You Can Prove A Point Here.
We've had another round of blogospheric outrage this week at Vernon Robinson's campaign tactics, including an
article here by Markos. I appreciate the shout out, but being in the middle of all of this isn't really all that much fun--so how many people now know that my wife and I can't have children?
I've already made an
appeal here for netroots help in my campaign, both for
volunteers and
contributions. Robinson's campaign will be stunningly nasty and I will have to struggle to raise the money I need, but I know there are plenty of Democratic challengers around the country that have a real shot at upsetting a Republican incumbent, and most of them will have a lot more trouble raising money than I will.
Larry Kissell here in North Carolina is a great example of a Democratic challenger who really needs your help. I encourage you to help as many worthy Democratic candidates as you can as much as you can.
If you don't live in North Carolina, the best reasons to help my campaign this year really have to do with the role of the blogosphere in the 2006 election.
First, you can prove that the progressive blogosphere is not just for political voyeurs, it's for activists. The blogosphere's gruesome fascination with Robinson feels kind of like it's at my expense sometimes. You can act on your revulsion for Robinson by
contributing to my campaign.
Second, and probably more important, this campaign will establish the political consequences of participating in the blogosphere, and the consequences of attacking it. You've already seen Robinson's
attack on DailyKos and on me for participating here. The North Carolina Republican Party is obviously wary of joining some of Robinson's attacks, but they have
joined enthusiastically in that one. "It is obvious that Brad Miller does not understand the difference between San Francisco values and North Carolina values," the Republican state chairman said in a press release attacking me for introducing Markos at a Crashing the Gates event in Raleigh. "I think voters of the Thirteenth District would be shocked to learn about Brad Miller's reading habits and unscripted posts on a radical, liberal blog," he said.
That's right, it's not just that I'm one of a couple of dozen Democratic politicians who write diaries here, but I actually
read what others write and I engage in
unscripted discussions. Shocking. Just shocking.
Vernon Robinson has guaranteed that this campaign will be part of the 2006 story. There are two stories about the blogosphere that may result:
1. It makes no sense for politicians from competitive districts to engage in the blogosphere--it's all risk and no reward; or
2. Don't mess with the blogosphere.
You know what to do.