May 11th, 2007
Bloggers no fan of Clinton - but does it matter?
Sam Stein, writing at The Politico, identifies Hilary Clinton's "blogger problem" but wonders if it makes a difference. Are politicians and politics-watchers losing perspective with their obsesson with the "netroots" when they should be watching their base?
“Her model of doing politics is based on pandering to individual groups,” said MyDD’s Matt Stoller. He cited Clinton’s stance on Iran – “she’s giving cover to Bush’s strategy” – and her fundraiser with News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch as evidence that she’d rather triangulate than play the role of progressive.
Many bloggers, it seems, view Clinton as insincere and calculating - and they don't like being played.
“To most bloggers, authenticity is an important criterion. There is an allergic reaction to hypercautious politicians,” The Huffington Post’s Arianna Huffington wrote in an e-mail. “Hillary Clinton’s problem with the blogosphere is that she has been so calculating that you can smell it. Every thought has been processed through multiple channels in her and her consultants’ brains. It’s so fabricated.”
But the open question is still: Does Clinton need the netroots to win the primaries? A Daily Kos poll in April gave her only three percent support, while in a national poll Democrats gave her 36% support.
Even veterans of online politics caution against overvaluing the blogosphere’s significance. “Candidates have been obsessing about bloggers and ignoring their base,” said Zack Exley, director of online organizing and communications for the 2004 John Kerry campaign. “The candidates need to make a direct connection with their base and turn that base on and get the $100 million.”
At TechPresident David All thinks the candidates cannot so easily avoid netroots.
As an outside observer of the netroots movement, my perception is that the base of the Democratic Party is increasingly being pulled to the Internet - and therefore to the liberal netroots movement. The "power" if you will, is transferring from traditional Democratic base supporters like unions to online activists. If it's not completely shifting, it's at least balancing even.
If the netroots represent an early warning signal on voter perception, her 36% may easily be dragged down as Obama rises. On the other hand, those bloggers may be out of the mainstream and just as well ignored.
