Mitch can see it
. He posted today on something many of us know, feel, sense building—like the storms of late summer that hit in the wee hours of the evening—the left flank is putting everything they have into 2008. And unlike the right, there is a lot of money behind them.
It’s similar among bloggers. The “Class of ‘04” - the surge of center-right blogs and writers that kicked off during the ‘04 campaign - was, and remains, the most dynamic group of political bloggers in the US. But you could feel a collective fatigue, in some ways, after the ‘06 elections. Many of the ‘04 blogs went dormant; some of the bloggers flamed out (although the MOB’s attrition is lower, I suspect, than for just about any other group of 100-odd blogs you can find); others, tired of having to churn stuff out every day, dropped their own blogs to join one the big superblogs (Freedom Dogs, Anti-Strib, TvM) that are positioned to be so very important in this next go-round. I know I took a step back from politics for a while after the election, and I’m still not entirely back into it.
Yet.
But that’s going to have to change. There’s a new election season coming up, and it’s going to be huge - even without the Republican National Convention and the hordes of mischievous pranksters following it to Saint Paul next September. It’s going to be a donnybrook, on the state and federal levels, here in Minnesota. The Presidential context will once again have Minnesota teetering on the brink of Red and Blue, and our ten electoral votes are mighty tempting to both parties. The Senate race will be the dirtiest in Minnesota history, and the ACORN volunteers will be floating down our streets on waves of George Soros’ money. In Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty stood athwart the flood of DFL tax-’n-spend proposals like the Finns at Suomussalmi, outfoxing and outmaneuvering his bovine, lumpen enemies and their “All Your Money Is Ours!” platform. The Dems’ majority in the House is built on sand, with a bunch of seats held by DFLers who won by paper-thin margins in traditionally-GOP-leaning districts; expect them to pour on the money, the dirt, and the media play to keep it that way.
True. The conservative foot soldiers in BPOUs, blogs and in campaigns have been on call like the minutemen for 3 hard-fought cycles now are looking for some new support. Sure we have a great resource in 1280, especially with the great state and metro coverage the NARN does on Saturdays. And Bob Davis does a bang-up job every morning on 1500, but we are up against all the TV channels, the newspapers, and the larger message indoctrination of Hollywood, the Universities and the public schools. We have our niche, but it's just that—bloggers that write for free, and radio hosts who talk for free.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not moaning for government oversight or regulation of speech in any way. It's not our style, nor is begging for funding—to be blunt, it's more than style, it's about principles. But putting out a question makes sense to me. I see in the same way that Mitch does a need for some sort of effort to counter the Soros octopus.
What will be the super energy pill, can of spinach or simple spark that gets the right back in the saddle, unified, focused? Maybe it's just getting past the summer doldrums. Everything seems to take on a new sense of purpose after Labor Day: back to school, new schedules, up early in the morning, harvest those crops, winterize the boat, get those holiday season planners going, football, hockey, Octoberfest... Stop! I'm getting fired up myself here. It's my guess things will start cracking somehow in just a few weeks.
