[Mb-civic] Blogs Attack From Left as Democrats Reach for Center -
Washington Post
William Swiggard
swiggard at comcast.net
Sat Jan 28 05:33:48 PST 2006
Blogs Attack From Left as Democrats Reach for Center
By Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 28, 2006; A06
Democrats are getting an early glimpse of an intraparty rift that could
complicate efforts to win back the White House: fiery liberals raising
their voices on Web sites and in interest groups vs. elected officials
trying to appeal to a much broader audience.
These activists -- spearheaded by battle-ready bloggers and making their
influence felt through relentless e-mail campaigns -- have denounced
what they regard as a flaccid Democratic response to the Supreme Court
fight, President Bush's upcoming State of the Union address and the Iraq
war. In every case, they have portrayed party leaders as gutless sellouts.
First, liberal Web logs went after Democrats for selecting Virginia Gov.
Timothy M. Kaine to deliver the response to Bush's speech next Tuesday.
Kaine's political sins: He was too willing to drape his candidacy in
references to religion and too unwilling to speak out aggressively
against Bush on the Iraq war. Kaine has been lauded by party officials
for finding a victory formula in Bush country by running on faith,
values and fiscal discipline.
Many Web commentators wanted Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), a leading
critic of the Iraq war who advocates a speedy withdrawal, to be the
opposition voice on the State of the Union night. Most Democratic
lawmakers have distanced themselves from the Murtha position. "What the
hell are they thinking?" was the title of liberal blogger Arianna
Huffington's column blasting the Kaine selection.
"Blogs can take up a lot of time if you're on them," Kaine said to
reporters Thursday. "You can get a lot done if you're not bitterly
partisan."
The Virginia Democrat said he will not adjust his speech to placate the
party's base. "I'm not anybody's mouthpiece or shill or poster boy for
that matter. I'm going to say what I think needs to be said and they
seem very comfortable with that."
Liberal activists seemed to have slightly more influence with their
campaign to persuade Senate Democrats to filibuster the Supreme Court
nomination of Samuel A. Alito Jr. Despite several polls showing that the
public opposes the effort, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) on Thursday
strongly advocated the filibuster plan -- and wrote about his choice on
the Daily Kos, a Web site popular with liberals. Sen. Robert C. Byrd
(D-W.Va.), a leading liberal and critic of the Iraq war, told reporters
Kerry's viewpoint is not shared by most in a culturally conservative
swing state such as West Virginia. Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid
(D-Nev.) also opposes the filibuster.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is another frequent target of the
Internet attacks. Code Pink, an antiwar women's group with a flashy Web
site, plans to protest one of Clinton's weekend fundraisers and is using
the Web site to rally people against the New York Democrat. The critics
say Clinton has not challenged Bush aggressively enough on Iraq.
"The bloggers and online donors represent an important resource for the
party, but they are not representative of the majority you need to win
elections," said Steve Elmendorf, a Democratic lobbyist who advised
Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign. "The trick will be to harness their
energy and their money without looking like you are a captive of the
activist left."
The blogs-vs.-establishment fight represents the latest version of a
familiar Democratic dispute. It boils down to how much national
candidates should compromise on what are considered core Democratic
values -- such as abortion rights, gun control and opposition to
conservative judges -- to win national elections.
Many Democrats say the only way to win nationally is for the party to
become stronger on the economy and promote a centrist image on cultural
values, as Kaine did in Virginia and as Bill Clinton did in two
successful presidential campaigns.
The new twist in this debate is the Web, which in recent election cycles
emerged as a powerful political force, one expected to figure even more
prominently as more people get high-speed connections and turn to the
Internet for news and commentary. Unlike the past, the "pressure is
conveyed through a faster, better organized, more insistent medium,"
said Jim Jordan, a Democratic strategist.
In the 2004 campaign, liberals used the Web to organize meetings and
raise money to power the unexpected rise of former Vermont governor
Howard Dean in the Democratic primaries. Dean, a newcomer to national
politics who connected with liberals with his antiwar position and
declaration to supporters that "you have the power" to change
Washington, shattered fundraising records and for months was considered
the front-runner in the race for the nomination.
But the Democratic establishment turned on Dean, and his grass-roots
operation was not as strong in reality as it appeared on the Internet.
Since then, liberal activists have created scores of political blogs and
used the Web as an organizing tool and a way to quickly vent
frustrations to Democratic leaders in Washington.
The closest historic parallel would be the talk-radio phenomenon of the
early 1980s, when conservatives -- like liberals now -- felt powerless
and certain they did not have a way to voice their views because the
mainstream media and many of their own leaders considered them out of
touch. Through talk radio, often aired in rural parts of the country on
the AM dial, conservatives pushed the party to the right on social
issues and tax cuts.
The question Democrats will debate over the next few years is whether
the prevailing views of liberal activists on the war, the role of
religion in politics and budget policies will help or hinder efforts to
recapture the presidency and Congress.
Even if they disagree with their positions, Democratic candidates
recognize from the Dean experience the power of the activists to raise
money and infuse a campaign with their energy. On the flip side, the
Alito and Kaine episodes serve as a cautionary tales of what can happen
to politicians when they spurn the blogs.
"John Kerry is beginning to bring the traditional Democratic leadership
in Washington together with the untraditional netroots activists of the
country," James Boyce wrote on the Huffington Post. "A man often accused
of being the ultimate Washington insider looked outside of the beltway
and saw the concern, in fact, the distress among literally millions of
online Democrats."
Other Democrats, Boyce wrote, "triangulated, fabricated, postulated and
capitulated."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/27/AR2006012701505.html?nav=hcmodule
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