October 21, 2005

10/21: Live From Blog Row

House GOPers met 10/20 with conservative bloggers on Capitol Hill, the first event of its kind for the House caucus. It was the 2nd officially sanctioned GOP blog event since the '04 convo in NYC, following last week's RNC conf. call with Ken Mehlman (see 10/13 Blogometer). This event was both an attempt to make a connection with friendly bloggers, call attention to fiscal matters and, not least, make sure both the MSM and bloggers know that they're doing so.

The event was suggested in a GOP leadership cmte meeting last week, where different methods of blogger outreach was discussed. David All, spokesperson for Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA), suggested inviting bloggers to the event for a "radio row"-style event, which they dubbed "Blog Row." Logistics were handled by House GOP Conf. media coord. Kathryn Staczek, who worked with Office of the Maj. Leader spokesperson Ben Porritt, RNC eCommunications dir. Patrick Ruffini and others to make it happen. Asked whether the TTLB/Instapundit PorkBusters project (see previous coverage) directly inspired the event, Staczek tells the Blogometer: "Yes and no. We were aware of the growing attention the blogosphere was giving to fiscal issues, but equally aware it is difficult to get mainstream media to focus the same attention."

The Blogometer attended, along with Justin Hart of Right Side Redux, Ian Schwartz of The Political Teen, Matt Margolis of Blogs for Bush, Eric Pfeiffer of NRO's The Buzz, Matthew Sheffield of MRC's News Busters, Tim Chapman and Mary Katherine Ham of Townhall.com (representing the Capitol Report and C-Log blogs, respectively), Pat Cleary and David Kralik from lobby org. NAM, writing for their Manufacturers' Blog and also representing RedState, Kevin Aylward of Wizbang, and the presumably pseudonymous Flip of Suitably Flip.

After being assembled at the House GOP Conf. office at the Cannon HOB, the bloggers were led across the street to a room in the Capitol. Ethernet access, comfortable chairs and snacks were provided. At 11 a.m., Louie Gohmert (TX) presented himself as "the first victim." And on the issue of Harriet Miers, he somewhat was. A former TX judge himself, Gohmert expressed support for Miers' nod, but in slow, carefully-worded sentences, sticking to talking points about her character, leaving the impression that his support was less than enthusiastic.

The GOPers who followed: Mike Pence (IN), Deborah Pryce (OH), Kevin Brady (TX), David Dreier (CA), Mario Diaz-Balart (FL), Kingston, Phil Gingrey (GA), Steve Pearce (NM), Scott Garrett (NJ), Chris Chocola (IN), Trent Franks (AZ), Dan Lungren (CA), Mark Kennedy (MN), Marsha Blackburn (TN), Katherine Harris (FL), Chris Cannon (UT), Bob Inglis (SC), Joe Wilson (SC), Jeb Hensarling (TX), John Carter (TX), Mike Conaway (TX), and Eric Cantor (VA).

The agenda -- allow us to quote from the official release -- included the House GOP "record of successful economic policies, their commitment to fiscal responsibility, and the details of the historic proposed budget amendment." And indeed there was much talk of spending regarded as pork. PorkBusters itself was not mentioned until 1:03 p.m. -- after the planned ending point. (The meeting went 45 minutes over.) But the topic itself came up very early. Margolis asked, "Why did it take Katrina to make people aware of government pork?" The growth of gov't spending is an ever-present complaint of libertarians and economic conservatives, but if Katrina changed anything for the GOP, it has been renewed awareness of spending priorities. But there was considerable concern that awareness would not produce anything, and several reps. insisted they would see that something be changed. As chair of the GOP Study Cmte, which has seized the initiative on calling for more fiscal discipline from within the House, Pence said he was "encouraged but not satisfied." And what happened to Pres. Bush's Soc Sec plans, one blogger asked? It's "elective surgery," came the answer. During the meeting, word came down that the Coburn Amendment -- which would move funds from 2 AK bridges, including the so-called "bridge to nowhere" (see 10/20 Blogometer) to rebuild the main bridge across Ponchartrain in New Orleans -- was defeated on the Senate floor. Few reps. expressed enthusiasm about the project, spearheaded by Rep. Don Young (R-AK), who did not attend the blogger meeting. One said, "I don't know the rationale for building that project, but I am highly committed to" reducing spending.

When asked whether they read blogs or not, members generally indicated that discussion from blogs came to them in clips from staff along with traditional media reports. Harris declared herself an enthusiastic reader: "I love the bloggers!" She said sometimes she'll "just go on Google" and start clicking around. She also added that she doesn't just read the "good guys, I go read the crazies, too." Kennedy expressed his preference for Kennedy V. Machine, run by an avid supporter of his SEN bid back in MN. Pearce also said he keeps tabs on a local blog, that of NM journalist Joe Monahan; he also said he planned to do online town hall meetings (which sounded to us more like a live chat). Cannon said he did read blogs, but struggled to recall their names. Garrett volunteered: "I go both ways" -- pause for comic effect -- "Power Line and RedState." Blackburn mentioned her blogging at RedState (see 9/26 and 9/29 Blogometers). Chocola confessed: "I cannot say I am regular blog reader... of course I read you all every day." More than once a rep. told the bloggers assembled: "You guys are the future." Pence, who noted that the New York Times had recognized him as the 1st member of Congress to blog, announced without prompting: "I am delighted to be among fellow bloggers."

House GOP spokespersons said they plan to start sending "feeds" to bloggers -- not just talking points, but audio and video tape as well. To demonstrate the last point, they passed around a video iPod (drawing a few oohs and ahs) playing video from a recent presser featuring Speaker Denny Hastert. (We couldn't help poking around to see what kind of music was on the House GOP iPod. The answer: Music from "The Lion King," Michael/Janet Jackson's "Scream," Smash Mouth, Dave Matthews Band ... likely all preset music from Apple.)

Events such as these highlight the blurring lines of journalism. It was aimed at amateur bloggers, but they weren't the only ones invited: Pfeiffer from National Review, Ham and Chapman from Town Hall, which started as a collection of conservative opinion columns before expanding to include Chapman's Capitol Report and Ham's C-Log. But at least they're in media to begin with. The presence of Cleary and Kralik complicate things more. All bloggers come with an agenda. But of those present, only NAM came with clients. Just as interacting with blogs is an alternate way for politicians to reach constituents, so too is blogging an alternative method for interest groups to influence the political process. Just as the NRA has moved into online radio, these individuals and orgs. are just the first few through the gates. The old media universe has been declared dead time already, but it probably won't be time to affix the toe tag until their colleagues follow suit.

Whether intended or not, the nature of the event likely had a disarming affect on the bloggers present. Not just the procession of luminaries and the swank digs (with a great view down the Mall, as GOP handlers pointed out more than once), but also the parade of news cameras and MSM journalists who attended the middle stretch. Add to that, the caucus also filmed and photographed the event for its own purposes. While the interest in forging ties with amateur bloggers seemed genuine, it was also a rolling photo-op -- for the benefit of not just the MSM, but the blogosphere as well.

Most of the bloggers present live-blogged the event as it went on. While several made multiple entries throughout the day, we've provided just their 1st post each: Blogs for Bush, Manufacturers' Blog; RedState; C-Log; Capitol Report; Right Side Redux; The Buzz; Suitably Flip; The Political Teen; Wizbang.

SPENDING: Burning Bridges

On 10/20 a series of proposed amendments to the transportation bill, put forth by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), failed to gain much support in the Senate. But in the blogosphere, it had support from both the left and right. It's been awhile since an issue that both sides agreed on animated prominent bloggers of the left and right. Perhaps the last was when the FEC held hearings about whether to change campaign finance rules that would affect bloggers. What's also notable is that this debate has conservative bloggers criticizing GOPers, and liberal bloggers criticizing Dems, both over their unwillingness to change their spending priorities. Starting here, Andrew Roth at the Club for Growth live-blogged through the whole day; to get a sense of the twists and turns of the day, as well as lists of which sens. voted for different amendments of the bill, see Roth's posts from 10/20.

As we noted yesterday, on 10/19 RedState's Mike Krempasky called the bridge-related amendment "A Hill to Die On." Krempasky and fellow RedState board member Augustine were watching and blogging as the Senate went to vote 10/20, where Senate Commerce Cmte chair/ex-Appropriations chair Ted Stevens (R-AK) threatened to resign if the amendments went forward. They write, tag-teaming in stacked updates: "Ted Stevens is having a fit on the floor right now. ... Presumably, according to Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski [(R-AK)], these bridges are also capable of ending world hunger. ... If only politicians like Stevens were willing to defend things that actually mattered with such passion and gusto. But nooooo -- just don't touch his pork. Disgusting." Power Line's John Hinderaker goes after Stevens, too, writing, "And when Stevens talks about 'taking money from' Alaska, he means deciding not to spend $220 million to build a bridge for the benefit of 50 people. This statement, by a Republican Senator, is analogous to claims by liberals that when taxes are cut, the federal government is giving money to the rich." PoliPundit's Jayson Javitz suggests: "Tom Coburn For Senate Majority Leader." Instapundit posts a reader e-mail asking about the same possibility.

Lefty Markos Moulitsas, at Daily Kos: "Honestly, there's no reason for any Democrat to vote against this amendment." One of Coburn's amendments gained only 1 Dem vote. Kos grouses: "It's embarrassing that Feingold was the only Democrat voting for it. What a great way to show the country that Democrats are the party of fiscal responsibility." Dem Sens. Mary Landrieu (LA), Kent Conrad (ND) and Evan Bayh (IN) joined Feingold in supporting the bridge-specific amendment, but it too went down to defeat. More from Kos: "A $223 million bridge serving 50 people was more important to these people than rebuilding storm-battered New Orleans. Simply unconscionable. Those who voted against these amendments have zero credibility on issues of fiscal responsibility. Zero." In a previous post, Moulitsas cited RedState's "Hill to Die On" post, noting his agreement, "strange bedfellows and all."

Liberal MyDD's Scott Shields notes that all the '08 contenders but Feingold and Bayh voted against it, including John McCain, "who's built a career in the Senate slamming pork barrel spending." Conservative Alpha Patriot: "As the citizen outcry grows, somewhere in heaven Reagan is smiling. Get this started by writing your Senator. Now." Heritage's Mark Tapscott, on why the move is so unprecedented: "Members just don't challenge each other's pork barrel projects, no matter what. It's... just... not... done. You go along to get along. The Doctor from Oklahoma is the first to stand up and say 'No' to another Member's favored pork barrel." Radioblogger posts the transcript of Coburn's appearance on the Hugh Hewitt radio show, guest-hosted by ex-Defense Undersec. Jed Babbin.

MIDTERMS '06: Swinging From Neutral To Hackett?

The 10/19 Blogometer notes a "letter to the blogosphere" released by OH SEN candidate/Rep. Sherrod Brown (D), which calls attention to fundraising done by the blog he sponsors, Grow Ohio, on behalf of OH SEN candidate/ex-House special election nominee Paul Hackett (D) in Hackett's 8/05 surprise near-win. Now AP reports, Brown said: "The blogs were here for Hackett, and here for me ... Now, they're even and that was the only place he had any advantage before."

Dem netroots activist/Hackett supporter Bob Brigham writes in an e-mail he circulated to a BCC'd list of recipients: "The problem is, Sherrod has a handful of supporters and he thinks this means he has the support of their readers. But it doesn't work like that online, it is bottom up, not top down." He cites a recent Daily Kos poll where just shy of 2K voters prefer Hackett to Brown, 84% to 15%. Pro-Hackett Steve Gilliard responds: "Brown has been missing in action for months, and didn't have the balls to run when it was [GOP OH Sen. Mike] DeWine alone. He got cold feet." Pro-Brown Democracy Guy responds to Gilliard, and calls Hackett's rise the result of "blog payola": "If you think Hackett was some spontaneuous outgrowth of grassroots purity, you're dreaming." Separate from the above debate, conservative Gerry Daly cites the same AP story and comments: "I suspect Hackett, and his true believers, are in for a rather rude awakening."

Worth noting: Brigham co-blogs with Tim Tagaris at Swing State Project; Tagaris is also the lead blogger at Grow Ohio. The arguments made in this e-mail are not posted to the site; and SSP is currently being kept neutral. However, Tagaris announced in a post at Grow Ohio late last p.m. that he will be leaving the site in Nov. to work for the DNC. Along with coordinating DNC-netroots relations, Tagaris explains, "I will be working directly with state parties across the country to tap into local blogospheres and implement "best practices" while developing strategies for increased participation and teamwork between the two."

We couldn't reach Tagaris by deadline, but Brigham tells the Blogometer that he expects the DNC will keep Tagaris busy, and his SSP blogging will cease. Assuming that happens, the site will be left to Brigham and DavidNYC, who are both unambiguously pro-Hackett. So expect SSP to become a pro-Hackett blog in a few weeks' time.

Brigham also tells us that Hackett has hired ex-Dean'04 staffer/Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) manager Karl Frisch to be his comm. dir. (We talked to Frisch on 7/14 about Slaughter's "Send Karl Rove His Pink Slip!" blogad campaign.)

THE MIERS NOMINATION: Comma Comma Comma Comma Comma Machiavellian

Righty Patterico reads Miers' comments in a Washington Post to mean that Miers thinks "the Equal Protection Clause requires that members of protected classes be represented on legislative bodies in numbers corresponding to their proportion in the general population." He adds: "If that is indeed what she is saying, it is just stunningly wrong." He writes: "If you need me this morning, I'll be out on the window ledge. Because it is becoming clearer and clearer that we are headed towards the confirmation of a Supreme Court justice who has no idea what the Constitution says."

Conservative Michelle Malkin notes that even liberal U. Chicago law prof Cass Sunstein is "surprised and puzzled" that Miers wrote: "While I was an at-large member of the Dallas City Council, I dealt with issues that involved constitutional questions. For instance, when addressing a lawsuit under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the council had to be sure to comply with the proportional representation requirement of the Equal Protection Clause." Malkin: "As a non-elite, non-lawyer, non-Beltway pundit might put it: 'What the...?!?' If this bizarre gaffe is supposed to demonstrate Miers' sharp legal mind and painstaking attention to detail, God help us all."

Volokh Conspiracy's Jim Lindgren calls attention to this questionnaire response: "My experience on the City Council helps me understand the interplay between serving on a policy making board and serving as a judge. An example, of this distinction can be seen in a vote of the council to ban flag burning. The Council was free to state its policy position, we were against flag burning. The Supreme Court's role was to determine whether our Constitution allows such a ban. The City Council was anxious to encourage minority and women-owned businesses, but our processes had to conform to equal protection requirements, as well. My City Council service and working in economic development activities afforded me with special insight into the importance of a stable, respected, and fair judiciary in which the public can have confidence." Lindgren comments: "Reading this excerpt is depressing. ... Everyone makes mistakes in writing (I certainly do) and nobody is perfect. But in reading Miers' writing, I keep looking for a spark. Where is the good stuff? Where are the passages that show a bright, analytical mind -- or failing that, a basic competence in placing commas?"

Baseball Crank Dan McLaughlin, previously undecided on Miers, has now decided against. The questions he asked himself:

"A. Do I believe Miers would be a good Justice in terms of things like legal skill, proper attention to relevant detail, and understanding of the need for clarity?
B. Do I believe Miers would be acceptable to me as a conservative, in terms both of following an acceptable method of deciding cases and generally acceptable results?
C. How certain do I need to be of #1 and #2 to support the nominee?"

He concludes: "Miers simply does not meet the minimal standards for confirmation to the Court. And as a practicing lawyer who will have to live with the consequences of this nominee if she is confirmed, I can't support that, no matter what the judge's party affiliation or her presumed ideology. President Bush should withdraw this nomination. And if he doesn't, the Senate should vote NO." In an e-mail, he calls his conclusion the "view of one conservative Republican lawyer in private practice who has been skeptical but on the fence until now (which, hopefully, should satisfy Hugh Hewitt's request for an example of a private practitioner opposing confirmation of Miers)."

PLAMEGATE: On The Record

Murray Waas' latest report for National Journal on Judy Miller's role in the case states that she didn't mention the June '03 meetings with Cheney CoS Scooter Libby until shown WH logs recording her visits, and neither did Libby. JustOneMinute's Tom Maguire predicts: "Karl Rove's problems with the Matt Cooper phone call are trivial, and [special prosecutor Patrick] Fitzgerald will only hit Rove with that if he is desperate to charge Rove with something and is prepared to lose at trial. Libby, on the other hand, seems to have a serious disclosure problem." ReddHedd at Firedoglake adds: "Judy is on a very, very short leash. If Fitz finds out that she has lied about anything else, held back anything, tried to cover for anyone else's ass, she's toast."

Maguire has been keeping an eye on the indictment line at Tradesports, reporting in the same post above that on 10/20, "Rove is trading at a 52% chance of indictment; Libby is at 77%." (As of this a.m., Rove was up to 60%, Libby ticked upward to 78%.)

Liberal Yale law prof Jack Balkin writes at Balkinization, "just remember that the President always has the means to stop judicial proceedings of his closest political associates from going any further. He can simply pardon persons indicted for a crime, or even those who have not yet been indicted." More: "Some might argue that the President simply wouldn't dare; others will insist that he would be impeached if he tries it. But what the President is likely to do depends on the alternatives if he doesn't act, and remember, the Congress is controlled by members of his own party ... This president has a knack for self-preservation; and if the pardon power is the best alternative he has, you can be sure that he will use it."

Slate's Mickey Kaus objects to ABC's The Note endorsing the notion that the story here is not "about a leak" but rather "about how Bush pushed our country into a war." Kaus responds: "But this is a case about a leak! It's not about whether the Iraq war was justified or whether there were weapons of mass destruction or even whether Saddam tried to buy yellowcake in Niger. (Sorry, Arianna!) Cheney, Libby, Rove et al could have quite easily manipulated intelligence about Iraq and pushed the country into war without violating the U.S. Criminal Code. The point of a prosecution would be that they didn't." And although Dems "can refight Iraq anytime, and they should," The Note is telling Dems, "in classic, media-consultant fashion, that instead of basing their pitch on the reality of the case (the leak) they should base it on BS..."

Activist/blogger Michael Petrelis asks: "Where is Judy Miller's mug shot? I can't believe one of the world's most famous ex-prisoners, who supposedly went to the slammer for the public's right to know, is enjoying the pleasure of having done time and not having her must broadcast and printed, far and wide." Petrelis posts the text of his just-mailed FOIA request for Miller's mugshots.

DELAY: If A Conservative Is A Liberal Who's Been Mugged By Reality, What's A Conservative Who's Posed For A Mugshot?

Daily Kos: "Wow, great job by Republicans to make sure" ex-House Maj. Leader/Rep. Tom DeLay's "booking photo looked as little as possible like a booking photo, even if he does come off as the happiest accused felon in our nation's history." Power Line mocks Dems who "thought they had scored a coup when Tom DeLay was required to submit to fingerprinting and a mug shot" with the header "Curses, Foiled Again!"

Lefty Atrios posts a tower-shaped banner ad DeLay's campaign cmte has posted around the Internet. It's an animated GIF featuring Ronnie Earle, and asks: "Will it soon be a crime to be a conservative?" Atrios: "If the shoe fits."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Or Is It The End Of The Beginning?

At TPM Cafe, Reed Hundt criticizes a Wall Street Journal [sub. req.] report on how Bush's Soc/Sec plans fell apart. Argues Hundt: "First, she neglects huge role played by blogworld, which every moment eagle-eyed every distortion, misrepresentation, confusion, and unanswered question embedded in the White House campaign against defined benefits for retirees. Second, she fails to note that if the White House had proposed add-on private accounts coupled with a modest tax increase for the very rich they would have been able to sell a deal on the Hill. Third, and most important, this political failure has proved to be the beginning of the unravelling of the entire Second Term."

LEST WE FORGET: The Complete Idiot's Guide To Blogging For Dummies

IowaHawk is schooling newbie bloggers in his patented BloggoNetrix™ method for "how to blog good." His latest installment is geared toward helping them "build a personal reader base to secure [their] financial freedom." An excerpt:

"In today's go-go-go world, readers need their opinions now. They need them fast and to the point. Remember rule number one: do everything within your power to increase the economical verbal tersity of your posts, because what is increasingly certain in this increasingly time-strapped blog market in which we blog in, it is the growing situation in which John and/or Mary Q. BlogPublic will not stand for some endlessly meandering blog entry, all 'gussied up' in some flowery punctuation, blithering and yammering on and on and on and on, never -- or frequently seldom ever -- getting to the crux of the point that the blogger (or group blog, or web diarist, or whoever) is arguing in favor, or possibly against, of, which frequently creates a frustrating situation for those many, many readers who have increasingly decreased time to keep wading through a seemingly endless -- and often redundant -- yammering and blithering post by a blogger that keeps repeating himself and/or herself without her or him or them ever finally getting to the original objective point of their article, or post.

"To demonstrate the power of pith, let's look at the example of top blogger Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit. When he links to a story with his famous 'HEH,' readers instantly recognize that this is shorthand for 'here is a thing that somebody emailed me that sounded mildly amusing. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to resume ogling the hot coeds walking by my office window.'"

NOTES AND ERRATA: Sorry, We Were Distracted By A Beth Horton Orton Song ...

In the 10/19 Blogometer, we misspelled the name of Air America prod. Josh Orton. And on 10/20, we left an "e" out of Agonist blogger Sean-Paul Kelley's name. Anybody want to guess which one?

Posted by at October 21, 2005 12:53 PM