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August 02, 2006BELTWAY BLOGROLL
Key Lawmakers Endorse Blog Fundraising Effort
Georgian Jack Kingston is a House incumbent who does not appear to face a difficult race for re-election this year, so that disqualifies him for financial help from Rightroots, the online fundraising arm started by Republican bloggers this week. But Kingston found another way to be a part of the effort: helping raise money.
Hours after Rightroots went online yesterday, Kingston issued a challenge in the blogosphere. He vowed to donate $14,000 to the effort if other people contribute at least $26,000 online before midnight Saturday. The money would come from Kingston's leadership political action committee and go to select candidates.
"This is our opportunity to send a clear message to folks that Republicans don't just beat Democrats on the streets and on Election Day, but on every battlefield, including the Internet," Kingston wrote in an e-mail letter to "friends."
Most of the blogs behind Rightsroots -- Captain's Quarters, RedState, The Right Angle, Right Wing News, Townhall and Wizbang -- publicized the offer.
As of mid-afternoon, Rightroots was just shy of halfway to meeting the challenge, with about $13,000 in the bank.
Rightroots also won a plug from Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who actually met with a select group of Republican bloggers yesterday afternoon. The Tennessee Republican blogged about the effort and joined Kingston in adding his name to the Rightroots endorsers.
"Kudos to Frist for engaging bloggers -- and spending a valuable hour of his time during a very busy week before recess," wrote Robert Bluey of The Right Angle, who has been helping organize regular Capitol Hill sessions between Republican lawmakers and bloggers.
Larry Scholer also has a report on Frist's session with bloggers. Scholer is the guest blogger at TimChapman.com this week.
At least one Democratic blogger, Chris Bowers of MyDD, has noticed the Rightroots effort and took the time to critique it. "[I]t makes me feel very good to se conservatives claim the progressive netroots are crazy and ineffective out of one side of their mouths and then try to figure out ways to copy us out of the other side of their mouths," he wrote. "It makes me feel even better to see them fail in their attempts to do so."
That prompted a response from John Hawkins of Right Wing News about the story behind Rightroots.
"[K]eep in mind that I made a snap decision to do this on the 12th of last month," he said. "So, that meant a selection committee had to be assembled, we had to choose candidates to be studied, they had to be researched -- then a slate had to be sent over to ABC Pac which had to prepare the page, and then we had to promote this thing to make sure it would have a decent debut -- all in less than three weeks."
Micah Sifry of Personal Democracy Forum also has a post on the project.
Posted by Danny | 04:46 PM
