Top politicians pay homage to king of bloggers

[cal04]

Presidential hopefuls woo Las Vegas convention
For many, they are the nerds of US politics: laptop warriors, with brains full of statistics, no social life and devoting too much time to arcane policy details. But last week the political blogger - someone who runs an online journal - emerged into the mainstream and shed the stereotype in the glare and glitz of a Las Vegas casino. At their helm was former soldier Markos Moulitsas. At the age of 34, Moulitsas has progressed from private policy nerd to one of the best- known public voices in Democratic politics, described last week on Time.com as 'the left's own Kurt Cobain and Che Guevara rolled into one'.

Thousands of bloggers gathered last week in the Riviera to exchange ideas, debate and plot their steady takeover of journalism and political debate from newspapers, magazines and television. Anyone who thinks blogging is over-rated should have looked at the guest list of power players who followed the blogging herd to Las Vegas to woo and be wooed by these latest additions to the political scene. Reporters and columnists from all the main newspapers showed up, as did Democratic strategists. Even potential Democrat candidates for the 2008 presidential election pitched up to network and sell their political wares to the online community. Although the event was meant to appeal to all parties, its guest list was overwhelmingly liberal.

Mark Warner, a former Democratic governor of Virginia, was there. So was Harry Reid, the Senate minority leader. Former Democrat presidential candidate General Wesley Clark was there, too, as was Bill Richardson, the Democratic governor of New Mexico. Richardson is a hot tip for the 2008 race, because he governs in a traditionally Republican part of America and has a Hispanic background, which could see him scoop up the votes of one of America's most powerful ethnic minorities. 'I see you guys as agents of advocacy,' Richardson told the bloggers.

Reid also heaped praise on the blogging community, saying it had played a vital role in some Democratic political victories in the past year. 'They have the ability to spread the truth like no entities I've dealt with in recent years. We could never have won the battle to stop privatisation of social security without them,' he told the New York Times. No one better illustrates the rise of the blogger than Moulitsas, founder of the hugely influential left-wing blog The Daily Kos and the person whom the Yearly Kos 2006 Vegas convention was named after. He started his blog several years ago as a personal project, but his fan base has turned him into one of the most influential voices of the left.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1794901,00.html

[lyonn]

1. This is so fun! Do the repubs have this Real America

things going on? Not that I have noticed. When politicians come to an event like this that impresses me. Damn I love the internet.

[Lefty48197]

2. 'Kos is a wonderful person

I'm sure the Republicans hate him.