Writing in the Washington Times, Jim Geraghty of the TKS blog (formerly "The Kerry Spot") on National Review Online, considers the role of bloggers in the Supreme Court nominations of Harriet Miers and Samuel Alito.
Geraghty asserts that the debate in Washington is now set by blogs. I think he is wrong about that. The main stream media still set the debate. Blogs can, and occasionally do, have a significant impact on the debate. Just ask CBS about RatherGate.
Nevertheless, Geraghty is quite perceptive in analyzing the dramatically different effects blogs have had on each of the two parties.
When Miers was nominated, conservative blogs skeptical of Miers demolished every argument the White House put forth to support her nomination. Geraghty writes that Republican Senators read those posts:
Conservative Republican senators on Capitol Hill read these blogs. They picked up on the grumbling, and echoed it to the White House. Soon it became clear that Harriet Miers was a disappointing choice to a significant chunk of Mr. Bush's base, and that no Democrat was willing to lift a finger to help her chances.
President Bush eventually got the word, regrouped and nominated Judge Alito.
Geraghty argues the conservative bloggers saved the president, allowing him to correct a political mistake that was fracturing his base. Geraghty compares this positive result lead by the right side of the blogosphere to the left leaning bloggers pushing Democrats of a cliff without a parachute:
Unfortunately for the Democrats, these bloggers are pushing them relentlessly to take a more combative stance, even when the odds are not in their favor, and failure has serious consequences.
[. . .]
From the lefty bloggers, one would never know that polls showed Samuel Alito was supported by about 53 percent to 55 percent of Americans, and opposed by only 27 percent to 30 percent. Democrats in Bush-supporting red states couldn't dare support a filibuster of a popular nominee, and every Republican senator except Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island knew the political wind was at their backs -- and even Chafee couldn't bring himself to support a filibuster of a qualified, well-liked nominee.
[. . .]
But bloggers on the left are pushing their party into a difficult wilderness. The angry "net-roots" denounce any Democrat for deviating from their agenda, without a moment's thought of trying to run for re-election with a liberal record in West Virginia, North Dakota or Nebraska.
Geraghty sums up the dichotmy between the synergistic relationship between blogs and politicians on the right and the growing disfunctional relationship on the left:
Republicans can find strength and success by listening to their like-minded bloggers; Democrats can find strength and success by ignoring theirs.
Makes you wonder why prominent Democrats have so embraced liberal bloggers. According to Geraghty, Senators John Kerry, Barack Obama, Russ Feingold and Barbara Boxer have posted on Daily Kos, and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid will be addressing a Kos reader convention in Las Vegas. On the House side, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi gave her response to the State of the Union on the Huffington Post.
Similar thoughts posted at Can't See the Center ....
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