Obama and the Netroots

VCubed, commenting on the post "Not Net-Rooting for Obama," on the Washington Post political blog, "The Trail":

I've also been constantly amazed at the "liberal" blogosphere's treatment of Obama. They endorse Edwards, a Dixiecrat whose voting record earned him the high mark of 32% from environmental defense groups to Obama's 100%; Edwards, whose experience and legislation in domestic and foreign policy isn't half of Obama's, who was a civil rights/constitutional law expert and attorney and elected to the state then U.S. Senate. (Edwards: lawyer, Senator one term, no major legislation, voted for Iraq War.) Now it's Dodd they're calling the go-to guy??!!

The liberal blogosphere is making itself more irrelevant this campaign season instead of more influential. Many are playing the old political games, forming PACs, which Obama won't take a dime from, and 527s, which Obama discourages all supporters from joining so there aren't smear ads put out against opponents "on his behalf" - don't do him any favors, says he.

Plain and simple: They don't fund or control Obama, Obama does not seek their undying favor, they are not the center of his political universe. Believe it or not, there are millions of people still without computers and/or internet access in the U.S., and many who have access never, ever visit a "liberal" political blog or read online news from MSM beyond the sports and weather and local news.

"Liberal" bloggers don't reach out to the elderly, or to people of color, and they still speak about the LGBT population as if it's one monolithic population - all white! It's not! Black, Asian, Latino LGBT folks deal with homophobes in the family every day, just as much as poor white LGBT folks do. If they're religious they go to intolerant churches, synogogues or mosques just for the fellowship of fellow believers, despite the vitriol they are subjected to. When there are enough of them, they form their own places of worship and tolerance.

Obama's church is one of those denominations that is open and accepting of all worshippers, gay or straight, black or white or Latino or Asian or Native American. Here in the California Bay Area, there is a church from Obama's denomination that is led by a black lesbian pastor, and has the only transgender gospel choir in the nation!

Tolerance increases with education, which increases with money or some lucky opportunities, that's just a fact.

Obama will address liberals' issues better and more honestly and directly than anyone, beholden to no one. They just don't seem to want a black man to be president - it's beyond me. I've never seen primarily white liberals (who predominate in those blogs) ignore such a stellar civil rights activist and attorney, constitutional law professor [qualified for the Supreme Court], grassroots activist, black candidate with a legislative, never mind environmental record like Obama's - not that we've ever had a candidate like that before.

Many of the "liberal" bloggers don't even stick to their professed liberal values. They say they'll vote for Hillary if she gets the nomination - as if she weren't the #1 recipient of lobbyist/PAC/527 dollars, and as if nominations drop into anyone's lap!

They don't work for a candidate in any way but blogging. Going door-to-door, doing outreach, volunteering, addressing the hundreds of issues all different people care about, face-to-face, that's really working for a candidate.

I think lots of these bloggers would freak out at walking out among different people with different values and beliefs to register voters and promote their candidate. That's why Dean lost; they thought they could just break away from their monitors at the last minute and yell their message out to people with very different lifestyles and win!

It's what I'm most grateful for with Obama - after reading his Audacity of Hope, I don't compartmentalize people by physical/ideological/religious identities anymore. I don't police what others should think, feel anymore. I'll have a discussion with anyone now and almost always find some common ground. I've made more progress getting "traditional" opposition to see my side than I ever made by rejecting, ridiculing and insulting people for their beliefs, and I see them as human beings again, not as categories.

Another poster here spoke the truth; it's like the bloggers are getting to be more and more like MSM; foment conflict with incendiary headlines to increase readership. The liberal blogosphere dumbs down readers/viewers/listeners just like MSM, it promotes rancor and shouting matches like MSM, and does nothing to get our democracy functioning to solve real problems.