Scoreboard

Funny goings on in the center- and far-left blogosphere tonight. Jason Zengerle blogging at TNR's blog posted this about the big-mouths at Daily Kos:

But more often than not, these liberal bloggers (especially Kos) act like they already have taken over the world--writing manifestoes, issuing threats, and engaging in all sorts of chest-thumping behavior. But, like I said, their batting average is still a big fat zero.

A bit later Zengerle posts again, noting that certain folks are unhappy with his analysis:

Kevin Drum and Laura Turner are taking issue with my post about liberal bloggers' latest losing campaign. Specifically, both object to my notion that Ciro Rodriguez's defeat is a defeat for Kos et al's "ideology of winnerism." Turner writes:

Doesn't Zengerle posit there might be, like, a reason the blogs launched themselves behind Rodriguez that might have to do with ideology, in the sense that Cueller is (and he really is) a very bad Democrat? If Kos and Atrios just wanted a win for somebody with a D behind his name, they probably would have stayed out of Texas-28, which already gurantees such an outcome given that the GOP doesn't even run candidates in the district (somehow the Republican revolution never took hold there). The blogs took a chance on the underdog Rodriguez. Isn't that the opposite of a blind Democratic "winnerism"?

To wit, Zengerle's reply leaves me thinking that my own take on Kos and his minions is pretty much spot on:

In fact, the liberal bloggers' involvement in the Cuellar-Rodriguez race--sparked as it was by a hug--struck me as an exercise in juvenile pique. Which is their right, of course, except these very same bloggers are constantly claiming they aren't juvenile or fevered and are in fact cold-blooded tacticians and strategic grandmasters. But is it really all that strategically smart to enter a campaign (about which you know virtually nothing) a mere month before election day? Aren't you basically setting yourself up for failure? Isn't it even possible that you risk helping the other guy by creating a backlash (a la all the Orange-hatted, out-of-state Dean volunteers who ticked off Iowa voters)?

Now, in the wake of Rodriguez's defeat, these bloggers are talking about how they drew a line in the sand and sent a message, etc., etc. One of them, Chris Bowers at MyDD, is even proclaiming, "If Cuellar makes fewer appearances with Bush, then we will have succeeded." And some success that will be!

Again, I don't dispute that, on the merits, Rodriguez wasn't a better candidate than Cuellar. I just think that the blogosphere's involvement in the race was indicative of the scattershot, emotional, sometimes almost counterproductive approach it takes to politics. Drum, while acknowledging the liberal bloggers' terrible batting average, notes that "Rome wasn't built in a day." True enough. But, Kos et al's grand pronouncements to the contrary, I don't think that they're building Rome.

It's one of the biggest echo-chambers going. Frankly, I think they're deluded; their endorsements haven't succeeded in helping a single Democrat into power in 4+ years.

Scoreboard, Markos.



P.S. I'll be adding The Plank to the blogroll. Good stuff, Maynard!