Our "favorite" Congressman, Brad Miller has that designation for many reasons, at the top of my list is that he is a blogger. He understands what few other legislators do, that the American people are hungry for involvement in their government. That the "power of the people" is real and vigorous, particularly among Progressives.
Jesse James DeConto, staff writer for the Newsobserver.com wrote an article entitled "Blogs Are Changing Politics". (Thanks Love) There are a few important quotes....
"It's a natural progression in the arena of communication from elected officials to constituents"...and ...."It just enables a politician to engage in a more direct and intimate conversation with people"
Both very true, however my favorite part of the article is this...
Other North Carolina politicians such as former Sen. John Edwards and U.S. Reps. Heath Shuler and Brad Miller also blog.....then this one...."With conservatives, it's been talk radio and Fox News, and progressives and liberals seem to be more drawn to the Internet.
Noted in a comment here at BlueNC on another thread, Conservatives would rather be hand fed their talking points and opinions, while Progressives form their opinions by reading, reading and reading some more.
Blogs ARE changing politics, for the better imho, and allowing us to stay involved and aware. Here at BlueNC, we have the Southern Dem who jumped on the Kissell campaign and helped to nearly defeat the incumbent, Robin "Flipper" Hayes. Anglico has taken up the plight of the small farmers in Washington County who are fighting the Navy’s effort to put an Outlying Landing Field (OLF) in the "worst possible place" in North Carolina. Screwy Hoolie and Drama Queen got behind Heath Shuler and helped him defeat the incumbent Charles Taylor. The power of the pen...er ...keyboard is indeed mighty.
Yesterday I received my weekly newsletter from the NC Democratic Party which had another interesting story. "NCDP Chair Host Bloggers" with pictures!
(Isn’t that Pam and Greg?) This superb article was written by Matt Stoller of MyDD and is worth the read. He starts by saying that "the state establishment here is the most blogger-friendly in the country" and that Jerry Meek is pushing all county Dem parties to have a website. (Again an echo of BlueNC) then continues with this statement...
Both Jerry and Congressman Miller recognize blogging for what it is and why it's important. It's not just another broadcast medium, it's a public space for activists to congregate and do the work of politics. It's not the only place for that to happen, but it's the most public, visible, and open place.
Why is Congressman Brad Miller our "Favorite"? Because he gets it!
Note: instead of linking to the NCDP article through my emailed newsletter, I linked to the article in MyDD.
cross posted from BlueNC