RK ARCHIVE - Virginia Netroots Outreach Ratings

The following ratings were derived following discussions by Ben and me. When we started, we didn't know if we'd agree, but as it turned out we were almost exactly in sync -- almost no quibbling at all. What's interesting is that the two leading Democratic blogs see the netroots outreach by major Virignia politicians almost identically. We believe that lends more credibility to the ratings than if we had been all over the place.

STATEWIDE
Tim Kaine: D+
From a policy side, Kaine gets an "F" from the netroots with almost no coordination with blogs to help push his agenda. Since it started earlier this year, Kaine's PAC has done a slightly better job (though sometimes erratic) on his behalf. Tim Kaine doesn't seem to get the blogs or feel comfortable here.

Mark Warner: D
His Presidential campaign spent a lot of time focused on the Virginia blogs and developing a plan for the Virginia blogs to defend Mark against any attack in the Presidential campaign. Mark also spent a lot of time courting the national progressive blogosphere. Since he dropped out, all we have heard is silence. B+ for the Presidential race planning, F since.

Jim Webb: B+
The opposite of Tim Kaine's office where we hear from the Senate office all the time and the political side of things is mostly silent. However, every time we have asked for anything from Jim he has done it (like helping launch the blog talk radio show).

Creigh Deeds: B
This one is harder to gauge. When we contact the Deeds office or Creigh they could not be any more responsive. That's good for stories we are pushing, but there is no real coordinated effort to play "offense" and push Creigh's agenda on the blogs.

Brian Moran: A
Brian has clearly decided he is going to make the internet a key to his 2009 campaign. From his relationship with national bloggers like Jerome Armstrong and Nate Wilcox, to their proactive strategy in pushing stories onto the blogs and their responsiveness whenever we ask a question, early signs show Brian has the best blog strategy going on right now.

(Please see the "flip" for Members of Congress and 2008 Potential Congressional Candidates)
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

Bobby Scott: F
No interest in the blogosphere at all that we have ever seen.

Jim Moran: B+
Jim seems to get the blogs and how to use them. So does his press office on the Hill. We don't hear much from the political side of the Moran machine but it may just be that it doesn't exist anymore because the seat is so safe.

Judy Feder: A-
Got off to a slow start with the blogs in 2006 but seemed to realize that error mid campaign and has been much more engaged since. Starting out 2008 right by hiring a netroots coordinator and starting her own blog "Farewell Frank".

Mike Turner: F
Lowell has never heard from him, and Mike's only email to Ben started out by calling him "Larry". D'oh!

Leslie Byrne: A
A superhero type figure in the blogosphere. Will she run in 2008?

Doug Denneny: B
Has done the best he could do so far. However we would have to see a lot more before he went higher than a "B".

Gerry Connolly: D
We won't fail him because we like James. Still, if there is a villain in the blogosphere it is Voldem... er, Gerry.

Shawn O'Donnell: B-
Gets an "A" for effort, but a C- for results. Needs to show some offline credibility to get the online crowd really excited.

Comments

Two points: (DanG - 9/5/2007 8:15:29 PM)

First... who the hell is Mike Turner?
Second... Go ahead and fail Gerry. You know you want to. All the cool people are doing. I fail Gerry all the time, man. Don't be such a square. :)

Very interesting... (Eric - 9/5/2007 8:19:46 PM)

In defense of Warner, I think it's pretty clear that he gets the blogosphere - as you point out about his Presidential efforts. The fact that he's been quiet lately is probably more an indicator that he's both taking a bit of a break (although not that much) and that he's been uncertain about what race he'll be entering. Now that the picture is much clearer due to the other Warner we may see Mark pick up the pace. And certainly once he enters whatever race he's going to enter. I'd stick with the B+ as the last recorded grade since he's taken the most recent semester off.

Connolly - didn't he just kick off a new blog or online presence or something? While I agree with you and Ben about the villain thing, doesn't he deserve a bit more credit for outreach given that effort... even if it's evil outreach ;-) Of course, if he only bought a domain name and posted a few pics then it's still a D.

Generally speaking, I agree (Ambivalent Mumblings - 9/5/2007 8:59:47 PM)

Here's my reaction to just a few of the people on the list.

Tim Kaine's office was kind enough to put me on their press list, but their response is usually pretty slow if I inquire about anything.

Judy's campaign has actively been reaching out to me since I mentioned in a post that I saw her at an event, but I didn't get the chance to talk to her. (It wasn't her fault we didn't get to talk at the event, just happened to turn out that way).

I met Doug Denneny at an event a few weeks ago has been in consistent contact with me ever since.

Mike Turner hasn't gotten in touch with me after I met him at the same event that I met Doug at even though I gave him my card and later sent him an email saying it was nice meeting him.

Who is Mike Turner? (GinterParked - 9/5/2007 9:49:21 PM)

Dunno. His website, http://miketurnerfor... returns this helpful message:

"This site will return with a new look soon. Please check back frequently."

Yeah, that'll beat Frank.

And the Repubs? (Kindler - 9/5/2007 9:58:42 PM)

Lowell, this discussion will be even more interesting if you compare Democratic to Republican treatment of bloggers.

Didn't the Repubs hire one right-wing blogger to be their official spokesman and name another one to be a judge?

99.8% accurate on my scorecard (Shawn - 9/5/2007 10:01:41 PM)

Thanks for the rating. I especially like the "A" for effort and the C- "for results" certainly reflects the 2006 election outcome. You might remember voters in Virginia's 1st District were given a real Democrat to vote for for the first time in a long time. I predict that if VA-01 becomes a targeted race the online crowd will have a lot to get excited about.

Jo Ann Davis (Chris Guy - 9/5/2007 10:37:43 PM)

is not a lock to run again next year. That certainly would make things interesting...

I hope she's ok health-wise. The death today of Rep. Paul Gilmor (R-OH) is a sobering reminder.

Well, we couldn't understand a word Jerry Kilgore (Lowell - 9/6/2007 8:23:34 AM)

was saying either. On second thought, that had nothing to do with his accent, it's just that his ideas made absolutely no sense to any sentient human being. :)

Just a hypothetical musing (Silence Dogood - 9/6/2007 10:01:49 AM)

but I just want to throw this out there and see if it sticks: do we think it's unreasonable to expect the Governor of Virginia and titular head of the Democratic Party to feel a little bit uncomfortable with the blogosphere when the OTHER blogger publishing this score card has immediately below it a post about a democratic candidate entitled "Downballot Douchebag - Part 5?"

Brilliant Diary Lowell!!!! (Dianne - 9/6/2007 10:19:51 AM)

I can't think of a more important topic to write about at the moment than the candidates' involvement with the Virginia voters through the Internet and most importantly the blogosphere! It's the logical and effective way to engage with voters and understand their feelings! (As an example of RK's positive influence, the DPVA's acknowledgement of and action on our blogging discussions of what we are unhappy about with them, giving them ideas, etc. They are now reaching out more to the voters through the Internet! They even hired a Communication's Director!)

We influence and implement change through the blogosphere .... and the sooner they realize it, the better off they will be!

Thanks again Lowell for such a good diary!