NYTimes frontpage!
If any more proof were needed of the rising influence of
bloggers — at least for the Democratic Party — it could be found here
on Friday on the Las Vegas Strip, where the old and new worlds of
American politics engaged in a slightly awkward if mostly entertaining
clash of a meeting.
The crowd attracted to the convention demonstrated that blogging has
become a way for candidates to organize and communicate with voters.
There were the bloggers — nearly a thousand of them, many of them
familiar names by now — emerging from the shadows of their computers
for a three-day blur of workshops, panels and speeches about politics,
the power of the Internet and the shortcomings of the Washington media.
And right behind them was a parade of prospective Democratic
presidential candidates and party leaders, their presence a tribute to
just how much the often rowdy voices of the Web have been absorbed into
the very political process they frequently disdain, much to the
amazement, and perhaps discomfort, of some of the bloggers themselves.
"I see you guys as agents of advocacy — that's why I'm here," said Gov.
Bill Richardson of New Mexico, a Democrat and a prospective 2008
presidential candidate, who flew here at the last minute to attend the
YearlyKos 2006 Convention. Bloggers, Mr. Richardson said later, "are a
major voice in American politics."
They may think of themselves as rebels, separate from mainstream
politics and media. But by the end of a day on which the convention
halls were shoulder to shoulder with bloggers, Democratic operatives,
candidates and Washington reporters, it seemed that bloggers were well
on the way to becoming — dare we say it? — part of the American
political establishment. Indeed, the convention, the first of what
organizers said would become an annual event, seems on the way to
becoming as much a part of the Democratic political circuit as the Iowa
State Fair.
One minor quibble: as I recall, this really isn't the first
yKos event. There was a smaller affair last year, following on the heels of
EschaCon, which was spontaneously organized by the community that grew up around
Eschaton, run by Atrios (aka Duncan Black, who is attending
yKos right now).
Regardless, the convention is a fascinating illustration of just how
the "netroots" community is maturing and growing beyond virtual
boundaries into "meatspace". We saw hints of that during the 2004
election cycle, most prominently with former Vermont Governor Howard
Dean, but that was merely the beta version and had lots of bugs.
Now people are finally figuring out how to synthesize the online and
offline worlds more effectively.
I wonder what it will mean for the 2006 midterms...