I've been spending a lot of time in the liberal blogosphere lately. Bloggers have been inspired by the upcoming election and are churning out some cool posts. I particularly liked this post by Chris Bowers.
I reproduce this map because the progressive netroots is composed of political obsessives. Most of us spend an inordinate amount of time focused on current events, legislative policy, abstract matters of ideology, infrastructure, media narratives, electoral activism, and general strategy. Sometimes, I feel that because we are so obsessed with politics online that we often lose touch with what truly motivates voters. 80% of the country has no idea who Ann coulter is. Hell, 60% of the country has no idea who Harry Reid is.
Then he wonders if voters are more influenced by identity, rather than policy or ideas. He tells us (other bloggers? Democratic party leaders?) that we shouldn't fall into the policy wonk trap of boring people with details. We have to translate progressive ideas into terms that will appeal to the common voter.
It was a wonderful post that provides the nice little reality check we all need. I am not sure I agree that it's all identity, but I think that's a part of the puzzle. I do strongly agree with Chris that bloggers are different from everyone else. Bloggers are intense nerds, who plug away at their computer while other people watch the tube or socialize. Bloggers read the op-eds before most people take their shower in the morning. Bloggers are unusually politically active before they even open up their first blogspot space.
It's hard to understand this truth, especially when most of your socializing happens on line with other bloggers, but normal people don't care about politics like this. They don't know who Ann Coulter is. Hell, they don't know who Dick Chaney is. It's hard to not go to that snoberoo place and feel contempt for ignorance, but, you know, they've got other worries.
When I get to the elections section of Pol. Sci. 101, we always talk about the tight rope that candidates have to walk during elections. The voters who show up for the primaries are more politically extreme than voters who show up for the general election. Candidates will give speeches to the primary voters and say things that they will have to take back when it gets closer to November.
Bloggers are like those primary voters, intense and extreme.
Matt Bai wrote a rather disdainful column about bloggers in the Times Magazine on Sunday. (Read Holbo for more commentary.) Bloggers are these smart primary voters, but without real political sophistication. They know online, but they don't know offline. They aren't organized around a common policy goal. They don't even know what to call themselves.
I'm not sure what bloggers will do in the next election. But, as Bai points out, 600,000 people show up to read Kos every day. Howard Dean and John Kerry read the blogs and do it themselves. I'm not sure that the netroots are organized enough to make their own dent in electoral politics, like a political party or interest group. But they are the nice curveball thrown into politics as usual. They will force the candidates to talk more policy than identity at least in the early stages of the election. And that's good enough for me.
I think bloggers can have a political impact, but that it depends on their ability to compromise, to look beyond heartfelt truths to things they can support, and even further to things that they can bear. I think that's the difference between a policy wonk and a politician. Bloggers tend to be policy wonks, obsessed about details. For example, I (though not a blogger, I self-identify), am currently obsessed about the statistical implications of the public school closures announced in my district. And that, in spite of the fact that my preschooler will attend a private school.
If I wanted to have a political impact (even if it's going to be based on the statistics), I see that my approach would have to be different.
bj
Posted by: bj | May 30, 2006 at 11:25 AM