“All the world is a stage,” Shakespeare wrote. “And the men and
women merely players.” Never has that been more true than in the
Internet area, with ordinary folks using personal blogs as
soapboxes. Some of these bloggers reach huge audiences — think
Daily Kos, the Huffington Post, Michelle Malkin, and Pajamas
Media — while others just write for their small circle of
friends. And others still are working to become local political
dynamoes.
Jason Bane, for example, founded Colorado Pols, a blog dedicated
solely to political news in Colorado. It is the most widely read
political website in Colorado, known for its inside information
and spunky commenters. According to Rocky Mountain Right, a
regional conservative blog, “Bane is a key player in the vaunted
‘Colorado strategy’ by liberals to turn the state blue in part by
using the internet.”
During this last election, Bane decided to see if he would have
as much luck running for County Commissioner (as a Democrat) as
he did operating an informative and snarky political blog. Voters
proved tougher customers than web surfers: He was crushed by the
incumbent. His blog, though, remains popular.
In Georgia, several bloggers have tried the transition from
blogging in their pajamas to hitting the campaign trail. Not yet
thirty, Chris Huttman, a Democrat blogger and activist — aka
Chris is Hardcore — ran against state Rep. Jill
Chambers, a Republican known for her energy and questionable
campaign tactics. While it was his second campaign and may not be
his last, young Huttman has failed to convince voters he can
represent their concerns as well as he can blog about them.
Chambers will finish her third term in office this year.
Other bloggers have fared better, even if they’ve set their
sights on smaller local prizes. Erick Erickson, another Georgian,
better known as the Managing Editor of Redstate, became a member of the Macon
city council after his success operating one of the most popular
conservative blogs out there. Yet another fellow Georgian, John
Heneghan, became a member of the Dunwoody City Council, after he
enjoyed success writing about politics on his blog.
More blogger-candidates are to follow in the coming election
cycle. Judd Legum, the founder of the liberal-leaning, incredibly
popular blog Think
Progress, is running for the Maryland state legislature. He
said he thought he was the first national blogger to run for
political office and wants to “bring the best values of the
progressive blogosphere…to the statehouse in Maryland.” While
Legum’s not the first to run, it will be interesting to see if he
shares Erickson’s success.
Michael Brodkorb has been doing political research for the
Republican Party of Minnesota and Republican candidates while
operating his personal blog Minnesota Democrats Exposed, one
of the most popular political blogs — on either side of the
political aisle — in Minnesota. This last year, Minnesotans who
read his blog recognized his name when he ran for delegate to the
Republican National Convention last year, and he was one of the
few “average” citizens to make the cut alongside Governor Tim
Pawlenty and Senator Norm Coleman. This year, he’s running
alongside another longtime politico for the position of Deputy
Chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota. While it’s not an
elected office in the traditional sense, it’s a position of
influence that goes beyond using the keyboard and mouse.
Failures and successes aside, the mere existence of a handful of
bloggers testing the transition from cyberspace to political
office makes one wonder if more people will try to make writing
from an Internet café to ranting in a local state house a habit
in cycles to come.
Only time will tell if this becomes a major trend. Until then, we
can watch the blogger-pols’ trial and error — while wearing our
PJs, just like them.
