Can The GOP Get The Web?

11:46 am EST May 21st, 2007 | Republicans | 5 Comments

I think it’s inevitable that Republican politics will work on the web beyond being just an echo of the administration’s talking points, it has to if it wants to survive in any way. But the upside is, that day isn’t here yet. Markos Moulitsas (of Daily Kos) also drives home one of the points I frequently make about the con blogs:

“Progressives can claim to an actual movement that raises a lot of money, that helps put politicians in office. . . . Progressives can claim to actually having communities online, where an average Joe can have a voice, and not just a radio personality who happens to write a blog, too.”

Moulitsas was referring to Hugh Hewitt, a blogger and host of “The Hugh Hewitt Show.” His blog is on TownHall, one of the most popular conservative sites. The site is owned by Salem Communications.

Most of the top bloggers on the con side are people who were already in the conservative world. Glenn Reynolds wrote for conservative lobbyist James Glassman, Michelle Malkin came from Heritage, Redstate is owned by Regnery and founded by Republican operatives, etc. On the progressive side there are a lot more people like me who started my blog 7 years ago when I had spare time at the dotcom I was working for. I barely even knew what a think tank was then.

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5 Responses to “Can The GOP Get The Web?”

  1. doug r says:
    May 21, 2007 at 12:16 pm

    The GOP is trying to “get” the blogosphere as well. What do think that internet bill was all about?

  2. Trakker says:
    May 21, 2007 at 1:35 pm

    The article you refer to was largely a vehicle to pump up RW blogs, especially the new one by David All. How many new lefty blogs have gotten a boost like that? Did the WaPost write a nice article about your blog when you began blogging? I’ve worked hard to get up to 10 daily readers on my blog. David All now has a couple of hundred just from this article alone.

    Also, notice that DailyKos was the only lefty blog linked to in the article while the writer linked to FIVE RW blogs!

    You can read more of my rant at http://trakker.typepad.com/neon_gods/
    (told you I work hard-and shamelessly-to build readership) :)

  3. GravyPan says:
    May 21, 2007 at 1:54 pm

    “Progressives can claim to an actual movement that raises a lot of money, that helps put politicians in office”

    Well, if you think batting under the Mendoza line means ‘putting politicans into office…’

  4. Oliver says:
    May 21, 2007 at 2:22 pm

    Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid would like a word.

  5. Adam Herman says:
    May 21, 2007 at 4:24 pm

    I don’t think that’s accurate. The conservative blogosphere has a lot more non-media, non-political operative types than the liberal blogosphere. Think Den Beste, Porphyrogenitus, Volokh, Michael Totten, Roger Simon, James Joyner, Tacitus, and Charles Johnson.

    Sure, some of those aren’t doctrinaire conservatives, but they line up with the right more often these days than the left.