Saturday, April 19, 2008

Hillary hates us

By Libby Spencer

I'm not inclined to get that offended at Hillary's remarks berating progressive activists. The false representations of MoveOn's position are troubling but I'd bet there's not a living politician who hasn't privately expressed those same sentiments.

Of course they hate us. We've disrupted their cozy little lifestyle. Before the internets, activists were a nuisance but it took time to spread a message and the pols still had their private smoke filled rooms to retreat to, where they could express their honest views unnoticed and conduct the real business of "their people." Now the technology has allowed their every word to be instantly broadcast around the world and they have nowhere left to relax into their true personas.

The internet changed everything. Everyone knows it's the price you pay for holding public office, but living life in a fishbowl has a whole new meaning now that the older politicians are just beginning to grasp. I'm not surprised that it makes them cranky. Most people are creatures of habit and are discomfited by change.

(Cross-posted at The Impolitic.)

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2 Comments:

  • All due respect, Libby, and I say this as both a blogger and an agitator.

    We're worth a bucket of warm spit in the grander scheme. IF we're lucky, we'll force a story onto the news, and maybe get a story a month into the punditry on the MSM.

    People outside of political junkies pay no attention to us or our stories. If they did, Obama would be out of the race based merely on his ties to stolen Iraqi reconstruction monies, American tax funds. At best, they get third or fourth hand filters on our stories.

    That's not that much to be terrified of. The one thing that pols ARE terrified of, however, is the YouTube moment.

    By Blogger Carl, at 8:04 AM  

  • You know Carl, I think to a large extent you're right. Bloggers don't mean jack in terms of influencing the general public. Most of them still don't know we exist.

    However, we do influence the media narrative more than people realize I think. Hell, the media is so lazy they wait for us to fact check before they correct themselves. Granted we have to make a lot of noise to make that happen.

    And I've certainly heard the candidates repeat talking points I've read first on the blogs.

    Besides, isn't the YouTube moment driven by blogs as well?

    By Blogger Libby Spencer, at 10:33 AM  

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