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November 20, 2006BELTWAY BLOGROLL
Credit Where Due To The Netroots
"Make no mistake, without the netroots, Webb would not have won. He may not even have been close."
Believe it or not, those are the words of Jon Henke, the QandO blogger hired as the new media adviser and campaign blogger to Sen. George Allen, R-Va. Unfortunately for Allen, that move came too late to matter in the freshman senator's failed re-election campaign against Democrat James Webb, and Henke's nod to the other side of the blogosphere is significant.
Most political bloggers are loathe to say anything the least bit flattering about their online enemies, and Republican bloggers in particular have gleefully ridiculed the netroots for always backing losers and doing more to hurt the Democratic Party than help it. But this year, Henke is willing to give the netroots credit where due.
"In an opportunity cost sense, the leftosphere was very effective in this election cycle," Henke wrote after seeing a blurb in Time about the netroots.
"They didn't win every race, but they made significant contributions to individual races (Webb in Virginia, Tester in Montana), to the national anti-Republican mood, and to the media climate. Most of their successes won't be readily apparent to the general public (that was certainly true in my own campaign experience), while other successes are subtle and loosely connected -- e.g., the media is frequently captured by narratives established in the blogs."
Specifically, Henke praised the Virginia blogs Not Larry Sabato and Raising Kaine. "Though there were aspects of their efforts with which I had real problems, there is no denying that their efforts to (a) generate local and national attention, (b) develop the narratives early and (c) sell Webb carefully were tremendously effective."
So have Republicans learned from that example. Not yet, Henke said, but like John Hawkins of Right Wing News, Henke sees an opportunity for the GOP now that it is out of power.
"The leftosphere has been effective because of Democratic engagement (both official and surrogate) and the unifying effect of minority status. Republicans have a similar chance now," Henke said. "If they accept the existence of the new media and develop a holistic, long-term strategy, they can still retake the battlefield."
UPDATE: Henke's post prompted a response from Ed Morrissey at Captain's Quarters. "One point cannot be easily dismissed, and that was the power of the blogs on the left to organize," he wrote. "We tried something similar on the right, but we started too late to have much of an impact. I think many of us felt more comfortable in providing analysis rather than engaging in a more participatory fashion."
Other Republican bloggers also are tipping their hats to the netroots. The Blogometer has more coverage.
And if you're really into the whole netroots phenomenon, check out the "On Language" column by William Safire in The New York Times over the weekend. He explains the origins of the word.
Posted by Danny | 01:00 AM
