NYT: Conservative Blogs are More Effective

New York Times ^ | December 11, 2005 | MICHAEL CROWLE

[West Coast Conservative]

When the liberal activist Matt Stoller was running a blog for the Democrat Jon Corzine's 2005 campaign for governor, he saw the power of the conservative blogosphere firsthand. Shortly before the election, a conservative Web site claimed that politically damaging information about Corzine was about to surface in the media. It didn't. But New Jersey talk-radio shock jocks quoted the online speculation, inflicting public-relations damage on Corzine anyway. To Stoller, it was proof of how conservatives have mastered the art of using blogs as a deadly campaign weapon.

That might sound counterintuitive. After all, the Howard Dean campaign showed the power of the liberal blogosphere. And the liberal-activist Web site DailyKos counts hundreds of thousands of visitors each day. But Democrats say there's a key difference between liberals and conservatives online. Liberals use the Web to air ideas and vent grievances with one another, often ripping into Democratic leaders. (Hillary Clinton, for instance, is routinely vilified on liberal Web sites for supporting the Iraq war.) Conservatives, by contrast, skillfully use the Web to provide maximum benefit for their issues and candidates. They are generally less interested in examining every side of every issue and more focused on eliciting strong emotional responses from their supporters.

But what really makes conservatives effective is their pre-existing media infrastructure, composed of local and national talk-radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh, the Fox News Channel and sensationalist say-anything outlets like the Drudge Report - all of which are quick to pass on the latest tidbit from the blogosphere. "One blogger on the Republican side can have a real impact on a race because he can just plug right into the right-wing infrastructure that the Republicans have built," Stoller says.

[Caipirabob]

A sustainable intellectual arguement beats out a fascist rant any day. Little energy wasted on "wonder" here. : )

[BunnySlippers]

I read this early this morning. Notice how he says liberal blogs debate ideas ... even to the point of being critical of their own. But conservative blogs use emotion to defeat the opponant ... without debate.

[SmoothTalker]

Having truth on our sides helps.

[paulat]

You might enjoy these:

The Year in Ideas (MY SECOND FAVE NYTIMES MAG OF THE YEAR...JUST A FUN ISSUE)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1538367/posts

In Vitro Meat (AAAACCCCKKK!!!)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1538392/posts

[BUSHdude2000]

I still think it's hilarious that these losers consider Drudge and his website to be conservative.

[Jim Robinson]

LOL

[Political Junkie Too]

Liberals use the Web to air ideas and vent grievances with one another, often ripping into Democratic leaders. (Hillary Clinton, for instance, is routinely vilified on liberal Web sites for supporting the Iraq war.) Conservatives, by contrast, skillfully use the Web to provide maximum benefit for their issues and candidates. They are generally less interested in examining every side of every issue and more focused on eliciting strong emotional responses from their supporters.

I think he has his parties flipped.

-PJ

[Sofa King]

What a pantload.

"After all, the Howard Dean campaign showed the power of the liberal blogosphere."

The power to do what? Come in 3rd, scream, and then burn out?

[HardStarboard]

>>>Having truth on our sides helps.<<<

Not to mention, reason, rationality, common-sense, patriotism, sense of duty, morality, clear-headedness, and compassion vs hate!

[LK44-40]

Liberals use the Web to air ideas ...Conservatives, by contrast, skillfully use the Web to provide maximum benefit for their issues and candidates

Yea, sure. Libs don't need to shill for their candicates because they have THE NEW YORK TIMES, source of this alledged news, to do it for them.

And yet, they are the paranoid ones.

[freedumb2003]

After all, the Howard Dean campaign showed the power of the liberal blogosphere.

Yup -- that's why Kerry is President today.

[gaijin]

And the times, a they are a-changin....BACK!

[finnman69]

Kos is a blog for whining posers. All talk, no action.

[BluH2o]

As always consider the source ... the NY Times complaining about FOX, Drudge, Rush Limbaugh is rich.

[digger48]

I would imagine it would have something to do with the collective IQ of the bloggers and their readers.

Total stranger to both should spend 5 minutes in FR and DU , and tell me I'm wrong.

(I've never been able to take more than 2 1/2 minutes in DU, myself)

(followed by a 20 minute shower and a hearty de-lousing)

[JamesP81]

I read this early this morning. Notice how he says liberal blogs debate ideas ... even to the point of being critical of their own. But conservative blogs use emotion to defeat the opponant ... without debate.

This is, of course, seen through the lense of a leftwinger. He's on to something, however he doesn't want to say what it is, so he dresses it up as something else.

It's true that liberal blogs vent grievances profusely. Conservative blogs also do this, but the difference is that conservative bloggers are highly effective at motivating their readership to Do Something, such as writing your Congresscritter, calling in on talk radio shows, organizing campaigns to support local politicians, etc. Liberal blogs don't do this. They just whine.

[tjg]

They (conservatives)are generally less interested in examining every side of every issue....

What nonsense. At DU they don't even allow you to post if you're not a lib. Go over and look at that place. That's examining every side? Please.

However, if the sentence above were applied to conservative talk radio, I'd be more inclined to agree.

[gaijin]

They are generally less interested in examining every side of every issue and more focused on eliciting strong emotional responses from their supporters.

Amazing, isn't it? That sounds just like us, or like Rush, talking about the libs.

This is infuriating, yet at the same time oddly pleasing; it means that the enemy is soundly asleep in the face of the REAL REASONS for their decline.

And that means they'll KEEP declining.

[marsh_of_mists]

I've heard this garbage before. It plays into the notion that liberals lose because "nice guys finish last". No liberals lose because their ideology is unpopular with the American people. And as for liberal blogs being so intellectual honest and critical, while conservative blogs aren't, I mean does this even have to be examined? A crowd of liberals is this biggest echo chamber imaginable! They're critical of Hillary, yeah, because she's strayed a bit from their anti-war leftist dogma. And while we may (finally!) have some conservative media outlets on our side, they still have the rest of the media: CNN, NBC, CBS, New York Times, Washington Post, etc, etc, which are only secretly liberal and so are covertly feed a wide audience liberal talking points.