A lot has been written about Jim+óGé¼Gäós campaign in all different mediums, I guess it shouldn+óGé¼Gäót be a surprise since Jim himself is a writer and journalist. But much has been made of the blogosphere and their participation in and with the campaign.
There is no doubt Virginia has an extremely active blogging community and to say these bloggers are passionate about politics and about Jim winning would be underestimating their dedication. I have never been in a campaign where, before I talk to Jim about an event, a complete play-by-play of what happened is not only up on the blog but there are photos and comments as well. I have never been on a campaign where we+óGé¼Gäóve celebrated an endorsement, good story or great event (admittedly we can get loud in the Headquarters) and soon after it+óGé¼Gäós leaked on the blogs or there+óGé¼Gäós information up on the blogs about that discussion.
On the flip side, I have never been on a campaign where we can call on these supporters anytime of the day & they will be there to help us out.
The reality is we are living in different times and campaigns look very different. People continually say after Dean & Clark, "what do the blogs really mean? Does internet activity actually translate into votes?" Obviously not because they weren+óGé¼Gäót successful.
Here+óGé¼Gäós what I can tell you, our supporters who happen to blog don+óGé¼Gäót just pontificate on the issue of the day, who had more volunteers at an event, or express their frustration at a news story which wasn+óGé¼Gäót accurate (yes they do all that) BUT they actually put their time, energy and resources where their post are. They are the troops who take significant time out of their lives to gather signatures, put up signs, make calls, ask their friends for money & give it themselves. I have never seen a truly more dedicated group of people and a more active group of grassroots volunteers+óGé¼GÇ¥granted not all of our troops blog but you get the point.
Here+óGé¼Gäós the deal. Bloggers are never going to win or lose an election, just like a campaign manager, tech director, field director can+óGé¼Gäót win or lose an election by themselves+óGé¼GÇ¥good or bad it takes a village. But if they are willing to put their heart & soul into a campaign and tell you about it on a blog, why all the speculation? You better believe people like JC, Lowell, Greg, Kathy, William, Josh, Nicole, Ingrid, Ben, and all the many, many other blogging supporters were collecting signatures, doing parades, making phone calls, hitting doors, and I am sure will be bringing people to the polls. So ask yourself what that translates into.
The fact is campaigns have change with the times - we don+óGé¼Gäót do whistle stops anymore, we adjusted to CNN and the 24-hour news cycle, we don+óGé¼Gäót door knock with deck cards+óGé¼GÇ¥we actually use sophisticated online voterfiles, I could go on & on. But what the bloggers who drafted Jim into this race have done is truly say, "we will do all we can including pounding the pavement and making the dials to see Jim win." So this movement of sorts translates into a cutting edge, modern communications medium of people who are willing to not ignore the old fashioned voter contact and to do anything to get their man elected.