Archived Posts
Sun, 13 Nov 2005
2006 campaigns and Florida's lefty blogs.
Political campaigns have realized the power of new media to share information and shape opinion. Weblogs are an integral component of our political discourse in the Digital Age.
The Florida Politics blog is the center of Florida's community of left-leaning political blogs. The position was earned through tireless effort, it is no sinecure.
FP has consistently brought the best online writers to our notice. While lefty blogs were favored, many conservative blogs were featured as well. This even-handed treatment demonstrated the honest attempt to incubate a growing community of open discourse in our state.
It is no surprise, then, that the Florida Politics blog has become a valuable resource for Democrats seeking office. The Florida Politics Community Blog offers a ready-made forum for Florida's citizens to address the issues they care about.
A politico would have to be dense to underestimate the role that blogs will play in the 2006 decision.
Rod Smith ain't dense.
Rod Smith for Governor of Florida 2006
Note that the the front page of the campaign site prominently features links to the best of Florida's lefty blogs.
Looking deeper into the site, one finds: "a list of weblogs that talk about issues relevant to this campaign."
Smith's campaign has openly adopted the Florida Politics blogroll. The campaign is soliciting suggestions for appropriate blogs to add to the list.
Further, they encourage citizens to involve themselves in the debate, by contributing comments to weblogs, or by starting their own blogs.
The site has a friendly disclaimer: "The bloggers are independent citizens. Some may support Rod Smith, some may not. Bloggers speak their mind. That's why we love them, even when they disagree with us."
Such a well-phrased disclaimer is needed. Most of the currently listed blogs fall in the spectrum from centrist to liberal, but conservative blogs were also included.
I applaud the openness of the campaign to include opposing points of view.
As Smith's site says: "It's all part of the new conversation so healthy for our democracy. "
I'm encouraged by the Smith campaign's choice to capitalize on the raw talent of Florida's political bloggers.
I doubt that a similar effort to utilize new media will be made by Charlie Crist's or Tom Gallagher's campaigns. Blogs are the voice of common folk, unedited. I don't imagine that the Republican gubernatorial candidates would care to be associated too closely with some of the individuals who support them.
Jim Davis hasn't yet positioned himself in Florida's blogosphere. Is the Davis campaign being cautious, or being clueless?
[Digression: Would linking to Florida's right-wing bloggers automatically be a liability for Republican candidates?]
[P.S Suggested reading for the candidates: What is RSS? Not one of Florida's gubernatorial or senate campaign sites has an RSS feed, neither does Katherine's fake blog.]
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