BlogHer - Some things are worth fighting for: Bloggers rev up for Presidential Race - Comments

Edwards Stands By Bloggers

Gena Haskett — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 18:23:19 -0600

Whoa, I didn't expect this so soon.

M$M and non-blogging readers might force Edwards to change the possibility into an after thought. We'll see how non-M$M bloggers plays with the general population.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/08/edwards.bloggers/
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/02/08/edwards-stands-by-bloggers...
http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/news_theswamp/2007/02/edwards_to_kee...
http://mediamatters.org/items/200702080003

Amazing stuff.

Gena - Out On The Stoop

I have a concern about this...

Gena Haskett — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 18:42:36 -0600

First, I support freedom of speech and of political involvement. I also want to say that I have recorded John Edwards at a local event and was impressed by him. And earning money, I am very supportive of any blogger that makes money from blogging.

Having said that I have a concern about bloggers jumping on the political bandwagon. It is a form of seduction. The candidate (no matter who) has expectations that the blogger will help to distribute "the message."

I'm not saying this right. Politician will expect that bloggers will direct their readers/viewer to consider the candidate based in part on the blogger's reputation.

That reputation and by extension the message will be tailored by the Democratic or Republican political machine. City slickers in $400 suits will encourage/dictate what should and should not be focused on.

What if the candidate is found out to have a foot fetish for Buster Brown shoes? Will the blogger guilty by association? I think the politician can hurt the blogger more than the blogger can help the candidate.

On the third hand it is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

I think or maybe really hope that a stronger case can be made for not locking into a campaign so soon. Or interviewing a variety of candidates before settling in on "the one".

In a perfect world. Yeah, I know. Not in this life.

Gena - Out On The Stoop

Some things are worth fighting for: Bloggers rev up for Presidential Race

Melinda Casino — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 02:02:52 -0600

John Edwards, blogging, and American political discourse. Oh my.

There may be trouble ahead…

Fiat Lux does the blogging equivalent of humming "Let's Face the Music and Dance": she notes one of her favorite bloggers, Shakespeare's Sister, has been hired by the John Edwards presidential campaign.

She predicts a lefty blog fallout in the upcoming months:

"My crystal ball is too cloudy for me to see who will be involved or exactly what will cause it, but the time will come when loud accusations of backstabbing, lying, and bad faith will start to fly. People will choose sides, write long, passionate denouncements, pick fights in comment threads, bring out the sock puppets, and rearrange their blogrolls, all because they're backing different candidates.

"It will happen, and it will suck. Mark my words. I hope I'm proved wrong, but somehow, I doubt I will be."

Conversely, Queer Dewd sees careful avoidance of conflict as something that's fundamentally wrong with American political dialogue.

She writes:

"Americans are [expletive deleted] up when it comes to politics: we want to be nice and get along. We want to pretend that there are no differences that really matter and when there are differences we want to pretend they are intractable â€” so intractable that we can avoid any real engagement with the consequences of our ideas and the actions we pursue based on those ideasâ€¦

"politics is reduced to: 'La La La Li. How about them Mets, huh?'

"You know something, if it really matters to you, then it really matters to you. There's no shame in that. Politics is fundamentally about drawing lines in the sand. The idea that you can paint yourself as someone who is above all that drawing lines in the sand shitâ€¦ That IS drawing a line in the sand. That IS saying, 'You're either with me or against me.'

"But when we forget that, we end up with the [expletives deleted] that is Barack Obama these days. He's a uniter, not a divider. Well, how far does that get anyone? Hmmmm? Further rightward swings."

I don't know about you, but I'm gripped by her opening. Read "Some things are worth fighting for" at Bitch | Lab.

Meanwhile, Australian blogger Tigtog of Hoyden About Town has written an excellent piece about bloggers working for presidential campaigns. Specifically, she discusses the Edwards campaign's recent hiring of Amanda Marcotte (Pandagon) and Melissa McEwan (Shakespeare's Sister):

"Phoenician's delineation of the distinctions between this situation and Kos' consultancy work is persuasive. Kos holds himself out as the tactical expert, and as a partisan coordinator. Amanda and Melissa have always been more issues-based than purely partisan, although issues and partisanry have often happily overlapped. If Edwards has identified issues-based swingvoting netizens as a key demographic for him, then choosing Amanda and Melissa to spearhead his web campaign is very canny indeed, as they are hugely influential in the progressive blogtopia."

There may be trouble ahead. But while there's moonlight and music and love and romance, let's face the music and dance! And blog.

What, too contrived?

Melinda Casino's personal blog is Sour Duck.

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