star-t on blogging

so last week the star-t called some of us texas lefty bloggers for an interview regarding blogging and blog fundraising. i gave what i believe was the most inarticulate interview ever, and my most vapid quote made the article. vince, on the other hand, nailed it:

“We need to get Texas blog readers to devote their money to turn Texas blue instead of sending money to a guy in Connecticut,” he said, referring to Lamont.

so, so true. sure, it’s fun to observe the national races, but participation and change begins at home. i’ve hammered that message home with a bit more intensity as of late, and i hope it’s sinking in.

next year we’re planning on doing a revamp of the texroots selection process, and we hope to push it more aggressively. but i’m getting ahead of myself.

the texas progressive alliance can claim some credit in the race for tx-14, where democrat shane sklar is now on the dccc emerging races list. texroots endorsee and fighting dem juan garcia has been raking in endorsements and positive press, and i’d like to imagine that the 500,000 extra eyeballs who read about juan’s campaign on the texas progressive alliance has something to do with that.

let me just say this, because i think it somehow got lost in translation. raising money is great, but sometimes positive press coverage can make a world of difference for a campaign that’s struggling or on the bubble.

i don’t think i’ve specifically mentioned the barrier to entry that is created by the corporate media. based on my communications with reporters, the corporate media doesn’t take candidates seriously unless they are raising funds. that’s the criteria. no money = no media… unless of course it’s scandalous.

a candidate’s bank balance should not determine their crediblity. i find it outrageous that the media – especially editorial boards – are so biased in favor of those who have money or incumbency on their side. a politician can have millions of dollars in the bank and still be corrupt and unfit to serve (i’m looking at you, tom delay). the poorest person has the potential to become a great statesman.

yet another reason to support public financing of campaigns.

going beyond raising money, i feel that generating buzz is another important function of networks like the texas progressive alliance. there are so many good examples of this as of late: muse musings leading the charge on john davis’s ethics violations, BOR and kinky’s racist remarks, just another matt and BOR and everyone who was involved in getting john courage onto the national netroots list…

buzz can be almost as important in generating positive media.

unfortunately i don’t think the corporate media gets it. even aman, who asked intelligent questions during our interview, concludes his article by parroting some lame conventional wisdom about bloggers being ideological purists. with all due respect, if that’s true, then why are moderates harry reid, john tester, jim webb, scott kleeb, larry grant, and claire mccaskill such rockstars in the liberal blogosphere right now?

on top of that, the article includes the obligatory slam at howard dean, claiming howard’s some raging liberal. i guess being a fiscally conservative social moderate is liberal in bush’s america. but slams at howard and smears against the liberal bloggers are nothing new. i just really didn’t realise while i was giving the interview that the article was going to take that tone. aman, i wish you would have asked me about *that* instead.

but web hits are web hits, i suppose, so welcome to everyone who pops by here thanks to the star-t. stick around, especially if you’ve got a critical mind and a curious intellect.