RNC Hearts The Blogosphere
With all the flack President Bush has gotten from conservative pundits on Harriet Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court, the Republican National Committee is calling on the blogosphere, where many have made their views known, to generate support for Miers. RNC Chair Ken Mehlman is getting quite a bit of attention from conservative bloggers after holding a conference call on the nomination with them yesterday. ProfessorBainbridge.com blogged the call live, and Hotline On Call's Marc Ambinder featured his own "instantaneous transcription," of the call.
While some felt the content of the call was less than satisfying, they were glad to see that the RNC was "clearly tipping his hat to the surging strength of right-of-center blogs," as Ankle Biting Pundits put it.
Redstate.org was pleased with the new protocol, but wasn't thrilled with the committee's message:
I listened in on the RNC conference call with bloggers. It is great that they have started these. Today's was a disappointment. Apparently, the strategy is to say "Harriet Miers has a conservative judicial philosophy and the character to avoid changing over time" repeatedly. That there are no documents to back that up, at least not yet, is beside the point.
Instapundit wasn't on the call, but shared his thoughts anyway:
(1) They should have done this the day of the announcement, not the following week; and (2) It doesn't seem to have been enough to win people over.
Others were impressed with the pitch, but less so with Miers herself.
From Captain's Quarters:
They put on the best case, in positive terms, that the White House has made thus far. It's long overdue, and perhaps a harbinger of better thinking at the White House on the work needed for conservatives to accept Miers' confirmation. That said, I'm still less than impressed with Miers as a nominee.
Decision '08 is still undecided on Miers:
Well, my own mind was not changed, either … I preferred to wait until the hearings to render a final call and I still do. I did find my support for the nomination strengthening, however. Mehlman was a terrific salesman, as always, and even he said many times, if you're on the fence, wait for the hearings.
Decision'08 also noted signs that that the RNC would be maintaining a more substantive ongoing relationship with the blogosphere:
The RNC Chair also said that looking to the future, he thinks there will be a continued strengthening of the nexus between talk radio and blogs.
Chris Cillizza at The Fix offers a brief summary with some more details about the RNC's future blogging plans:
Mehlman's call was organized by Patrick Ruffini, a blogger who is now directing the RNC's online operations. (Sources close to the committee also suggest that in an attempt to amp up the organization's credibility in the blogosphere, it will cease editing its blog.)
While this certainly isn't the first time that politicians have reached out to the blogging community, it's further evidence of the growing reach of their influence. Will bloggers soon have the same influence as radio talk show hosts? That remains to be seen, but it's clear that when conservative bloggers talk, the RNC listens.