Wednesday, May 16, 2007
|
|
Blogging Is Not About Writing
|
|
Posted by:
Patrick Ruffini at
4:00 PM
|
|
My Townhall colleagues Dean Barnett and Matt Lewis seem to have gotten into a bit of a scrape with my friend Rob Bluey (of RedState) on the merits of activism vs. punditry in blogging.
On one level, I agree with Matt that a fusionist approach is needed. To harken back to the analog era, conservatives would never have gained power had it not been for institutions like AEI and Heritage whose ideas gave our movement a driving impetus. But we’ve also had to master the instrumentality of elections to sustain that power. More to the point, Morton Blackwell famously said, “Personnel is policy.” That applies just as much to political leaders as it does to the appointees Blackwell was referring to. The blogosphere has expended a lot of energy trying to convince politicians who aren’t very ideological of the pressing need to control spending. Wouldn’t that energy have been better spent recruiting, training, and electing a new generation of political leaders who believed in smaller government to the core?
That means we need more activism, not less. It’s what the netroots has done in elevating people like Jon Tester and Jim Webb who are far to the left of their respective states but convey a red state, tough-guy aura that trumps ideology. It’s easier to influence policy when you’ve helped to put people you trust on the inside.
All in all, I think Dean’s final statement captures the dilemma in full:
I’m a writer, not an activist, and I have no interest in changing. Although, come to think of it, I wouldn’t mind 600,000 visits a day like Markos gets.
But isn’t that the point? We can’t magically snap our fingers and get 600,000 visits just doing what we’re doing now. We’ve made a conscious choice to sacrifice quantity for quality. The same 50-100K daily readers that the top conservative blogs get are the same 50,000 people who will buy a well-written conservative title from Regnery and the same 150,000 who subscribe to National Review. That’s just the market for conservative opinion content.
Blogging on the left succeeds because it’s not about writing. It’s no coincidence that Kos’s writing style is almost comically pedestrian. It’s not about wordplay. It’s about attitude, and expressing a basic world view that millions of people share — only more so. In the same way that Tom Paine got more readers than Montesquieu, Kos gets more readers than Dean. If Dean wanted to be Kos, he’d need to drop about 50 IQ points.
|
|
I agree you are spot on with some of your statements.
I was considering Tony Snow's interview with Limbaugh yesterday regarding this immigration bit in the Senate.
And I was thinking: it SHOULD be right that these individuals are ripe for the picking for Republican voters......not all, but MANY of them come here because of basic conservativism. Why do we cede their votes so easily to the democrat party? Why are they so attracted to the democrat party? I think it's real simple: the image of the dems is that they are the worker party. And we are the golfclub party. "Activism" as you define it could change this perception, but it means, as a group, we have to literally leave the golf courses (and the other such niceties we enjoy as a successful contributor to society--NONE of which is wrong) and go to the Malls and the Krogers and the Thrift shops and the Walmarts and we have to model for these people "conservativism". And we have to tell them, at Walmart, why conservativism is so great. We can shout it all we want from Barney's, but many who should be easy converts aren't going to hear.
Okay, Ryan. You've stimulated me on a personal level to start reaching out--as an individual--to others with encouraging, conservative ideas. You've actually motivated me to "activism". Very interesting..... |
|
I agree with your "unseemly" assessment - but I think that feeling (which I share to some extent) has more to do with the connotations of "activists" as the fever-swampers who parade around with their various signs and bumper stickers indicating their anger with their cause celebre. But it's critical to understand and remember that the political "machine" (i.e., money, energy, volunteerism) that the fever swamp spurs into action is a formidable force, and the left dominates in this regard. While a double-edged sword that turns off the reasonable lefties (is that an oxymoron?), it still is a higher force FOR their cause than against it given the enthusiasm that it generates amongst the agreers.
The conservative movement MUST come to grips with the fact that while center-right political ideals might be ho-hum and "bourgois" (and thus doesn't stir up as much controversy and subsequent media coverage and intensity), it's still by and large the mainstream of American heritage. Getting people to recognize that ho-hum and even "boring" is not necessarily a bad thing is a challenge, and calls like Dean's and Patrick's simply to get conservatives to participate in politics via their "own... particular... idiom" (Python reference) is key to winning the war of ideas.
Unfortunately, not everyone understands this seemingly simple notion. Case in point: my father. Devoted family man, early 50's, Christian to the core, technophobe. He thinks the fact that I maintain a blog and joined my local BPOU means that I'm 2 inches away from signing onto some fascist idealogue's cult.
We need to change the perspective of "activist" from the current connotation of "wingnut" to the more correct meaning of the word as simply an extension of the verb "active". It will not only motivate and hearten the aging base of our party, but it will appeal to the younger generation of voters who are coming to realize that it is time to select a primary party with which to identify. Hugh and his blog-crew may seem overly obsessed with "New Media" and its political implications, but honestly, if anything, they're understating it. Food for thought...
More thoughts like this at sonofasillyperson.blogspot.com |
|
Thanks for the nice post.
I actually am "active" locally, I guess. I do give money and time to specific ideas I support, and especially those I am against. I help with elections and grass roots stuff, especially on a local level. The highlight of my "activism" was attending the Gubenatorial inaugural for GW in Austin when he won his first term as governor. I suppose my post wasn't very eloquent.
What I meant was this: using a blog to rev up activism in conservatives seems, I don't know, "unseemly"....to me. I'm thinking of it from this perspective: my dedication to conservativism has, as a part, this respect for the impact of the individual. Therefore, I am as active as I think appropriate already. Seeing a call to arms over a blog, doesn't inspire me more. It sort of prickles me, actually. |
|
Are your idea of "sacrific[ing] quantity for quality"?
You're failing because your ideas stink, and have been found wanting in practice.
If your IQ were 50 points lower, Patrick, you'd be a plant. |
|
With all due respect, ShiningCity (and I've read enough of your blog and your comments to this site to truly mean 'respect'), I think this is one of the biggest obstacles that the conservative movement needs to overcome. Activism simply means being active in the political process - not necessarily heading down to the capitol every time some fringe group stages a protest.
Start simple. Attend a caucus if your state is on that system. Volunteer to make some phone calls or drop some literature for a campaign. Attend lectures put on by local conservative groups, and network with other like-minded folks while you're there. Write letters to your legislators (even when they occasionally do a good job).
2 years ago, I thought about the word "activism" with the same connatations as you; I'm guessing that's fairly common. But one evening at a caucus (out of sheer curiosity more than anything) changed that assumption for me. I've served as a delegate to my State Senate district as well as my US Congressional district, have donated a few hours to some select campaigns, and recently got elected to the executive board of my local GOP party unit. All for an average time commitment of around 2 or 3 hours a month.
It doesn't take much to go active. Give it a shot! |
|
People visit Kos for the same reason they watch Colbert or the Daily Show. Liberal ideology is easer to convert into entertainment for the masses. Almost all “cutting edge” entertainers are left leaning. Maybe it’s the ability to swear. Maybe it’s the ability to be “morally incorrect.” Or maybe a large number of Americans actually believe that the federal government can do more than provide a national defense.
Conservatism is realistic. It tells people that they are in control of their destiny, not Washington. However, many Americans (especially the youth) are dreamers. Sites like Kos give them the ability to dream that anything is possible as long as [insert policy] is accepted/rejected. It may be emotional, rash, and constantly in a “state of denial,” but it’s entertaining. |
|
I don't think activism, in the strictest sense, is something most conservatives are interested in.
Seems like, the folks I know on the left are very interested in always having their opinions heard on every single, little biddy issue. They will fight to the death for it, almost.
But, I am more interested in appointing a leader, then giving him full authority & responsibility. If he screws up, I recognize: look, that's just how it goes sometimes. SOMEBODY's got to be the leader and make the decisions.
I think it's hard to stir people like me to apply myself in this way. |
|
Leftist blogging is not about writing. Leftist are apparently not interested in cogent argumentation; they just want slogans and marches.
Rightist blogging is about writing. Conservatives won't sit still for sloganeering and don't care for marches, even for their own causes. They want conversation, not demagogery.
For East is East and West is West
and never the twain shall meet,... |
|
|
|