The Daily Kos has a well-reasoned and passionate essay
about why the process of the Democratic primary campaigns matters, and
how the Dean and Clark campaigns are helping to define that process,
The Internet now allows rank and file Democrats, otherwise unaffiliated
with any traditional powerbrokers or interest groups, to exert
collective influence on a campaign. It’s not merely a way to raise
money (a big misconception), but to encourage people to use their own
initiative to advocate their preferred candidates and issues any way
they see fit.
Jay Bullock on Open Source Politics, has a very thoughtful analysis of the Clark situation, and says that the moves this week show that,
..the Clark campaign will remain a traditional one. The
grassroots and netroots are important, this move seems to say, but only
when HQ tells them to move. That’s how campaigns have been working for
a very long time; in fact, a campaign structure like that has won every election in the modern era. But, as former Draft Clarker (now Dean supporter and employee) Markos Moulitsas Zuniga of the Daily Kos puts it,
process
is important. Clark is a potentially exciting candidate, with the
ability to grow our base and neutralize GOP advantages on military and
national security issues.But he aligned himself with the wrong crowd. Period. [. . .]
And more importantly, I believe strongly in the
concept of netroots participatory democracy. Dean is Exhibit A of how
technology can be used to let people take control of the political
process. The Draft [Clark] Movement was Exhibit B.Was.
And finally, if you want the full inside baseball detailing
of the people and tensions within the Clark situation, as well as
extensive comments by other insiders debating his points, see the
account by Stirling S. Newberry, longtime Drafter and editor of the Clarksphere (thanks to Jay Bullock),
..Let’s cut to the chase, and make a first draft at journalism – as
journalism is the first draft of history – and follow the details.
..This is a defining moment for Clark and his campaign. It can be
proof, to the press and the world, that Clark makes problems go away.
Or it can be proof to the press, and the world, that Clark is drunk on
high poll numbers and big donations – and doesn’t give a damn about the
little people that are getting crushed under.
Which story the journalists write, is up to one man at this point, the man we’ve placed our faith in: Wesley Kanne Clark.
