Obama and the "Battling Blogosphere"

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: Not Such a Hit in the Battling Blogosphere
By Jose Antonio Vargas
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 8, 2008; Page A08

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- As Sen. Barack Obama continues a strategy of appealing to Republicans and independents, an influential and vocal group within his own party -- the liberal blogosphere -- faces an identity crisis of sorts.

Last week, Markos Moulitsas Z¿niga, founder of the popular blog Daily Kos, accused Obama (D-Ill.) of embracing a "right-wing talking point" as he campaigned and said: "I don't want to go into the next election starting off with half the country already not wanting to vote for Democrats. We've done that in 2004, 2000." In a blog post headlined "Obama slams Gore," Moulitsas wrote: "Psst, Barack, slamming John Kerry and Al Gore is what Republicans do. Last time I checked, Gore won his election. And really, is Obama going to argue now that the nation was divided because of the Democrats' fault? Is that the latest right-wing talking point he wants to peddle?"

At the heart of the tension lies an important challenge for a growing community that has helped redefine and re-energize the left wing of the Democratic Party. What happens to the brawling, highly partisan Net-roots movement when the party's leading candidate campaigns on bipartisanship -- and wins on it?

"Obama doesn't fit our style. He's not combative. He's not aggressive. He doesn't talk about Republicans the way you'd hope he would," said Dean Barker, co-founder of the blog Blue Hampshire.

While the Net roots has no leader or spokesman -- Moulitsas, now a columnist for Newsweek, is perhaps its most recognizable face -- it is, at core, a loosely knit community of partisans who want to elect Democrats and move the national conversation to the left. Former senator John Edwards (D-N.C.), who has courted liberal bloggers for more than two years, has been a favorite. Two years ago, Obama tried reaching out, writing in a posting on Daily Kos that a take-no-prisoners approach by the left would not work. "I think this perspective misreads the American people," he said. "From traveling throughout Illinois and more recently around the country, I can tell you that Americans are suspicious of labels and suspicious of jargon."...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/07/AR2008010702944.html

[robbedvoter]

1. Like EU, Kos & al have been paid in advertisements by Edwards for years now

and personally massaged by Elisabeth. They are now the "Establishment" to the new voters Obama brought in - and they react like the print press reacted to bloggers - these newfangled whipper-snappers - who do they think they are?

[Larkspur]

4. Kos the new Establishment? You're drinking Obama's Lieberman-ade.

Kos is the anti-Establishment and Obama is closer to the corrupt Establishment than Kos. Lieberman was Obama's mentor and his bi-partisan rhetoric is right from Lieberman's playbook. Obama's campaign is also stocked with former Bill Clinton aides and supporters.

Obama has yet to face real right wing opposition. It will come. Right now they and the MSM are buttering up Obama, just like they did Hillary, and when he makes a slip up, they will pounce on him, just like they did Hillary, Howard Dean, John Kerry and Al Gore.

[robbedvoter]

11. Funny thing, I didn't even know about Newsweek when I wrote this.

Seems I was more "with it" than I knew.
I am not drinking anything. I am not in any candidate's camp. Just observing closely.

[avaistheone1]

12. I agree. As I recall Edwards won all the polls on KOS.

Seems Obama's popularity has risen with dollars that the corporate lobbyists have filled his campaign coffers with.

[frazzled]

2. Obama was never embraced by the netroots

nor really any blogger.

That is what made me think early on that he had a very good chance to do well in the primaries.

[robbedvoter]

3. Not the old, 2004 "netroots" - but the new ones. It's how he raised money

and mobilized the big turnouts of young people. Get with it already - Kos ain't kingmaker anymore.
here's an interesting article on it from mydd
http://mydd.com/story/2008/1/5/223227/6768

[Larkspur]

6. Kos was never a kingmaker. only in your delusions was he in that role

Obama is not the American Messiah and his supporters will crash like a drug addict when they wake up and find that Obama is Bill clinton ver 2.0. Bill campaigned on an FDR-like platform but after taking the WH, he became the best Republican Prez since Eisenhower. Thanks to Bill, we have NAFTA which is shipping good paying jobs out of our country and he did little to stop corporations from getting out of paying their fair share of taxes.

Obama supported the Peru Free Trade deal and lied that the AFL-CIO support it. The AFL-CIO opposed it. Obama campaigned against the Iraq war but after being in the senate his votes on Iraq nearly mirror Hillary's.
Obama has a penchant to make the hype but he doesn't live up to it.
The movement that is carrying Obama will have to pressure him to stay leaning to the Left if we want to make this country better.

[robbedvoter]

8. I was never deluded about kos - not even a fan - but a lot of new media, the DNC

was giving Kos a lot of publicity. Air America and I've seen him on teevee a lot.
I think a lot of Edwards supporters thought that if they got the Kos, they got the "hipsters" - but the joke was - they got outpaced and left behind.

[avaistheone1]

13. The kingmakers are the corporate interests who are funding Obama's campaign.

I have a real problem with that.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

14. Ha!

I thought the same thing. After 2004 and the Lieberman debacle in 2006, I think it's time for the netroots to take a break...

[Eurobabe]

5. Kos sold-out to MSM Newsweek? Interesting.

I always hated that guy. He's full of himself.

[Larkspur]

7. I'm glad Kos got the Newsweek stint

We need a Progressive in the MSM.

[robbedvoter]

10. Ha!Ha! I remember naive people cheering about jack Tapper! I even used to like Begala

once upon a time. And some people might have thought like you when Snafulopagos got a job with ABC...
Anyway, I didn't even know about newsweek when I started writing this - it sorta confirms the "dinosaurus blogosphere" concept I've been working on.

[Larkspur]

15. Who's Jack Tapper?

Never heard of him.

[robbedvoter]

16. He was at Salon.com - "progressive" on line journal - and wrote tepid accounts

of the 2000 theft - good enough for some. Salon was the former dinosaur, before Kos. Eventually they hired people like Andrew Sullivan and most people moved on.
The blogs became the next refuge of the news seekers. Now I go to places like digg, and still mydd for them. Kos is too beholden to one candidate to be a news source.
I wrote a bit more in depth on the fate of the blogosphere here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3993559&mesg_id=3993559

[Larkspur]

18. How can Kos be beholden to a candidate when he hasn't picked one?

Kos is for reforming and revitalizing the Dem Party from the grassroots up. He's not opposed to Obama per se. Like me, he's suspicious of Obama's high foluting talk, a talk that is not backed up by actions and talk that is contradicted by some of the votes he's made in the Senate.

Unlike the public Obama, Kos recognizes the corruption inside the Dem Party as well as the Republican Party. Kos is a supporter of the 50 State Strategy, which is geared to help rebuild the Dem Party around the nation.

[robbedvoter]

9. I am not sure if he "sold out" but got a bit cocky with the king making IMO

They were too cozy with the DNC too to remain credible as "media" and too much part of one campaign to preserve any credibility in the end.

[Eurobabe]

17. that's why I think he's a jackass

too cocky for my tastes. So full of himself. Whatever.