blog post earlier this week: "In real time, readers can monitor MSM stories mentioning Judge Roberts and the blog buzz that follows -- or vice versa. ... The tool will be fine-tuned in the slower but still hectic month of August so that it can be ready for the confirmation hearings and the final up-or-down vote."
Add that to Beltway Blogroll's list of blogs dedicated to watching the fight over Supreme Court nominee John Roberts. And a hat tip to my National Journal colleague William Beutler at The Hotline's Blogometer, who led me to SCOTUS Wire.
UPDATE: LiveCurrent, a blog-like section of the Los Angeles Times editorial page online, features Supreme Court commentary from an array of legal experts. I just learned of the commentary via Confirm Them, but the participants have been sharing their insights since early July.
Posted by at 02:07 PM | Comments (0)
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CapitolLink: Rep. Conyers Wants Coingate Probe
At ConyersBlog, Michigan Democrat John Conyers revealed that he and fellow Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur have requested a special prosecutor to investigate a scandal involving rare coin investments by the state of Ohio.
Usually a creative bunch, bloggers have shown an utter lack of creativity in dubbing the scandal "Coingate." The Republican Party is at the center of the controversy because the man in charge of the investments, Thomas Noe, is a GOP fundraiser in the state. "This scandal is one of the worst ever in Ohio history and reflects pervasive corruption in the Republican party that reaches all the way to the White House," Conyers wrote, alleging that "this missing money may have been laundered into political campaigns of Ohio Republicans and the Bush-Cheney campaign."
Posted by at 10:15 PM | Comments (0)
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"For the first time in the 60-year history of the United Nations, the United States has sent an unconfirmed ambassador to the United Nations." That's what Rep. Diane Watson had to say about the decision by President Bush to send John Bolton to the United Nations via a "recess appointment."
At The Huffington Post, Watson said the move "demonstrates the president's contempt for Congress." She also argued that it wasn't a wise move because Bolton is ill-suited for the diplomatic ways of the United Nations.
"When it comes right down to it, Bolton's peers at the United Nations will not be as pliant to his bullying tactics as his charges at the State Department," Watson wrote. "Maybe Mr. Bolton will soon learn an elementary schoolyard lesson: Nobody likes a bully."
Posted by at 09:07 AM | Comments (0)
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CapitolLink: On The Road With Tom Harkin
Tom Harkin is traveling through his home state of Iowa during the August congressional recess, and the Democratic senator is blogging about his experiences, with the help of his staff.
The blog is the focus of Harkin's Senate Web site, which now consists primarily of a map to chart his travels, a list of events he will hold and blog postings about those events. Former Senate Minority Leader Tom Dashchle, D-S.D., kept a similar "Travels with Tom" blog during his August journeys before he was defeated last November. Allison Dobson, Harkin's communications director, said Harkin writes the material himself from the road, then sends it to staffers who post it online.
Harkin has not had any new content since Tuesday. "We're working out the bugs today," Dobson said. And so far he's not exactly offering profound insights into the top policy issues of the day. His first post from Monday includes photos of Harkin at a Dairy Queen and a for-profit fair trade store called Fair World Gallery, and a Tuesday item touted Harkin School Grants and Harkin Wellness Grants.
But Harkin occassionally includes generic policy-related comments like this: "As I travel the state, I find more and more Iowans worried about the president's proposed changes to Social Security."
The blogging is a first for Harkin, though Dobson said the Web site earlier this year included a one-time interactive feature during the Senate floor debate over the "nuclear option" for filibusters of judicial nominations. People sent more than 1,000 comments to Harkin's office that night, and many of them were posted online.
As for the blog, Dobson said reader feedback is welcome and even encouraged. But comments cannot be posted online because of restrictions that govern content on Senate Web sites. Any comments would have to be screened for content before they were posted, she said, and the office does not have the resources for such screening. "There's certain rules we have to live with in the Senate," Dobson said.
Even so, she said Harkin is enjoying himself. "It's a great way to catalogue what he's been doing every day. ... He's been having a lot of fun."
He might even continue blogging when he gets back to Washington. "We'd like to keep it up as much as we can," Dobson said. But when asked whether a Washington-based blog might be more focused on policy, she said, "Let's get through August and see how we'll do it."
Posted by at 12:31 PM | Comments (0)
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Michael Barone, the lead author of National Journal's Almanac of American Politics, has a new blog online at USNews.com. It's called Barone Blog and is now part of the running list of policy/political blogs on the left column of this blog.
Barone entered the blogosphere with impeccable timing -- the day of the special election in Ohio, where bloggers played a key role in boosting the candidacy of Democrat Paul Hackett. Republican Rep.-elect Jean Schmidt narrowly defeated Hackett in the race, despite the heavily Republican leanings of the 2nd District. One of Barone's first posts is about the turnout message that contest should send to the GOP.
His analysis:
"[I]n the present state of polarization of politics, turnout is the key to winning elections. Turnout in 2004 was up 16 percent over 2000 -- a historic rise. John Kerry got 16 percent more votes than Al Gore, but George W. Bush got 23 percent more votes in 2004 than he did in 2000. ... The results in the Ohio 2nd go the other way. ... Republican Jean Schmidt's vote total was only 27 percent of Bush's. Democrat Paul Hackett's vote total was 46 percent of Kerry's. Democrats did a better job of turning out their vote."
Barone's arrival in the blogosphere prompted a round of praise from bloggers on the right. Here's a sampling:
Hugh Hewitt: "Welcoming Michael Barone to the blogosphere is like welcoming the 1927 Yankees to the local Triple AAA park. But after the shock you realize, hey, this place is looking pretty good if that sort of talent wants to play here."
Power Line: "That he has started a blog is good news; unfortunately, his current lead post is not: Barone thinks that Jean Schmidt's narrow victory over Paul Hackett in a strongly Republican Ohio district is bad news for the GOP."
Running for the Right: "Everyone rejoice. Michael Barone ... has finally caught up with the times."
Patrick Ruffini: "A truly momentous day."
Posted by at 09:25 AM | Comments (0)
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Ohio's Next Congresswoman: Jean Schmidt
The results are in from Ohio's 2nd District, and Republican Jean Schmidt has defeated Democrat Paul Hackett to keep the seat of former Rep. Rob Portman in GOP hands. The final tally from yesterday: 59,132 votes for Schmidt to 55,151 for Hackett, or about 52 percent to 48 percent.
Democratic bloggers celebrated Hackett's loss as a big-time win for their party. That's because Portman repeatedly won the heavily GOP district with 70 percent of the vote through seven elections, and President Bush won it with more than 60 percent in 2000 and 2004. Those same bloggers praised themselves and their readers for making the race competitive when, by the numbers, it should have been an easy GOP win.
The bloggers started talking up the race a few weeks ago and helped Hackett's campaign raise nearly a half-million dollars through the ActBlue fundraising site alone. Blogger Bob Brigham of Swing State Project even trekked to the district in the final days of the campaign to help get out the vote.
"Kudos to the netrooters and to Hackett for such a close result," TalkLeft said. "Republicans should take heed."
Republican bloggers, who unlike their Democratic counterparts did not have much to say about the special election until this week, breathed a sigh of relief at Schmidt's narrow win. PoliPundit offered an "insta-analysis" that covered the good, bad and ugly of the special election.
Here's a roundup of other reactions:
Jerome Armstrong of MyDD: "Hackett should run for governor of Ohio. Or, if Sherrod Brown decides not to run, Hackett should run for the U.S. Senate seat against [Mike] DeWine. Either way, Hackett's calling in 2006 is to run statewide in Ohio."
Lorie Byrd of PoliPundit: "The margin was much closer than it should have been, considering that this is a 'safe' Republican district. It was a special election, though, and it got an incredible amount of attention, and money, from Democrats seeking to take advantage of something they don't normally have in a candidate, a Marine vet who ran ads aligning himself with George Bush and the effort in Iraq."
Adam C of RedState.org: "[T]his election should serve a major wake-up call to the OH GOP. Since the Coingate scandal broke, the OH GOP is in bad shape. The most unpopular gov in the country is OH's Bob Taft (R). He is not running for re-election in 2006. Since Senator DeWine (R) joined the 'Gang of 14,' conservative activists have started questioning their support for him. So the OH GOP faces a problem of scandal and loss of base support at about the same time."
Captain's Quarters: "In the end, it doesn't matter much because in 2006 this district simply won't get the national attention it drew here. The Democrats will not have the resources to dedicate to this one single seat that they did in an off-year special election. Without the overwhelming focus on this rock-solid conservative seat, it will revert to a fairly easy GOP race next year."
DavidNYC of Daily Kos: "There is no doubt about it -- tonight's results represent a tidal wave in Ohio (and perhaps national) politics. In 2004, the Democrat running in OH-02 lost by 44 points. Tonight, the Democrat, Paul Hackett, lost by a mere 4 points."
Eschaton: "A win would've been great, but I certainly didn't expect to do this well. ... Something is very, very wrong for the Ohio GOP."
Erick of RedState.org: "The Kossacks [readers of Daily Kos] and their guy Hackett lost tonight. Remember in 2004 when every Kossack-backed candidate won? Hahahaha! You can't because that didn't happen. They. All. Lost. ... Will the left stop Internet-funding silly candidacies of lefties who try to hide behind the flag so you can't see their hands in the surrender position?"
Ezra Klein: "Remember in Rocky, where Rocky didn't beat Apollo Creed but went 15 rounds when no one ever has? Remember what a victory that was? This was a total victory. And don't mistake it for anything less. Paul Hackett is Rocky."
Michelle Malkin: "Won't be long now before the Left starts peddling Ohio conspiracy theories."
Markos Moulitsas Zuniga of Daily Kos: "OH-02 saw the resurgence of the Democratic Party, the GOP had to spend $500K they hadn't otherwise planned on spending, and a Democratic star is born (next stop for Hackett -- statewide elected office). So much for 'burying' Hackett."
Posted by at 12:43 PM | Comments (2)
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The word from Ed Morrissey at Captain's Quarters: Steven Vincent, the author of the blog and the book In The Red Zone on the war in Iraq, was kidnapped and murdered near Basra.
"This is quite a blow for everyone who cares about the Iraq issue, the blogosphere, journalism -- but most of all, for those of us whom Stephen touched in one small way or another," Morrissey wrote. "He knew the risks and went to Iraq anyway because he felt that the stories and voices of the Iraqi people must be heard. That kind of courage will be missed most of all."
Vincent's last blog post, dubbed "The Naive American," appeared July 19.
Other blogs covering the news and providing links include Michelle Malkin, PoliPundit and Tapscott's Copy Desk.
Posted by at 09:12 AM | Comments (0)
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The Truth About Rep. Kirk's Iraqi Service
With polls set to close in minutes, the last day of the campaign for the vacant seat in Ohio's 2nd District took a bizarre turn today. The story line involves a Republican congressman, a wannabe Republican congresswoman and a host of liberal bloggers working hard to pit the two against each other.
The hullabaloo started when GOP candidate Jean Schmidt issued a press release questioning the military service claims of Democratic foe Paul Hackett. "Since the beginning," the release said, "he has been touting that he would be the first Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran to serve in Congress. That is untrue."
Schmidt's campaign said instead that Rep. Mark Steven Kirk, R-Ill., had served as an intelligence officer in the Naval Reserve. The release listed the Web address for Kirk's congressional office, a phone number for his Illinois office and the name of his spokesman, Matt Townsend.
It didn't take long for Townsend to start getting calls -- or for the bloggers who called to start setting the record straight. The full story: Kirk technically served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Townsend said this evening in a phone interview, "but he served stateside." And while the Schmidt campaign contacted Kirk's office about the facts of his service, "we did not know they were going to put out a press release."
He said Kirk's office received "many calls" on the subject -- not surprising considering Schmidt's press release listed the number of Kirk's Illinois office and liberal blogs like Annatopia and Eschaton listed the Washington number. "I just called Mark Kirk's line from my Cincinnati area-code phone number," a reader at Annatopia commented. "The line goes to the scheduler, and she is starting to freak out!"
Townsend confirmed that Kirk's office is not happy with the attention. "We have informed the Schmidt campaign that Jean Schmidt should inform voters of what Congressman Kirk's service record is," he said. As for the prospect of serving with Schmidt in the House, Townsend added: "We've not really weighed in on the campaign. I don't know what [Kirk's] position is on the special election."
Amy Werner, the contact listed on the release from the Schmidt campaign, did not return a call placed to her cell phone.
Posted by at 07:10 PM | Comments (0)
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A Blogosphere Hero Returns
Ginny Schrader, a hero of the blogosphere, is running for Congress again in the 8th District of Pennsylvania, a seat she lost last fall. She announced her candidacy today.
As reported here last month, Daily Kos dubbed Democrat Schrader "the candidate of the netroots" in her last campaign and created Blogosphere Day in honor of the money raised on her behalf on July 19, 2004. That holiday became the rallying point for another Democrat, Paul Hackett of Ohio, a couple of weeks ago, and his bid to win a strongly Republican district in a special election tomorrow has generated significant attention from bloggers and the mainstream media ever since.
"In 2004, the Democrats spent a million dollars to tell the people of this district about Ginny Schrader. The Republicans spent $2 million, but their version was a lot less truthful," Schrader said on her campaign site. "But with 3 million dollars spent to get my name out, people in the 8th District know the name Ginny. And we will build on the foundation we created in the last election."
Considering her status in the liberal blogosphere, Schrader's latest quest ironically does not yet include a blog. But Chris Bowers, a blogger for MyDD and a volunteer for the Schrader campaign, said that will change soon. "It will happen by the end of the month," he said of the plans for a campaign blog. Bowers already has mentioned the race at MyDD.
The campaign will use the blog to connect with other bloggers in Bucks County, Pa., and the Philadelphia area, he said in a telephone interview, and the campaign also will make direct appeals to them. While Schrader once again will try to raise money in the blogosphere, Bowers said the campaign will not be "just treating them like an ATM" -- something that he said campaigns have been known to do.
Republican Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, who defeated Schrader by 55 percent to 43 percent in November 2004, also does not have a blog on his campaign site. No one was available at his campaign office for comment this evening.
Posted by at 04:46 PM | Comments (0)
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The National Association of Manufacturers is not real fond of CNN talk-show host Lou Dobbs, and the group makes that perfectly clear at the "Dobbs Watch" section of the Manufacturers' Blog.
Today, NAM's hostility toward Dobbs merited a brief mention in the media column of Washington Post critic Howard Kurtz. "The CNN anchor, who serves up his strong views on trade and immigration on his nightly news show, has his share of critics," Kurtz wrote, "but few are as harsh -- and monomaniacal -- as the 'Dobbs Watch.'"
NAM's Pat Cleary responded to the piece by reiterating manufacturers' main gripe with Dobbs: "He does the same story day in and day out, and it is very tiresome: Trade is bad and immigrants are bad. We disagree with him on both counts."
Dobbs was just as pointed in his criticism of NAM. "Their pathetic blog is an expression of the corporate supremacists who are leading NAM but not representing their manufacturers," Dobbs told Kurtz. "They use personal attacks because the facts don't support any of their faith-based libertarian economic philosophy."
Posted by at 12:10 PM | Comments (0)
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Clear majorities of Utahans have sent GOP songwriter Orrin Hatch to the Senate for three decades. But another prominent Republican hopes voters will sing a new political tune in 2006 -- and he is using his blog to help serenade them.
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Orrin Hatch will face a primary challenger next spring -- and the details will be blogged. | ||
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Those aren't exactly figures that embolden challengers, even those with a few years of experience and an electoral base of their own. The people who read the political tea leaves in Utah predict a tough campaign for Urquhart. While pollster Dan Jones called Urquhart "the most formidable candidate to run against Sen. Hatch in some time," he also noted, "Sen. Hatch runs very well in the polls and would be very, very difficult to beat."
Utah Republican Party Chairman Joe Cannon said the test of Urquhart's popularity will come at the state GOP convention next May. Candidates who win 60 percent of the vote from the 3,500 delegates get the nomination outright and do not have to compete in a primary.
"Steve's goal has to be to get 60 percent in that convention, something that's very, very hard to do," Cannon said. "It's almost inconceivable to me that Sen. Hatch would lose a primary. His numbers are very strong. His likeability is very strong."
But Urquhart, who said Hatch has lost touch with the needs of his constituents -- and added that Hatch's "song-writing career is interfering with his Senate work" -- is undeterred by such talk.
When people back home need help from Washington these days, Urquhart said, they call Utah's junior senator, Bob Bennett. "Effectively, he's been doing the work of two senators" because Hatch, who briefly ran for president in 2000, prefers national recognition, Urquhart said. "It's time for a change. We need a senator who pays attention to the state."
One way Urquhart pays attention is with his blog, which he started last November to stay in touch with constituents during state legislative sessions. "This is the people's government," he said, "and I want to make sure they know what's going on and have the opportunity to provide input.... It invites people into the discussion."
The blog already is a prominent feature in Urquhart's Senate campaign. He announced his candidacy there, he has posted notes from the campaign trail, and he has responded to critics of his campaign theme.
"I've already heard that my campaign's emphasis on RESPONSIVENESS TO UTAH ISSUES is boring," he wrote last week. "So be it. Splash often obscures substance, but that doesn't mean substance is unimportant."
Urquhart also is posting draft position statements on the blog and inviting voters to "poke, massage, critique or otherwise provide input. Together, we'll figure out the best way to phrase and present the conservative message." The first posting is on abortion and stem-cell research, and it had generated 22 comments, including two responses to readers from Urquhart, as of early this morning.
"This is a way to tap into a lot of knowledge, a lot of expertise, at very little cost," he said.
Urquhart also said he would love to be a guest on other blogs, in Utah or elsewhere, and field questions from readers. But he already has eschewed the controversial blogging strategy employed by freshman Sen. John Thune, the South Dakota Republican who ousted Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle last year. After the election, Thune's campaign-finance records showed that he had paid two bloggers who covered the campaign and attacked Daschle.
"It's just not something I want to do," Urquhart said. "Let me be clear: I will not pay anyone to blog for me."
Urquhart may not need such help anyway. His blog is generating interest from would-be campaign volunteers, and other blogs -- including Save The GOP, Doc Searls and The State of the Beehive -- are talking up his candidacy.
"He's a party insider with a leadership post in the legislature," said Phil Windley, who runs the Utah Politics and Technometria blogs. "He's smart, he's conservative, and, most germane to this conversation, he gets and uses technology. ... This is a guy who can not only say 'Technorati,' but he knows what it is!"
The Hatch campaign is taking the threat from Urquhart seriously -- and it may even have a blog of its own soon. "Our campaign is not going to be out-high-teched by anybody," Hatch campaign manager Dave Hansen said.
Taking the campaign high tech is all the more important because another Hatch challenger, Democrat Pete Ashdown, has an industry background: He founded the Utah Internet service provider XMission. The home page of Ashdown's campaign site is a quasi-blog, and he hosts weekly online chats as well.
As for Urquhart's blog, Hansen said it will not help as much as Urquhart might want because winning a convention requires face-to-face interaction with the delegates. "The blog has a little less effect when it's more retail politics like that," he said.
But Cannon, who said Urquhart's blog is a good read and will be a positive force in the campaign, noted that Utah has a fairly significant Internet population. "If it could be helpful anyplace," Cannon said, "it could be helpful in Utah."
Posted by at 06:06 AM | Comments (1)
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