Goldy at Horsesass posted today that hits home to me based on a recent e-mail conversation I had with a local active democrat here on the east side. And it is particularly because I sense that the Democratic Party does not understand the power blogs have over public opinion. From Goldy's post:
Last January, after snagging a free ticket to the inauguration, I finally got a chance to confront a top Dem communications staffer, and used the opportunity to plead with them to find some money to spend on radio ads and direct mail to combat the GOP misinformation campaign. The response? The staffer turned towards the surrounding throng and incredulously asked, “Is he telling me how to do my job?”
I find this extremely disturbing because it doesn't acknowledge the impact bloggers are having in the political arena. For example, I cannot tell you how much e-mail I get (or have gotten) from friends and co-workers that is conservative propaganda designed to incite opinions against democratic values. The thousands of recycled jokes about Clinton, the heart felt stories about soldiers and widows, speeches from statesmen and the like. Do you think this is by accident?
Ironically much, if not all, are either outright lies, untrue stories, or out of context political slant. And they almost always come from one source. Conservative blogs and web sites. And unless you have been living under a rock for the past decade, it has an effect on public opinion.
This is what I got from my local democrat (I hold no harm to him because I believe he is an informed democrat and a good person. This is not an attack on him, just an entrance to an idea that I think is flawed).
The freedom to speak [and write] is only one part of the communication equation. How many registered voters even vote, let alone read blogs. Or for that matter have ever read a blog? So even if a blog presents factual, relevant and I'll throw in persuasive argument, who takes the time and has the interest to read them? As much as you'd like to believe that blogs are becoming THE vehicle for news it's unrealistic.
The more I write, and the more I learn, the more I understand that it is very real. It does have an impact. And it is, and has, been used by republicans about as long as blogs have been around. And if my Outlook "Deleted Items" is any indication, they are being read.
Lastly, the argument that blogs are only being read by those who share the same opinions may be in some ways true (with at least the exception of Horsesass... the trolls are hot and heavy in the comment section), it is at the very least an accurate assumption that opinions that are based on observations and facts do have an impact on public opinion. It can also be said, sadly, that those that are not, have impacts as well.
Cross Posted at McCranium