My favorite overheard comment at Netroots Nation, said in reference to Roxanne Conlin, a Democrat challenging Chuck Grassley…a senator with a habit of shooting his mouth off online. Taking on an incumbent is rarely easy, particularly when you’re likely to be out-spent five-to-one, but in this case at least there’s apparently a chance of a self-inflicted Macaca moment. Perhaps he’ll take the opportunity to invent a new word?
– cpd
Just saw this in my twitter feed. While it’s a great point, she still has a pretty great chance even if he buttons up.
The ground work has been tremendous here in Iowa and she’s had a presence at almost every Democrat event I can think of over the last few months. She’s also the first real opponent he’s had in years and he clearly wasn’t prepared for that at first.
The ground game will be especially crucial this year since primary turn-out was very low last month. Grassley has historically been very good at building a strong rapport with his constituents, but Conlin has been shaking hands and winning favor with people who have never met Grassley. Her campaign has also done an excellent job of following up on these contacts to recruit volunteers.
And by the way, Conlin is using Twitter and Facebook heavily as well. Her posts are often fun, though, mentioning her favorite flavor of ice cream which she enjoyed between events. On the other side, the predominant tone of Grassley’s feed is “grouchy.”
Even though this may be a very tough year for Democrats, Conlin has a very good shot thanks to her own hard work.
[…] Cute intro! And a good fit for the candidate’s folksy style. Of course, Twitter isn’t always a positive for politicians — the last time Chuck Grassley’s Twitter feed appeared in the fine pages of Epolitics.com, the quote was, “as long as he has a Twitter account, she [his opponent] has a chance.” […]