The blogging of Daschle ...
And why Tim Kaine might be next
Guest View
John Behan
Special to The Augusta Free Press
The political landscape may never look the same.
The 2004 presidential election saw the emergence of blogs - short for weblogs - as a type of open-source journalism with the ability to shape opinion and serve as a real political force to be reckoned with. The retirements (pending and otherwise) of Dan Rather and Sen. Tom Daschlem D-S.D., were spurred along, if not caused primarily, by bloggers - and their readers - around the world.
It is the interactive nature of blogs that make the medium so unique. In the past, the mainstream media - or Old Media, as bloggers call it (primarily television network news and The New York Times) - delivered the news, and the public consumed it. Today, blogs are the centerpiece (along with cable news and talk radio) of the New Media that, far from just delivering the news to hungry customers, allow the readership to comment on information as it is posted.
In fact, in the case of Rathergate, Powerline (www.powerlineblog.com), among others, led the charge, but it was the combined efforts of thousands of ordinary citizens who identified the documents upon which Rather relied as being bogus, and who spurred on the investigation into typewriters and fonts. Eventually, though Old Media (and especially CBS) was slow to pick up on the story, Rather was exposed as having used fraudulent documents in an attempt to smear a sitting president.
Then we have the case of Daschle, the former minority leader in the U.S. Senate. Daschle's loss in November to challenger John Thune has been attributed in part to the efforts of a group of local blogs that call themselves the Dakota Blog Alliance. The Alliance took on Daschle, scrutinized his record, and eventually the South Dakota (and national) press were unable to ignore them.
Jason Van Beek, a recent graduate of the University of South Dakota School of Law, is the man behind South Dakota Politics (http://southdakotapolitics.blogs.com), one of the more influential members of the Dakota Blog Alliance. Van Beek began his blog in January of 2003 "for one big reason: to challenge the (Sioux Falls) Argus Leader to scrutinize Democratic political figures in this state as closely as they did Republican figures. I envisioned a network of like-minded bloggers around the state of South Dakota who could add their thoughts and reinforce this message. This vision has succeeded beyond my wildest expectations."
That's an understatement. Soon, Van Beek was joined by history professor Jon Lauck's "Daschle v. Thune" blog (http://daschlevthune.typepad.com/) and Wes Roth (www.wesroth.com), along with several other South Dakota bloggers. The game was afoot, and Daschle never had a chance. The bloggers pointed out Daschle's obstructionist tactics in the Senate, and how he attempted to frustrate Republican goals at every turn. That was a big deal in South Dakota, which is a deeply red state. Many voters were surprised that the Daschle they thought they knew was different from the Tom Daschle who resided in D.C.
Interestingly, the efforts of the Dakota Blog Alliance have resulted in a new verb, "to Daschle," which has been loosely defined by The Hill as "to aggressively target for defeat a liberal Democrat who represents an otherwise solidly Republican state."
That's where Virginia enters the picture. Virginia, of course, is one of only two states in America that will be electing a new governor in 2005. (New Jersey is the other). The down-ticket races are taking shape, but the big battle is going to be the one for governor, between former attorney general Jerry Kilgore and Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine.
Like South Dakota, Virginia is a solidly red state:BNoth U.S. senators are Republican, as are eight of the 11 congressmen, majorities in both houses of the General Assembly, and two of the last three governors. Mark Warner ran as a centrist, which is the only way to get elected statewide if you have a D beside your name. Tim Kaine is an astute politician; he wants to run as the logical successor to Warner, a moderate Democrat who can appeal to the business community.
As he begins his campaign for governor, however, Kaine has a problem that Mark Warner didn't have: Kaine has a record (mainly from his service as mayor of Richmond) that can be scrutinized. That record includes liberal positions on gun control, taxes, capital punishment and a variety of other issues that are outside of the mainstream for Virginia, regardless of how much Kaine wants to paint himself as Mark Warner, version 2.0.
Already, an Old Dominion Blog Alliance has taken shape, led by Commonwealth Conservative (www.vaconservative.com). The ODBA has begun cutting through the spin coming from the campaigns, but the overarching goal is to identify the real Tim Kaine, not the prepackaged version of a candidate that he wants you to see.
As was the case with Thune in South Dakota, Virginia's center-right bloggers are greatly aided by having a solid conservative, Jerry Kilgore, at the top of the ticket. Kilgore is an excellent candidate for those on Virginia's center-right to get behind, and the role of bloggers in the political process is to give ordinary citizens a voice. That doesn't just apply to conservatives: Anyone, from the left, right or center, is allowed to voice their opinion on the Commonwealth Conservative blog, and that opinion will never be censored for its political content.
In discussing the Dakota Blog Alliance, Van Beek pointed me to a quote from Margaret Mead that sums up what bloggers can do, and are doing: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Blogs are revolutionizing politics and journalism. The next step may be Virginia's gubernatorial campaign. If so, Tim Kaine needs to be prepared. When red-state voters learn about the liberalism of those that wish to lead, the electorate can shift to the right. Just ask Tom Daschle.
John Behan is the pseudonym for one of Virginia's 120 elected Commonwealth's attorneys. He is also the internet's first elected blogger. His blog is located at www.vaconservative.com.
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