September 21, 2006

9/21: More Trouble Than It's Worth?

A trio of SEN stories (MN, MI, and NJ) beg the question, how often do online efforts end up hurting a candidate more than helping them? In MN, Hennepin Co. Atty. Amy Klobuchar (D) faces at least 1 day of bad press after a sympathetic blogger forwarded the Klobuchar campaign a possibly illegally obtained copy of Rep. Mark Kennedy's (R-06) yet unreleased TV ad. In MI, righty bloggers are asking whether Oakland Co. Sheriff Mike Bouchard (R) really needs to post every little thing that happens to him online. And in NJ, state Sen. Tom Kean's (R) spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker was caught posting pseudonymous comments on a lefty blog. Perhaps it's due to the novelty of the medium. But considering how unproven the benefits of online activism are, the question is at least worth asking the question: Are possible online troubles, really worth the real world payoffs?

The Club for Growth notes Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) received a big goose egg score in the Club's 2005 rating of Congress" and celebrates Charlie Cook's assertion that the race "could be the upset of the year."

Meanwhile National Review Online's Kathryn Jean Lopez looks at Oakland Co. Sheriff Mike Bouchard's (R) posting of video showing Bouchard at the site of a crashed burning truck and writes: "What the heck is the point of putting up a video of a burning truck, and a sheriff candidate standing on the sideline? This is exactly what is up on Mike Bouchard's website. I assume he wasn't equipped to put out the fire. But...just, what's the point? Just because the Internet exists, doesn't mean you need to post things to it all the time."

Finally, RedState has video of Bouchard's latest television ad and hopes: "An Anti-Incumbent Mood Will Help Mike Bouchard."

Kevin Aylward at Wizbang is happy Hennepin Co. Atty. Amy Klobuchar (D) was forced to fire spokeswoman Tara McGuinness for viewing a possibly illegally obtained ad from Rep. Mark Kennedy's (R-06) campaign. But Aylwad wants to know why Klobuchar waited five days to go public with the information. Kennedy v. The Machine guesses: "In the 5 days that have passed since Klobuchar first learned of her senior staffer's stealing of information, any web caches and traces on Klobuchar computers could have been scrubbed. Wizbang also has doubts about lefty blogger Blanked Out's explanation of his possible federal crime.

Blue Jersey has caught state Sen. Tom Kean's (R) spokeswoman, Jill Hazelbaker, posting "several troll comments" on their website's comment boards. BJ matched up Hazelbaker's IP address to BJ commenters "usedtobeblue" and "cleanupnj." BJ concludes: "Jill - your campaign has been exposed. You're nothing but a bunch of liars, and sadly, you can't even do that well."

Andrew Sullivan excerpts Brendan Nyhan's 9/20 contribution to Time's Political Bite

Last Wednesday, controversy broke out when I slammed two liberal blogs for using an airline employee's suicide after 9/11 to take a cheap shot at President Bush. My post, which initially contained a minor factual error, prompted one of the bloggers, Atrios (aka Duncan Black), to label me the "wanker of the day" and to call on TAP editors to "rethink things a bit." Hundreds of Atrios readers filled the Prospect's comment boards with vitriol. In an email Friday morning, Sam Rosenfeld, the magazine's online editor, asked that I focus my blogging on conservative targets. ... I refused and terminated the relationship.

Why was I asked to slant my work to the liberal party line? In an email statement, TAP editor Michael Tomasky said that "[t]he Prospect is hardly averse to criticizing liberal verities" and that the magazine had no problem with my initial posts criticizing liberals, but "there were a few posts in succession that struck us as either inaccurate or an effort to draw equivalencies where none existed. The Prospect has always opposed a 'pox on both houses' posture, and that's what we came to believe you were doing."

Sullivan comments: "Sorry, Michael, but that's pathetic. The blog partisanship on the right is often depressing - and boy would I have been fired long ago if I had ever been blogging on a "conservative" site. But the politburo on the left is no better. And to think we once believed the blogosphere could liberate independent thought. Yeah, right."

Over at his own blog, Nyhan has a thorough rundown of other blogger reaction to the episode, including a link to Hit and Run's Matt Welch's very similar experience with TAP.

Lefty bloggers seized on the latest New York Times poll showing Pres. Bush's approval rating at 37% and Dems leading GOPers 50%-35% in a generic matchup. Greg Sargent at TPM Cafe notes: "The rub in this poll is that it was completed later than other recent ones showing a slight rise in Bush's numbers, suggesting that whatever rise he garnered from Sept. 11 may have worn off."

Jonathan Singer at MyDD highlights: "When asked if they can remember a significant action taken by Congress in the last year, more than two-thirds of Americans responded "nothing." Unsurprisingly, then, 64 percent of Americans say that the current Congress has achieved less over the last two years than previous Congresses -- the highest that number has been since CBS/NYT began asking the question in 1994."

Finally, Kevin Drum at Washington Monthly looks at the mood of those polled: "Apparently, 14% of voters approve of their own congressman's job but nonetheless don't think he or she deserves reelection. Now that's a crowd in a nasty mood."

Chris Bowers at MyDD looks at how OH-02 was a longshot in '05 but is considered competitive now and writes: "I have to believe that one of the main reasons that OH-02 is honestly close in 2006 is because the netroots threw so much into it in 2005. We helped bring an anti-Bush message into OH-02, and it is sticking. We helped bring new activist excitement into OH-02, and it is sticking." Bowers then looks at how similar longshot candidacies are panning out and concludes: "There is something else about these longshot challenges that I miss in 2006 now that we are really getting down to brass tacks: the Hackett challenge in the summer of 2005 was really, really fun.

Right Wing News reports that the Rightroots 15-day challenge got off to a slow start until Lorie Byrd had a brilliant idea: "We'd do a blog burst and invite people all across the blogosphere to link to Righroots on Friday of last week." RWN is happy to report the idea worked and all of their candidates hit their donation goals. The total raised during the drive: $50,250.12.

Robert Bluey at Right Angle Blog ads: "Coming out on top with 205 donations was Diana Irey, running against Rep. John Murtha in Pennsylvania's 12th District. Since August 1, when Rightroots debuted, Irey has raised more than $14,000, a significant accomplishment."

Lefty bloggers supporting cable exec Ned Lamont (D) are all linking to a new GQprofile of Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT). Progressive activist Jane Hamsher at firedoglake describes it as "absolutely devastating for Lieberman." TPM Cafe's Andrew Golis' favorite snippet includes:

Joe grabs his [driver's] hand and embraces him in a full-on man-clench for the cameras, as though Derosier were a faithful supporter who drove out to the mouth of the Norwalk River just because he's eager to hear more about Joe's support for bike trails. I turn to the young staffer next to me and say, "Wait, that's his driver he just embraced!" She shrugs like, No [excrement], you idiot, that's how this works. And she's right. This event might as well be taking place on a soundstage. All that matters is that the manufactured support looks real on the evening news tonight and in the paper tomorrow.

The unofficial Lamont Blog has many more highlights and audio from author Ken Cain's appearance on Colin McEnroe's radio show.

DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas links to Commercial Appeal reports of emails "to and from the office of Chattanooga's city stormwater director showing" ex-Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker (R) issued a letter of intent, without prior approval from the Chattanooga City Council as required by law, destroying a conservation easement so that he could personally benefit from a real estate transaction involving Wal-Mart. Markos writes: "Talk about the "perfect" toxic GOP stew. We have 1) destruction of nature reserve, 2) to benefit Wal-Mart, and 3) line his own pockets to the tune of $4.7 million. And new emails have been revealed proving the Corker administration knew about the wrongdoing."

From Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) campaign rally for ex-Navy sec. James Webb (D) Raising Kaine blogger and Webb Netroots Coordinator Lowell Feld reported the event was "awesome" and was "attended by hundreds of people" including "Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille, Congressman Jim Moran, former Congresswoman Leslie Byrne, Del. Donald McEachin, Del. David Englin, and many others."

Highlights from "the best, most powerful speech" Feld has ever herd Webb give include:

• On the subject of language, Jim noted that "words can be misused" to "tear us apart" rather than to enlighten or bring us together. Unfortunately, the current crop of Bush/Allen Republicans give us "high sounding rhetoric that doesn't deliver results."
• Jim asked, pointedly, "what is this fiction in my life" that George Allen keeps referring to? Webb admitted that, yes, he is a writer, and yes, he loves the power of words. He also noted that his life had been anything but fictional, having started working at 12 (?) years old, having fought in Vietnam, etc. So what is George Allen talking about?
• What do we need to do at this point? First, we need to end the war in Iraq. All Bush, Allen et al. talk about is how we should "stay the course." But every course has a finish line. "Where's the finish line" in this, Webb asked?
• Second, we need to "reinstitute fairness in our economic system." Jim talked about how, today, corporate profits are at their highest point ever as a percent of the economy, while wages and salaries are at their lowest. And, he declared, "there's something wrong with that!"
• Third, we need to rein in this Administration, which "has run roughshod over the Congress since 9/11." We need to "stand up and protect our constitution."

Obama declared he was "here for one primary reason; I need some help in the U.S. Senate!" Obama went on: "With Jim Webb ... we've got "someone we call can be proud of." With Jim Webb, we've got a man whose "heroism is unquestioned." With Jim Webb, we've got a man who has "served in government at every level," who has been a "teacher," a "civic leader," and a father. And with Jim Webb, we've got a man who fits the statement, "we like our warriors to be scholars and intellectuals as well."

Later Webb appeared on Hardball where TurnVirginiaBlue at Raising Kaine reports Webb "aid all of the press on Allen's ethnicity is *not relevant*, refused to answer questions on it and got Matthews to ask an intelligent question on national security and foreign policy and the mistakes on Iraq."

Still focusing on Allen anti-Semitism, DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas asks: "Okay. You are playing to the racist crowd. You, yourself, are racist. Someone points out you have a Jewish ancestor. You are outraged! What an insult! Except it's true. And your bizarre reaction has raised eyebrows. So your campaign issues a statement acknowledging that you have Jewish blood and that it's actually not a bad thing. So you fear losing the respect of your racist base pals. How do you react? ... Apparently, if you're George Allen, you insult the Jews." Kos then quotes Allen referring to his heritage: "I still had a ham sandwich for lunch. And my mother made great pork chops."

National Review Online's Mona Charen (who was critical of Allen's Jewish question handling before) was moved by 9/21's Washington Post article featuring an interview with Allen's mother Etty: "It seems that Etty Allen disclosed her Jewish ancestry to her son George only last month. Further, and this sheds light on Allen's flustered response to the reporter's question the other day, she swore him to secrecy. No fair person could possibly judge George Allen harshly in light of this fuller picture."

Meanwhile pro-Allen blogs are in full attack mode. Lines of attack include:

• The A-Team: "Jim Webb was, by all accounts, an excellent platoon leader. ... However ... a review of Webb's inability to grasp broad geopolitical trends and understand and articulate global strategy goals begins with his ill-fated tenure as Secretary of the Navy during the Reagan Administration. ... The first example of Webb's grand strategic myopia involves Webb's unstinting advocacy for a 600 ship navy."
• After noting that Webb criticized Wal-Mart but disclosed owning Wal-Mart stock in 2005, AllenHQ remarks: "Capitalism works for Jim Webb, but he doesn't work for capitalism. Jim Webb and the Democratic Party would try to pull up the ladder on the consumers of Virginia for whom Wal-mart saves millions of dollars."
• The A-Team: "You absolutely must watch the video of Jim Webb's appearance on "Hardball" on Wednesday night. Chris Matthews actually asked him about his paid bloggers, but characteristically, Webb refused to answer the question. In fact, he has a great whiny response for Matthews."
• AllenHQ: "Jewish Congressional Leaders Blast Pattern of Anti-Jewish Ploys by the Webb Campaign."
• The A-Team: "Any doubt that the Nutroots Webbsters weren't the ones peddling for someone to ask the question about George Allen's religious ancestry can be cast aside by this admission."

Not all on the right had kind things to say about the incumbent Sen. Bull Dog Pundit at Ankle Biting Pundits writes: "Every day it's looking more and more like ... George Allen is simply not ready for prime time."

National Review Online's Greg Pollowitz writes that Sen. email sources report ex-NY mayor Rudy Giuliani "will visit Seattle in October to campaign and fundraise for" ex-Safeco CEO Mike McGavick (R).

Chris Bowers at MyDD sees two ways solve the "diversity problem of the Clinton blogger lunch." Bowers first articulates a "type of blogger affirmative action in order to make sure that a more diverse range of people had the privilege of having lunch with President Clinton." The second view Chris forwards "is not who was invited, but the problem is that the leadership of the progressive blogosphere is itself not very diverse." Bowers then writes: "As someone who has spent a long time studying the demographics of the netroots and as someone who rather immodestly considers himself a leader in the blogosphere, I side quite strongly with the second view. ... The solution has to be ... to increase diversity within the leadership of the progressive blogosphere"

Bowers then offers six things progressive bloggers can do to increase diversity:

• 1. Diversified linking patterns. Linking is indeed a type of institution within the blogosphere, and as such it is an area where positive steps can be directly taken, and quantified, toward achieving more diversity.
• 2. Multi-issue and multi-writer blogs can individually take steps toward diversifying their guest posters and subject content.
• 3. What few formal institutions we have, such as Yearly Kos, can indeed take many of the positive steps used in other fields, such as affirmative action. Working toward achieving greater diversity on panels at Yearly Kos next year, both in terms of subject matter and who is on the panels, would certainly be a good idea.
• 4. Increased trust online. ... A lot of us have smartest kid in the class syndrome, where we are more eager to demonstrate why another blogger is wrong than we are toward giving the benefit of the doubt to our fellow progressive bloggers. ... The blogosphere, for all its earnestness and meritocracy, is not a very good place for socializing, and can easily lead to a lack of trust and to a complete breakdown in productive discussion and / or action.
• 5. People who are blogosphere leaders need to recognize themselves as such, and act accordingly.
• 6. Other bloggers should not throw all of their problems online at the feet of a so-called "A-list." It isn't the fault of a so-called "A-list" that your traffic isn't high. ... It isn't the fault of the "A-list" that you are not a full-time blogger. It isn't the fault of the "A-list" that you are not a leader in your chosen blogging niche. In a few cases, it isn't the fault of the "A-list" that you are just a [procreating donkey butt], an incompetent, or a complete lunatic that most people don't want to associate with.

Matthew Yglesias loves Iranian Pres. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's "sweet hipster style." Yglesias writes: "It all starts with a beard not unlike the one I and many of my twentysomething male friends sport. But it goes deeper. The man went without a tie to address the UN General Assembly. And I was in a bar where the TV was showing his interview with Anderson Cooper (it's DC, these things happen) and while there was no sound, he certainly looked witty and charming. There was also this clip of him walking down some hallway shooting the shit with Kofi Annan. It's like diplomacy! Bush should try it."

Posted by Conn Carroll at September 21, 2006 12:31 PM