Washblog

And didn't this blog decide to give up general political discussions (and the popularity that comes with them) for the party-approved task of talking primarily about local politics?

No.

I'm quite concerned about the rising power of the liberal blogosphere and how that's being used.  I think it's a great question. I dont' quite know how to tackle it, but I'm glad you raised it here.

I'm intrigued by your statement (as I understand it) that the message of the Presidential candidates are coming from them rather than from the party.  I'd like to hear more of your thoughts on that.

As for state coverage rather than national coverage on Washblog - there's plenty of national coverage going on on other blogs.

Covering state politics is absolutely key -- not a cop-out as you seem to suggest, or some kind of nefarious party-led plot.  There are key gaps in this coverage that need to be addressed.  We have some major potential in 2008 for vote suppression, we have critical election integrity issues, and, as usual, huge sums of money will be flowing into our state to support private interests and distort the process.  The reason you see so many millions of $ flowing into Washington State from special interests around the country is that what happens on the state level is very important nationally in almost every way you can think of.  This 'investment' is not made because our state politics are unimportant, as you seem to suggest.

Words words words.  They're pouring out of me.  But what is inside of me is the direct knowledge every moment that all this political crap -- as much as people want to make it about gamesmanship -- it's all about real people, real pain.  What happens in politics has consequence that translates for real people into impact on their lives, even to the point of whether they get to live or not.  Just think of health care for starters and the impact that has on newborn babies.  We do have quite a high rate of infant mortality in this country.  That is just one tiny pinpoint example among a nearly infinite number of chains of consequence that come from the political decisions we make.

The outcome of 2008's state campaigns will have serious, ongoing, daily, direct impact on all of our lives -- It is critical that attention on these races is not sacrificed to focus the presidential campaign.

And as far as I see it -- between the extremes of a true hero of the people (could Obama or Edwards be that?  Perhaps...) or someone like George Bush, seemingly intent on dismantling democracy and every last shred of our honor and security -- the person who gets elected to the presidency will be less important than what "the people" do.  How we fix our broken electoral system.  How we demand or don't demand some corporate accounability.  How we demand or don't demand that corporations like Blackwater are brought under control.  Etc.  Because  unless we do something outside of the "business as usual" paradigm, the distortions of power and wealth now dominating the scene will continue.

Whatever Clinton, Obama, and Edwards are saying, they're not talking to me. Stepping back from the abyss would be a positive move. But, overall, I'm mightily uninspired.

I've seen Seattle City Council member Richard Conlin twice this last year. One presentation was about the green building initiative. Another was about changes to the storm/sewer portion of property tax to encourage people to reduce storm water runoff (thereby improving water quality and reducing the expense of water treatment). Stuff like getting a tax credit for having rain barrels.

It's not just that Conlin is spearheading cool, important stuff. I'm more excited by the thought processes and values that go into the effort.

Specifically, Conlin is part of an effort to leverage market forces to attain progressive goals. He recognizes that you can't preach people into behaving correctly and isn't afraid to use the tools of capitalism to enact positive change. (Among others, the book Natural Capitalism, the Rocky Mountain Institute, "get it".)

At this moment in time, I truly feel that Conlin "gets it". He's a true progressive (as in "for progress").

(I'll give two examples from the national debate surrounding immigration and healthcare. Historically, immigration has been a key factor in America's success. We should be welcoming our brother and sisters with open arms. But nobody is talking about it in those terms. Ditto universal healthcare and single payer. Capitalism is just a means to efficiently allocate resources. Well, universal healthcare is the most efficient system. Ergo, it's the best option for our society and economy. But all the candidates are dancing around the edges of the issue, giving us wasteful half-options. It's sad.)

Some other names come to mind. For instance, I mostly like our region's delegation to Olympia. But, sadly, the good ones are mostly notable by their uniqueness.

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Of course the blogosphere matters. The bloggers are blockade runners, getting around the news and information embargo.

You may recall the Bush/conservative efforts to shut down the blogosphere. Stuff like attempting to regulate individuals posting of their accord as campaigning and to be treated as "in kind". Squelching free speech, more or less.

Imagine if Bush's junta had happened two years earlier or if the world wide web had happened two years later. None of the left-wing blogosphere would exist, at least not openly. I can't even imagine dailyKos, Pacific Views, Huffington Post, alternet, Talking Points Memo, Orcinus, etc, etc, is that alternate scenario.

You may recall how bloggers kept some notable issues alive: Bush's Texas Air Nation Guard papers, the Downing Street Memos, (sorry, I'm drawing a blank), etc.

The blogosphere is like a peculator. Eventually, the important stuff bubbles out to the rest of society.