Announcement from the Democratic National Convention Committee:
BLOGGER CREDENTIALING AND THE 2008 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION: 2008 DemConvention State Blogger Corps:
Recognizing the growth of more localized blogs, this pool is designed for those covering state and local politics. To qualify as a state blogger, the applicant’s blog must have been in existence six months prior to requesting credentials and have at least 120 politically related blog posts. Bloggers must submit their daily audience and list their authority based on Technorati stats. Bloggers may also provide examples of posts that make their blog stand out as an effective online organizing tool and/or agent of change.
Announcing the State Blogger Corps
Posted by Aaron Myers on May 14, 2008
Months ago, we began the process of credentialing bloggers who cover state and local politics, as part of the DemConvention State Blogger Corps. More than 400 blogs applied for the program. And they’re incredible. Some blogs are the work of dedicated groups of activists, a few are full-time professional endeavors, and many others are the products of busy individuals blogging about local politics in their free time. Those selected to be part of our State Blogger Corps were announced today. And in every case, these bloggers have become experts on the political happenings in their states.
You’ll see a list below of the 55 blogs that will comprise the State Blogger Corps. They’ll be seated with their respective delegations at the Convention. These bloggers will have some of the best seats in the house and they’ll be the eyes and ears of local audiences online around the country.
Congratulations to each blog selected for the State Blogger Corps. I’ll see you in Denver!
Credentialed blog for NEW YORK: Room 8 – http://www.r8ny.com
The Daily Gotham DOES NOT get into the DNC blogger corps
Submitted by Liza Sabater on 14 May 2008
Well this totally sucks. Not only that, but not one of the netroots blogs from New York State –you know, the ones that actually help the party raise money for their candidates– got into the state pool.
Who gets in? Oh, yeah, right, the blog owned by the pro-Clinton journalist that now rights for Politico.com.
Nice.
I just find this odd, that none of the blogs that have helped the NY Democratic Party raise thousands of dollars for local candidates and worked hard to get out the vote here in the state, not one of them got credentialed in the state pool.
This is very odd indeed.
Feh
Submitted by mole333 on 14 May 2008.
The State Party, much like my local Brooklyn machine, is all about power and influence. They don't WANT us to get too big for our britches. The whole Spitzer/Cuomo wave was accompanied by behind the scenes thuggishness that was a turn off for me back then, and which meant Spitzer's downfall and this kind of stuff is no surprise to me. People who are far more insider than us got screwed at the NY State Convention if they didn't toe the line. I never expected to get recognition from the State Party.
Once you get beyond New York I have found far more appreciation when you help out.
Frankly I'm baffled too.
Room 8 has been chosen as NY State's credentialed blog for the Democratic National Convention–the two-person delegation will be myself and Rock Hackshaw. Rock and I have been told that, depending on how many credentials are allocated, we may have to rotate the Room 8 credential. And you thought the destructive infighting was nearly over.
For a change, I sympathize with the “progressives”. Room 8 is not in existence to do political work (although some of the bloggers here clearly do contracts for their friends or for hire) and is neither "an effective online organizing tool" nor "an agent of change". Our application wasn't even really a group submission–Gur coordinated very little, and Rock Hackshaw and I (apparently no one else was interested), each had to submit separate forms, and mine was a goof–I told them I was essential to accomplishing their goals because the netroots lefties were going to be represented in droves, and I was a rarity: a partisan Democratic blogger who could reach out to centrist voters, and was therefore exactly what they needed. With Rock handling base mobilization, together we were New York blogging’s dream ticket, and just as compatible as Hillary and Barack (or, for that matter, Hillary and Bill).
I never in a million years expected to be selected. I guess it helps when your co-publisher writes an influential national political blog.
Contrary to Mole, I doubt this was the state party's doing–first of all 50% of the Room 8 delegation is Hackshaw– I just think someone at the DNC made a conscious decision to bring in general interest blogs. Liza and Mole would find the New Jersey choice even worse–Hackshaw and I will at least be supporting Obama in November–in NJ, the choice is PolitickerNJ, which is a professional news operation–and a great one (we should only have something so good in NY)–but Hackshaw and I at least fall arguably within the DNC's stated criteria—PolitickerNJ does not; it should really be part of the general press pool rather than a credentialed blog. By the DNC's stated criteria, the Garden State choice should have been “Blue Jersey”. I suspect the same phenomena also occurred in many other states
The DNC seems confused–they put out an APB asking for one kind of blogger, and, at least in NY and NJ, selected quite another, and, even by that criteria, Room 8 seems a strange choice. Many, myself included, have written us off as a dead shark; this may be our chance for a triumphant revival—or it may just be our West Virginia.
I'm quite dazed
Friends have been calling from near and far.
ROSCOE CONWAY: At last; a Huntley and Brinkley for the 21st Century. Well, either that or a Tex Antoine and a Carl Stokes for the 21st Century…
GATE: I was think of us more as Sammy Davis, Jr. and Peter Lawford
ROSCOE: Ah, Davis and Lawford, co-stars of the 1968 film "Salt and Pepper". As Don Lockwood and Cosmo Brown used to say, "Dignity. Always, dignity." Let's see, who's who..? Gate, you wearing an eyepatch these days?
GATE: Well I'm the Jew, and Rock speaks a lot more like Peter Lawford than I do. BTW, did you know it was Sammy who played Salt and Lawford Pepper? And don't forget the sequel–"One More Time" directed by Jerry Lewis (what did Dino think?) where Sammy spent the whole film channeling the director, like Kevin Branagh in “Celebrity”
RORHBERGER: Is this any comment on the relative talents of the two people involved?
GATE: Funny you should ask, in response to a vicious attack on my 2006 Primary guide, my evil twin "Brooklyn Fats" posted a nasty screed posted containing the following:
"59th AD: Vito loves the pernicious Jefferson Club. Gatemouth sents it a Valentine’s card. Yes, there are a few sarcastic remarks; the kind the Chairman of the Board used to make about Dino when the Rat Pack performed at the Sands."
And this was posted in response:
Gatey a pack rat?
Submitted by Peter Lawford (not verified) on Mon, 09/18/2006
Gatey the Chairman? Surely you jest. Gatey thinks he's Sammy Davis; he's actually Joey Bishop.”
Maybe, but like the Chairman of the Board, I have “High Hopes”