Midnight Blue Says

“Another problem is that conservative bloggers are there to provide you with their opinion. The new pillars of left-wing media are there to provide you with information, such as that on the U.S. attorney firings. Recognizing that page A1 of any newspaper usually trumps the op-ed page in setting the agenda, these outlets have fashioned themselves as dispensers of information — information usually helpful to the Left and its candidates.

This is because TPM, ThinkProgress, and the Huffington Post are all full-time operations employing reporters, whereas conservative blogs usually run the work of amateur or part-time writers. When conservative bloggers are full-time, they are generally commentators and not reporters.

It goes without saying that Republicans’ problems go far beyond their use — or relative non-use — of technology. The netroots and the Obama campaign succeeded primarily because the Internet is a medium tailor-made for insurgents. But now that Republicans are on the outs at all levels of government, they will need the Internet as a tool of opposition. Failure to grab hold of it could signal a long, long winter to come.”