11/20: They're Just Not That Into You

Noting their complete impotence to affect House leadership races, righty bloggers are beginning to examine whether they want to emulate DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas activist tactics. Townhall's Dean Barnett advises his conservative readers upset over the GOP's leadership choices "to deal with the facts. The politicians just aren't that into us." Barnett says he is not quite ready to be "a tool for the Republican Party," but he does acknowledge that Kos and Co. were a positive factor in the Dem victory this cycle. Will defeat in just one cycle be enough to prompt more righty blogger involvement in internal GOP politics?

BLOGGERS VS. BELTWAY: What Would Kos Do?

Townhall's Dean Barnett, tells readers GOP leaders feel free to ignore blogs since "all we do is opine, and often in an annoyingly independent way" and that Kos gets markedly different results since "he also brings something else to the party. He brings volunteers and money and buzz. Although my modem might well explode as I type these words, Jon Tester would not be a senator starting in January if it weren't for the Daily Kos. Same for Jim Webb."

That said, Barnett still is not ready to commit to changing his party the same way Kos is: "I have no interest in being a tool for the Republican Party, or at least not anymore so than I already am. But ... there is no denying that the Daily Kos is an asset to the Democratic Party in terms of winning elections. Or at least it was this past cycle." Outside the Beltway also acknowledges netroot success in laying "a get-out-the-meme network that is unparalleled on the right" but he too shies away from a larger commitment: "The problem, though, is that I don't want the Right Blogosphere to turn into a mirror image of the Left Blogosphere. While I'd love to have the traffic and influence of DailyKos, I'm not interested in emulating its style. It remains to be seen whether there's a way to maximize the influence of the blogosphere while being civil and thoughtful."

Captain's Quarters notes that righty blogs attempted their own organization efforts this cycle but "we started too late to have much of an impact." CQ then uses the GOP leadership defeats as a call for my righty blogger activism: "If the Right blogosphere ... wants to be a player in elections, it needs to start now. The outcry over the GOP's Congressional leadership elections may have galvanized us, convincing us that engagement has to take place soon in order to help shape a Republican Party that will deliver on the core principles we have discussed at length."

QandO's Jon Henke (Sen. George Allen (R-VA) new media coordinator) asserts the netroots helped push Sen.-elect James Webb (D-VA) over the top and predicts the GOP "will either develop strategies and hire experts to engage the blogosphere quickly and bumpily as happened with the successful Democratic engagement of the blogosphere. . .or they will do so slowly and with great regret that they've effectively ceded to Democrats the most important new political battlefield since talk radio."

BLOGGERS VS. BELTWAY II: Clearly Congress Needs To Pass A Blogger Minimum Wage

Picking up on Hotline On Call analysis showing at most only six more seats could have been won with more late DCCC ad buys MyDD's Chris Bowers notes that of those candidates that did not receive national support, the netroots were there helping early and often: "We stepped up in these seats, big time. When [James] Carville criticizes Howard Dean, keep in mind that he is using Howard Dean as a placeholder to attack the entire progressive netroots and the entire progressive movement on behalf of big donors and consultants who once again want to rule the party with an iron fist. But we were the ones fighting for these seats, tooth and nail, along with local Democrats on the ground. National Democrats from the corporate wing of the party were nowhere to be found in these races."

Also at MyDD, Matt Stoller laments the all the netroots raised money that ended up in the bank accounts of Carville and his "consultant" friends, and for reference notes: "MyDD brings in about $1000-1500 apiece in advertising a month for me, Chris, and Singer. That's roughly $15,000 a year, or around $7 an hour if you assume we each spend around 40 hours a week on the site. We're one of the larger blogs so our income is on the high end of the blogosphere."

DEM FIELD: Master Of The Known Universe

MyDD's Chris Bowers utilizes five recent national primary polls (Pew, Gallup, CNN, McLaughlin, and Rasmussen) in combination with Quinnipac national name recognition numbers to produce "Known Universe Metric" numbers for Dem favorites (Bowers divides each candidates average primary poll result by their name recognition number). Bowers explains: "I call this the "known universe" metric because this is the percentage of supporters each candidate is winning within the universe of people who know the candidate well enough to form an opinion about him or her. It is a crude means of normalizing trial heat numbers for name recognition discrepancies." The results:

Bowers adds: "I do not think that this metric means Obama should be considered the favorite. What it means is that he has done an extremely good job appealing to people so far."

KERRY: Everyone's Favorite Disappearing Act

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) generated little lefty blogger excitement with his 11/19 Fox News suggestion he is still considering an '08 run. AMERICAblog's John Aravosis writes: "The man needs to go away. He lost. He lost to an idiot. And now he wants another chance to show the country that this time he'll fight back. Just like he fought back one week before the election and almost destroyed our chances at taking back the Congress because, like an idiot, he decided that NOW was the time he was finally going to fight back. ... Kerry never understood how and when to fight back, and he still doesn't. He's not going to be president. He had his chance and blew it."

The Plank's Jason Zengerle thinks Kerry learned the wrong lesson when he told Fox: "Since we had very close races, I made the decision to make certain that I didn't distract. The results speak for themselves." Zengerle replies: "Yes they do. Now Kerry just needs to pull another disappearing act for '08 and the Democrats will take the White House, too!"

MCCAIN: The Straight Woo Express

Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) 11/19 This Week appearance drew mixed reviews from righty bloggers. RedState's Adam C was impressed with McCain's support for the overturning of Roe v. Wade and warned ex-NY mayor Rudy Giuliani to change his abortion stance if he wanted to maintain support among conservatives. Ankle Biting Pundit's Bull Dog Pundit, on the other hand, takes McCain to task for changing his position: "So which is it Senator McCain? Would overturning Roe lead to the deaths of young women as you said in 1999, or do you support the issue going back to the states as you say today, when you happen to be trying to woo social conservatives?"

McCain's 11/16 Federalist Society address also garnered right blogger attention. RedState's Dan McLaughlin reports McCain received standing ovations at the beginning and end of his speech (including an introduction from Ted Olson "who sounded as if he has booked a spot on the Straight Talk Express), but also got a "less than an enthusiastic response when he gushed about his role in saving the filibuster in the judicial nominations process." Townhall's Hugh Hewitt focussed specifically on McCain's role in the Gang of 14 writing: "What Senator McCain needs to do --urgently, right now-- is to come clean and admit he screwed up with the Gang of 14, and in a huge way, a way that he now sincerely regrets. ... No candidate who thinks the Gang of 14 was a good thing for the Constitution, the judiciary, or the GOP is going to win the GOP's nomination."

ROMNEY: McCain's Indy Edge?

The MI Cooler is calling MI GOP chair Saul Anuzis letter urging the legislature to pass an open primary a loss for MA Gov. Mitt Romney (R): "Romney supporters had been arguing that Michigan would not be an Open Primary in 2008 and thus in theory giving their candidate an edge if Independent voters could not vote. The Cooler sees this as a smart move for Saul and the McCain people."

DEMS: Not The Friends Harman Wants Right Now

Righty bloggers are closely following Dem struggles for control of the House Intel. Cmte. Just One Minute tracks lefty attacks on outgoing ranking member Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) and offers "a steaming mug of reality to the reality-based community" over claims that Harman is currently under investigation for her ties to AIPAC. JOM examines stories from the New York Times, Washington Post, and AP all suggesting the investigation has been "dormant" for some time but is still open. JOM comments: "It is quite rare for the Feds to formally close an investigation, because who knows what tomorrow may bring in the way of new evidence. But neither Greenwald nor Yglesias have offered any evidence to support their contention that the investigation is current. She was under investigation for engaging in politics, and now she is not."

National Review Online's Byron York looks at Harman's intel-chair rival Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) and notes "all" senior Dems in the House "voted to impeach then-federal judge Hastings back in 1988." York even quotes from Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) speech before the Senate arguing for Hastings' removal: "Justice and the integrity of our government depend on the importance of these impeachment proceedings ... and they argue that the judge should be removed from the bench."

The left's case against Harman does not end with AIPAC investigations. MyDD's Chris Bowers is also no fan of Harman's defense of the administration's NSA surveillance program: "Outside of issues relating to national security and foreign policy, where she clearly is a neocon, she is basically a run of the mill Democrat--perhaps even in the liberal mainstream. However, the credibility of the new Democratic Congress is at stake here, and we can't have Democrats illegally winning committee chairs through lobbyist influence so they can support unconstitutional wire-tapping programs on Capitol Hill and on Fox News while accusing the New York Times of treason."

DEMS II: All Roads Lead To Iraq

Incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) assures The Huffington Post readers "Bringing the War to an End is my Highest Priority as Speaker." Pelosi explains: "This morning, I visited our brave men and women at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center. It is a place of prayers, of honor, of respect, and reflection. And I left there more committed than ever to bringing the war to an end."

The Washington Monthly's Kevin Drum like's Ron Suskind's list of possible investigation targets: "(a) the energy industry, (b) lying to Congress about domestic issues like global warming and Medicare, (c) lying to the public about Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman, (d) nonterrorists who have been subjects of warrantless wiretaps, and (e) continued incompetence in the intelligence community." But the Reality Based Community, meanwhile, wants to use hearings to counteract "the fundamental political challenge" facing Dems: fending off the "stab-in-the-back" narrative that worked so well for the Republicans after Vietnam. RBC hopes investigations can establish a counter narrative: ""We took on a tough but potentially manageable challenge and blew it due to the incompetence and corruption of the Bush Administration and the Republican Congress." To that end he hopes Dems investigate the following:

• Corruption and patronage in the CPA.
• Corruption and crony capitalism in contracting in Iraq, especially for support of the troops but also for reconstruction.
• Corruption and earmarking in the award of defense contracts.
• Corruption and earmarking in the award of intelligence contracts.
• Corruption and patronage in DHS and its White House predecessor office under Tom Ridge.

LA 02: Jefferson's "Extended Family"

Cable exec Ned Lamont's (D-CT) official blogger Tim Tagaris is now reporting for MyDD from LA 02's run off between Rep. William Jefferson (D) and state Rep. Karen Carter (D). His recent posts include analysis on local GOTV efforts: "I've also heard conflicting reports about the importance of churches and the role they play in mobilizing voters. Best I can tell, in the East Bank (New Orleans area) it's the organizations like BOLD and the "Progressive Democrats" that have the ability to turn voters out to the polls. In the West Bank, it's the churches. During yesterday's endorsement of Congressman Jefferson by State Senator Derrick Shepherd, they were surrounded by no less than five men of the cloth who each took at a turn at the mic; each quite outspoken; each with a body of followers best described as extended family as opposed to simply a congregation. Indeed, the local bloggers believed that Jefferson's support among clergy in the West Bank is a good part of what propelled him to a strong third place primary showing."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: All The Cool Kids Are Doing It

Daily Kos's SLJ offers ten easy steps progressives living in GOP controlled CDs can take to help elect Dems in '08 including:

• Concern yourself more with being regular than being brilliant. Get in the habit of writing something at least every week. The way you get steady traffic is through fresh content every time visitors come.
• Fill out online forms that let you send your member letters on stands for bills, etc. That'll generate letters back to you. That's more fodder for writing about. That'll give you more material that doesn't show up in papers (or elsewhere on the web).
• Find out when he's visiting the district. Go in person, take a digital camera along and blog about it when you get home.

LEST WE FORGET: Regifters 'R Us!

Since shopping Christmas season is now here, AMERICAblog advises stingier or space strapped readers to check out Regiftable before recycling their less than favorite past-Christmas items. Regiftable's how to guide advises readers to ask themselves:

• Is this going to work? Successful regifters use common sense. If you are going to regift, be sure you know who gave you the item, so you don't return something to the original giver. Only regift items to people who are not likely to see the original giver.
• Do you have good intentions? Don't just give a gift to give a gift. Be sure that the recipient will appreciate the item. Remember, if you feel that an item is undesirable, the recipient probably will too. If you are regifting simply because you ran out of time, gift cards are simple to obtain and always well received.
• Can you handle it? If you don't plan to announce the gift as a regift, ask yourself if you can keep the secret. Never feel guilty about regifting once you've done it.