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Political blogs have some sizzle and fizzle
By Andy Brack
The Brack Report
Three years ago, as political blogs seemed to be picking up steam, there was a lot of talk about how they would change the political landscape by creating online communities of new political participants.
These easy-to-use online diaries feature opinions, gossip, rumor and innuendo, occasionally with links to actual news. But while blogs changed the national landscape in 2004 by motivating voters and validating the presidential candidacy of Howard “Screaming” Dean, they haven’t done much in South Carolina.
Yet.
Charleston’s Phil Noble, a leading analyst of the Internet and politics, says blogs will become more important as they start to impart new ideas and galvanize new political communities. But for now, they’ve got a long way to go in South Carolina.
“They’re about 75 percent vanity and 25 percent substance,” he noted. “We’re still talking about events and people. It’s not about ideas yet.”
South Carolina has about two dozen of these specialized Internet sites that look at what’s happening and make comments about state politics. While they are often amusing, they seem to be a new kind of insider’s game. People who like the rough-and-tumble of political banter are attracted to them, but mainstream folks haven’t used them much for politics.
Laurin Manning, a University of South Carolina law student from Hartsville who is seen as the diva of state political blogs, says she gets 1,000 or more hits daily from folks who tune in to her blog, “LaurinLine” (www.laurinline.com).
“It certainly keeps the conversation going,” she observed.
While she agreed that Palmetto State blogs weren’t having a big impact on the political process now, she said they serve an important role in highlighting for journalists what interests political enthusiasts.
Brad Warthen, the editorial page editor of The State in Columbia, operates an opinion blog (blogs.thestate.com/bradwarthensblog/) that augments his newspaper work.
“I don’t think they’re having a very broad impact, in terms of influencing the electorate in general or anything like that,” Warthen said in an e-mail. “This is an experiment for me, and I’m throwing a lot of energy into it—on top of a hectic job. I think in the long run this will be worthwhile, but the potential has not been achieved.”
Sunny Philips, a GOP fund-raising consultant in Columbia, operates
“The Crunchy Republican” (www.crunchygop.com), another popular South Carolina blog.
She says the conversations that spring up when people comment on things she posts on her blog are similar to what you hear at Republican meetings in the state. The difference is the blog allows people all over the state to join the conversation.
“It’s a way to facilitate some types of discussions,” she said.
If you want to check out more South Carolina political blogs, check out this list of some of the better ones.
Because bloggers tend to provide lists of links to other blogs, you likely will find something you like by spending some time surfing on the Web through the links above.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of the S.C. Statehouse Report (www.statehousereport.com), a forecast of business developments in the S.C. Legislature and state government. E-mail him at brack@statehousereport.com.
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