In an article yesterday on Slate, Jerome Armstrong, one of the original liberal bloggers, was profiled. Some have questioned whether or not a blogger should take the step to the dark side and become a consultant to candidates running for office.
The answer is yes -- absolutely yes. The Democrats are divided -- not by belief but by a growing digital chasm. This has created two circles of power in the political world -- one the legacy world, centered in Washington, focused on traditional methods and means -- it is a very powerful world, albeit one in relative decline.
The second circle is what I call the real world -- Democrats who are using real-world technology -- primarily the Internet -- to organize, express, fundraise and support like-minded candidates.
To win, we must merge these two worlds.
Therefore, we need people like Jerome to work directly with candidates and explain what the growing online community thinks, and cares about. And if candidates like Mark Warner are smart enough to listen to the online Democrats, the merging, and the winning, is about to begin.