Wednesday, August 09, 2006

The unmaking of a senator: how bloggers pulled it off


That's not my headline for the story on the defeat of Sen. Joe Lieberman in Tuesday's Connecticut primary. It is taken directly from a Time magazine story posted today.
The article credits bloggers with kicking Lieberman out of the Democratic party:

The much-hyped Internet activists of the Howard Dean presidential campaign, liberal blogs like Daily Kos and activist groups like MoveOn.org had generated lots of buzz, but few results at the ballot box until now. But in Tuesday's Senate Democratic primary in Connecticut, the bloggers didn’t just get a win, but a victory no one could have expected even four months ago. Joe Lieberman wasn't just a three-term Connecticut Senator, he was only a few thousand votes from being the vice-president in a Democratic administration six years ago. And despite almost the entire Democratic establishment supporting his run against a virtually unknown businessman named Ned Lamont, including former President Clinton campaigning for him in Connecticut, the bloggers and Connecticut voters have for all intents and purposes kicked Joe Lieberman out of the Democratic Party.


Will Lieberman's loss end up being a one-shot for the blogosphere, or is it the dawning of a new era in politics? I have seen little evidence of a growing grass-roots blog movement in Missouri, though the Springfield bloggers are considering sponsoring forums to keep the public informed, that's a far cry from unseating a veteran politician or starting a new political movement.
I don't care for the idea that bloggers from outside of Missouri could take aim at a politician in this state and get him or her voted out of office, which is pretty much what happened to Joe Lieberman.
The real test of bloggers' power on a national level will be in November, when the spotlight focuses on more than one race. Can liberal bloggers deliver the House and Senate to the Democrats?
If that happens, then we know this political phenomenon is here to stay.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

No one "kicked Lieberman out of the Democratic Party" -- least of all bloggers.

The simple truth is that Lieberman's defeat is a referendum on his support for the War in Iraq.

Lieberman's a fine Democrat--but people are fed up with the President Bush's war.

The election came down to one issue and the people spoke.

Randy said...

You may very well be right. This is likely just a test race and we will know the answer for sure in November all across the country.