What Do Netroots Stand For?

I read John Heilemann's long piece on the resurrection of Al Gore last night while Josh and I were watching Shaq and Dwyane Wade lead the Heat past Detroit. I am rooting for Miami to go all the way.

John paints a picture of a changed man (Gore) who was deeply affected by his painful loss in 2000. I haven't witnessed the change myself (other than the great SNL speech), but I am certainly willing to give Al another look. He has always been a man who cared about the future and that's my mantra.

John says about halfway through the article:

To begin with, unlike all but a handful of Democrats, Gore, with his ties to the Netroots and his burgeoning personal wealth, could readily raise the requisite funds to take on Mrs. Clinton.

That got me thinking, what do the Netroots stand for? I went to Wikipedia and learned a bit about how Netroots do their thing, but nothing about what they stand for. I am all for blogging, using the Internet to organize and fundraise, and stimulating debate. I guess that makes me a Netroots kind of person.

But to be honest, I don't read Daily Kos and I am not a traditional "lefty".

I am a mix of centrist on fiscal issues, a passionate liberal on social issues, with a good dose of libertarian ideal thrown in.

I'd be attracted to a new political movement that rejects the failed liberalism of the mid 20th century and the failing conservatism of the late 20th century.  If the Netroots are that, count me in.  But I need to know more.

Comments

[charlie crystle]

Get "Crashing the Gate" by Markos Zuniga (dailykos.com) and Jerome Armstrong (Mydd.com)...they worked on my campaign after they left the Dean campaign. And read Joe Trippi's book and blog (joetrippi.com); trippi was Dean's campaign manager.

[MIchael]

Fred:

I always liked Gore, and didn't care a lick about his "wooden" delivery; he's been vindicated in just about every concern he's put forth.

If you never saw Gore's speech from January, you should track it down and see the whole thing. Then you will very much see a changed public speaker from that of 6-plus years ago. Clips here:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/01/16.html#a6728

Regarding the media's waffling treatment of him: Gore was un-human in 2000 and is now plum crazy in 2006; let's please not mention he's been astonishingly right all along. Here's a sample:
http://mediamatters.org/items/200605220008

If thar be Netroots here, certainly the non-MSM media is identifying it within Gore and supporting, defending him as a result.

Enjoy!

[Greg]

If you find that new movement, let me know. I'm looking too. I agree with you except that I would call mid-20th century liberalism "outdated" rather than failed. It had success which is why it became entrenched even when those successes largely faded into the past.

[jackson]

I'll vote for anyone who puts America's interests before Corporate America's interest.

McCain has officailly scared me off, and I don't trust Mrs. Clinton - you can't be everybody's friend.

I always liked Al, mostly because he used to sport Jerry Garcia neckties.

[Justin]

I think your stated political position should have a specific name -- it is tied to the Net-centric culture, but it goes beyond that. It's an ideal that's been around for a while -- I feel like there are a lot of folks who feel the same way about fiscal matters and social issues (and don't know how to characterize the rest). I think that's me too.

BTW: Based on your playlists, I wholeheartedly recommend the Go-Betweens (most everything by them) for your listening pleasure, and not just because co-songwriter Grant McLennan died a couple weeks ago.

[Tom]

Earlier this year, Al Gore traveled to Saudi Arabia and vehemently denounced America. This in a nation that oppresses its own people, has schools teaching children to hate Jews (and America), and horribly mistreats women, allowing men to openly abuse women who are raped.

Gore shamelessly pandered to the Saudi audience and told them that Arabs had been "indiscriminately rounded up" by the U.S., inciting more hatred against America and Jews. In effect he gave fuel to the fire of terrorism in the land which bred most of the 9/11 terrorists.

[bryan]

i'll tell you what the netroots are, fred.

there are bunch of left-wing websites there are losely unified around their hatred of george bush, and any politician or pundit who is also not 100% opposed to him. no such thing as a conversation, evenhandedness or compromise, just a flat out hostility to anyone who doesnt completely agree.

at the same time, however, they possess zero idealogy. that is to say, outside of the tactics of screaming down anyone else, the have no sound political core. sure there is the usual collection of left-wing issues and pipe-dreams, but no underlying intellectual principles. the daily kos guy admits to that himself.

so really, its a bunch of bloggers and the people who read them who somehow believe that with a few more postings and raising some money, they will unite and "reclaim" the government.

a whole lotta nothing.

[jackson]

It is quite likely that King George III thought that the Boston Tea Party was a 'whole lotta nothing'.

I'd like to see transcripts of Gore's alleged pandering to those awful Saudi's.

[hey]

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/02/12/D8FNUKEO0.html

I haven't been able to find a text of it, and the yahoo copy of the AP story has timed out, but that link corrobates the negative take on his speech.

Netroots people are traditional left wing, abide by the Atrios view of economics, etc. It's essentially just a rehash of the New Left/Port Huron statement. Jackson's complaints about "Corporate Interests" and Peace Now pretty much sums it up.

Fred you're pretty much a Netroots person, except when you have your working brain engaged. You talk a good DLC/Lieberman game when dealing with core issues surrounding your VC interests, but otherwise you'll fit right in with the hardcore leftists of DailyKos. They will of course denounce you for your heresies and your job. Them's the brakes when dealing with the radicals.

Markos has a perfect record for his campaign endorsements, and it will be great to see more Democrats throw money at his perfect record. 0-19 is a thing of beauty, for me at least!

[Jeffrey]

Fred, you may be interested in the Centrist Coalition. They have a similar political perspective as you, and are doing some interesting things in helping to promote candidates (republican, democrat and independent) who live up to these standards. Yes, there are a few left! :

http://www.centristcoalition.com