[Mb-civic] Blogs Attack From Left as Democrats Reach for Center - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

Blogs Attack From Left as Democrats Reach for Center

By Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 28, 2006; A06

Democrats are getting an early glimpse of an intraparty rift that could 
complicate efforts to win back the White House: fiery liberals raising 
their voices on Web sites and in interest groups vs. elected officials 
trying to appeal to a much broader audience.

These activists -- spearheaded by battle-ready bloggers and making their 
influence felt through relentless e-mail campaigns -- have denounced 
what they regard as a flaccid Democratic response to the Supreme Court 
fight, President Bush's upcoming State of the Union address and the Iraq 
war. In every case, they have portrayed party leaders as gutless sellouts.

First, liberal Web logs went after Democrats for selecting Virginia Gov. 
Timothy M. Kaine to deliver the response to Bush's speech next Tuesday. 
Kaine's political sins: He was too willing to drape his candidacy in 
references to religion and too unwilling to speak out aggressively 
against Bush on the Iraq war. Kaine has been lauded by party officials 
for finding a victory formula in Bush country by running on faith, 
values and fiscal discipline.

Many Web commentators wanted Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), a leading 
critic of the Iraq war who advocates a speedy withdrawal, to be the 
opposition voice on the State of the Union night. Most Democratic 
lawmakers have distanced themselves from the Murtha position. "What the 
hell are they thinking?" was the title of liberal blogger Arianna 
Huffington's column blasting the Kaine selection.

"Blogs can take up a lot of time if you're on them," Kaine said to 
reporters Thursday. "You can get a lot done if you're not bitterly 
partisan."

The Virginia Democrat said he will not adjust his speech to placate the 
party's base. "I'm not anybody's mouthpiece or shill or poster boy for 
that matter. I'm going to say what I think needs to be said and they 
seem very comfortable with that."

Liberal activists seemed to have slightly more influence with their 
campaign to persuade Senate Democrats to filibuster the Supreme Court 
nomination of Samuel A. Alito Jr. Despite several polls showing that the 
public opposes the effort, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) on Thursday 
strongly advocated the filibuster plan -- and wrote about his choice on 
the Daily Kos, a Web site popular with liberals. Sen. Robert C. Byrd 
(D-W.Va.), a leading liberal and critic of the Iraq war, told reporters 
Kerry's viewpoint is not shared by most in a culturally conservative 
swing state such as West Virginia. Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid 
(D-Nev.) also opposes the filibuster.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is another frequent target of the 
Internet attacks. Code Pink, an antiwar women's group with a flashy Web 
site, plans to protest one of Clinton's weekend fundraisers and is using 
the Web site to rally people against the New York Democrat. The critics 
say Clinton has not challenged Bush aggressively enough on Iraq.

"The bloggers and online donors represent an important resource for the 
party, but they are not representative of the majority you need to win 
elections," said Steve Elmendorf, a Democratic lobbyist who advised 
Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign. "The trick will be to harness their 
energy and their money without looking like you are a captive of the 
activist left."

The blogs-vs.-establishment fight represents the latest version of a 
familiar Democratic dispute. It boils down to how much national 
candidates should compromise on what are considered core Democratic 
values -- such as abortion rights, gun control and opposition to 
conservative judges -- to win national elections.

Many Democrats say the only way to win nationally is for the party to 
become stronger on the economy and promote a centrist image on cultural 
values, as Kaine did in Virginia and as Bill Clinton did in two 
successful presidential campaigns.

The new twist in this debate is the Web, which in recent election cycles 
emerged as a powerful political force, one expected to figure even more 
prominently as more people get high-speed connections and turn to the 
Internet for news and commentary. Unlike the past, the "pressure is 
conveyed through a faster, better organized, more insistent medium," 
said Jim Jordan, a Democratic strategist.

In the 2004 campaign, liberals used the Web to organize meetings and 
raise money to power the unexpected rise of former Vermont governor 
Howard Dean in the Democratic primaries. Dean, a newcomer to national 
politics who connected with liberals with his antiwar position and 
declaration to supporters that "you have the power" to change 
Washington, shattered fundraising records and for months was considered 
the front-runner in the race for the nomination.

But the Democratic establishment turned on Dean, and his grass-roots 
operation was not as strong in reality as it appeared on the Internet. 
Since then, liberal activists have created scores of political blogs and 
used the Web as an organizing tool and a way to quickly vent 
frustrations to Democratic leaders in Washington.

The closest historic parallel would be the talk-radio phenomenon of the 
early 1980s, when conservatives -- like liberals now -- felt powerless 
and certain they did not have a way to voice their views because the 
mainstream media and many of their own leaders considered them out of 
touch. Through talk radio, often aired in rural parts of the country on 
the AM dial, conservatives pushed the party to the right on social 
issues and tax cuts.

The question Democrats will debate over the next few years is whether 
the prevailing views of liberal activists on the war, the role of 
religion in politics and budget policies will help or hinder efforts to 
recapture the presidency and Congress.

Even if they disagree with their positions, Democratic candidates 
recognize from the Dean experience the power of the activists to raise 
money and infuse a campaign with their energy. On the flip side, the 
Alito and Kaine episodes serve as a cautionary tales of what can happen 
to politicians when they spurn the blogs.

"John Kerry is beginning to bring the traditional Democratic leadership 
in Washington together with the untraditional netroots activists of the 
country," James Boyce wrote on the Huffington Post. "A man often accused 
of being the ultimate Washington insider looked outside of the beltway 
and saw the concern, in fact, the distress among literally millions of 
online Democrats."

Other Democrats, Boyce wrote, "triangulated, fabricated, postulated and 
capitulated."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/27/AR2006012701505.html?nav=hcmodule
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