Netroots vs. Grassroots

It's official: "netroots" is accepted as a real word by Merriam-Webster dictionary. They provide the following definition: "the grassroots political activists who communicate via the Internet especially by blogs."

While this is a blog where those on the right come to share ideas and disagree, it's always nice to see an online strategy fight between Democrats. Kirsten Powers, registered Democrat, former Clinton administration official and now columnist for the New York Post, today wrote a scathing critique of liberal bloggers like Markos Moulitsas. To give some emphasis to her distaste, the title of the column today is "Net-Roots Ninnies: Dem Left's Dumb Bam Slams." Let's see what Powers has to say:

"One top liberal blogger opined last week that Obama's drop in a recent Newsweek poll resulted from his vote for a compromise on FISA, the intelligence surveillance law. Ridiculous: The average American voter can't describe what FISA is. Meanwhile, a virtual mutiny is taking place on Obama's campaign Web site, which is swamped with angry complaints that Obama has sold out his 'base.' Newsflash to the netroots and the media (which seems perpetually confused on this issue): The netroots are not the base of the Democratic Party. Overwhelmingly white, male and highly educated, they're a loud anomaly in a party that's wholly dependent on the votes of African Americans, women and working-class whites."

I love it! This really does show the central divide in the modern-day Democratic party: the educated white male who voted for Obama in the primaries and the working-class whites who voted for Clinton in the primaries. Matt Bai, from the NYT Magazine, points out something interesting that many who've looked at the numbers also emphasize: "Obama did best in areas that have either a large concentration of African-American voters or hardly any at all, but he struggled in places where the population is decidedly mixed."

The question that Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam try to answer (I have yet to finish their book) is how we take back the base that Powers talks about. Powers' column goes further into how the marriage between the liberal netroots have a shaky marriage of necessity with Obama:

"The reality is that Obama was never a good fit with the net roots. Obama's less-ideological brand of postpartisanship is directly at odds with these brawlers - who are more committed to picking fights with opponents (Republicans and moderate Democrats) than anything else. In a 2006 Washington Monthly article, Markos Moulitsas - the founder of DailyKOS and godfather of the liberal net roots - summed up the strategy of left-wing bloggers: Embrace partisanship and confrontation."

This is a very keen observation. Obama, the post-partisan, unifying candidate that he comes off as banks his main support from those who are most partisan within the Democratic Party. Which begs the question? How will the "Netroots of the Right" be described 4 years from now? Will we be overly partisan, or will we be (*hopefully*) a group that talks about the issues that matter to our base and beyond?

Finally, Powers turns to recent history to conclude her rant:

"With so many Democratic activists stuck at the developmental level of a neglected 5-year-old, it's a wonder Bill Clinton ever got elected - until you recall how he alternately dissed and ignored the low-tech version of this group. Grow up, net rooters: You're going to see more Obama compromises with reality, more shifts to address what the real Democratic base cares about. Don't even be surprised if he comes out with a plan to allow domestic oil drilling."

So we've already concluded that there is a real divide between the netroots and grassroots in the center-left, both on the issues and on the level of partisanship. Can the grassroots of the Republican Party ever merge successfully with the future netroots of the conservative movement? As some people commented during my last post on building the GOP farm team, building the on-the-ground infrastructure for local and state organizations must be concomitant to building the online infrastrcture for local and state organizations. That's just the first step; what are the next steps?