Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Bloggers shut down campaign


I'm sure most of you are aware by now that Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., lost his primary election yesterday.
I'm also sure many of you have heard that Lieberman's website crashed yesterday -- on election day.
But you may not have heard about the impact bloggers and groups like NetRoots had on the campaign.
TIME magazine gives the rundown for you: "The Unmaking of a Senator: How Bloggers Pulled It Off" - With Lieberman's primary loss, the netroots movement has established itself as a power center among Democrats. But will its influence haunt the party in November?
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 Democratic primary, 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 essentially kicked Joe Lieberman out of the Democratic Party.
Makes groups like TexRoots sound a lot more viable.

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