The big news in the online political world today is the now-annual gathering-of-the-lefty-tribe known as YearlyKos, and the Democratic presidential campaigns are on hand greet the potentially faithful. It’s in Chicago this time around, and apparently I’m missing a hell of a party (dammit). But, the techPrez kids are live-blogging it and the major developments are getting plenty of press coverage, so we’ll at least get the highlights — for instance, the DNC is happy to share opposition research on the Republican presidential candidates, though tragically, they seem to have left out the part about Romney being a robot.
Jose’s overview story in today’s Post hits on a couple of points frequently missing from the conversation when TV pundits talk about the lefty blogosphere:
There is no one leader, the name of the convention notwithstanding, and it’s a disparate, unorganized community that’s almost impossible to categorize. While the leading bloggers are in their 20s and 30s, the rank-and-file are older, in their 40s and 50s. The common assumption is that the Net roots is monolithic and full of ideologues. It is neither. It is made up of people who are mostly interested in getting Democrats elected — and making sure Democrats stay in power.
Non-commandante Markos also seems to have learned some humility, or at least the ability to project it:
“The fact is, the Net roots cannot win elections by ourselves,” Markos “Kos” Moulitsas Zúniga, founder of Daily Kos and the namesake of the event, said this week. “But we can be a key component to a winning Democratic strategy.”
Mainstream media and the pundit class often seem obsessed with the political blogs to the exclusion of the rest of online campaigning, but it remains true that each major lefty blog and online community gathers politically passionate people who are disproportionately likely to be active in supporting (or opposing) campaigns. David All is jealous — he wants the Right to have a Netroots community, too.
– cpd