Are The Netroots Being Played By Rove?

[kevinmc]

Andrew Sullivan

One reader thinks so:

I just wanted to say thank you so much for being the only blogger (aside from Al Giordano) who gets it. While the rest of the blogosphere (especially the liberal bloggers) lose their heads you are an island of common sense. Patience and Steel. Yes, yes. yes.

It also occurs to me that in a way McCain and Rove have actually simply taken over the liberal blogosphere in some way. They are being played.

Just a few examples---yesterday Obama gave a fantastic interview at the Service Forum. Did the liberal blogs even cover this? No.

He gave a great speech on the trail. Are his town halls even posted or excerpted? No.

Andrew Sullivan thinks so -

The liberal bloggers have become McCain central. They make people click on his ads, make the world spin around him instead of focusing on our candidate and what he is trying to do. There is ZERO coverage of what Obama is actually doing every day talking tough on the issues. There is ZERO coverage of Biden (who is on the trail but the blogs don't seem to care or cover him unless he is doing what they think he should be doing. Sadly AFP did cover him this week and people seemed to be too busy saying he was not doing anything to include the link with his forceful comments against McCain. The one time the blogs linked to Biden---when the MSM tried to make a big deal out his answer to a question that made Hillary look bad and he defended her. That was it).

McCain and crew realized early this cycle that they did not have a visible internet presence. So what did they do? They took over the liberal presence, they are manipulating the leading liberal blogs , just as they manipulate the MSM. All to their own advantage. And the blogs have all fallen for this hook, line and sinker. Does no one realize this?

They are all being played.

And Obama, god bless him, he gets it. As does his team. while everyone whines he keeps at it every day with much much class and like a laser focused on the issues. The problem is not Obama, is that no one wants to follow his lead. Instead they are following McCain-Rove and they don't even know it.

.
……and so do I

[morillon]

1. Sullivan has a point.

Ever since Palin appeared on the scene, coverage of Barack and Joe has been choked out. I'm going to make a conscious effort to seek out daily info about the two of them and post it wherever I can.

[bemildred]

2. It seems to me that TV and the newspapers have a good deal to do with it too?

And it is not like the "conservative blogosphere" is a bastion of order and focus on the "issues". Personally, I think the candidates are the "issues", just as much as anything else. How could they not be?

[OHdem10]

3. They are playing us like a fiddle. Deliberately goad so we will

attack Palen. They tell WOMEN how mean we are and women go to their side.

Ignore Palen like the Plaque. If the Media are so hapless as to accept
her, so be it.

[depakid]

4. There's not much coverage because the Obama campaign's not been controversial

The corporate media rarely covers feel good rallies on a national level.

And quite frankly, why would they? More often than not, it's the same basic stump speech.

[The Traveler]

5. Yep. Played like a fiddle.

Rove dangled something shiny and we lunged at it.

[silverweb]

6. It's within our power to change that dynamic.

I think we should each do the following:

(1) Put counterproductive threads on "hide thread" ignore and counterproductive posters on new post ignore (at least) so they fizzle.

(2) Emphasize factcheck and debunking threads to fight the smears and lies, and provide ammunition for interaction with others in our personal circles and daily lives.

(3) Emphasize posting, recommending, and kicking threads about the issues that matter, and about what Obama/Biden and supporters are doing to make this election a Democratic tidal wave win!.

Fired up and ready to go!

[wisteria]

7. I think we need to think things through and consider the possible outcomes

of what we post. Remember, there are operatives out there doing all they can to undermine Senator Obama's campaign and ruin his chances of winning the White House.

[grahamhgreen]

8. Agreed