Let me start by thanking Jim Hoeft and Jay Hughes for the heavy lifting of putting together this conference. Yesterday was packed with topics in a great location.
Secondly, let me thank the speakers, electeds and candidates who came to the conference: LG Bill Bolling, AG Bob McDonnell, Senator Creigh Deeds, House Democratic Caucus Chair Delegate Brian Moran, Delegate Kris Amundson, Delegate Bob Brink, Delegate John Cosgrove, candidate John Miller (Senate 1st), candidate Craig Hudgins (Senate 8th), DPVA Communications director Danae Jones, RPV Communications director Shaun Kenney, The Virginian-Pilot’s Don Luzzatto, the Daily Press’ Hugh Lessig, BNN editor Dave Mastio, attorney Kevin Grierson, and from the office of the Secretary of Defense, New Media Operations chief Jack Holt. In case you haven’t seen them, the Daily Press writeup is here and the Virginian-Pilot is here.
Finally, kudos to the participants themselves. I’m not even going to try to list them all. It was good to meet some for the first time, see others again, and chat with folks who are not even bloggers but who are interested in this new horizontal media. I have to admit that I missed parts of the various scheduled workshops and presentations because I was outside talking to folks, which was my primary reason for going to the conference in the first place 😉 The interaction was, shall we say, interesting.
Some of the rancor leading up to the conference carried over and made for some uncomfortable moments. On the whole, though, the gathered group did a decent job of being on “good behavior.” Planning for next year’s conference is already underway. Dates and locations were tossed around along with the appointing of a committee to move forward on getting Blogs United set up as a nonprofit organization.
I have to say, though, that I think this year’s conference will be the last one that will be bipartisan. And that is unfortunate.
Senator Deeds’ remarks last night speak to part of the reason, the whole “us-versus-them, left-versus-right mentality where voices of moderation from the center are drowned out by voices of extremism from the margins.” Add the egos of the bloggers into the mix and you have a combustible combination. The truth is, though, that the blogs are not the only culprits here. The electeds have to share in the blame. They are willing participants in this charade, pandering to bloggers who demonstrate the very behavior that they disdain, never holding them accountable — in essence, rewarding their “bad boy” behavior.
The electeds are complicit in their failure to “elevate those voices that speak with mutual respect and sincerity and marginalize those that only seek to poison the debate.” Yes, there are exceptions. On the whole, though, the electeds speak privately about these things but never publicly. But if they want to raise the level of discourse, they have to do so by modeling the very behavior they wish us to demonstrate.
Until and unless each of us recognizes our own role in adding to the pile of manure, the aroma emanating from the blogosphere will continue to be one that smells. And the public will continue to be turned off by politics and politicians. I don’t think that’s what anyone wants.
The internet presents us with a unique opportunity, a new way for candidates and voters to communicate and interact. It’s a chance to build a new community, one where we can discuss and debate the issues of the day, not only between those with whom we agree, but also those with whom we disagree. Because at the end of the day, we all are Americans, we all are Virginians, and we all want what’s best for us.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Well said! I will add, though, that there are quite a few who benefit from people being “turned off by politics” and that complicates things.
Nice post, Vivian. And it was great meeting you!
I wondered if a few of those folks who said they didn’t have blogs were pseudonymous bloggers who didn’t want anyone to know their true identity. Hmmm.
BK – yes there are.
Linda – so nice to meet you as well. As for the folks there with no blogs, well, you never know 😉
Nice sort-of meeting you the other day, hopefully we’ll get to chat more next time around. I agree with Brian that some profit from people being turned off by politics, but I think it’s largely structural, as elections are a zero sum game. No airline would ever run ads showing a competitor’s plane crashing and burning, as such an ad would hurt the entire industry, not just the airline targeted by the ad. Similarly, when bloggers go overly negative on each other, it hurts the blogosphere generally, not just the intended victim. But if a politician does the same, he won’t care if he depresses voter turnout generally; as long as he depresses the other guy’s vote more than his own, it’s a net gain.
IOW, while I admire Lt. Gov. Bolling’s suggestion that it’s up to elected officials to set the tone, it really is up to us.
just to let u know, as a linda b, I am not the linda b posted upthread, as I was not at the blogger convention.
so watch your handle, someone else maybe using it.
#5 – yes, I know that there are two of you 😉
thanks viv, funny that someone else would have my name!!!
Xrlq – sorry we didn’t get a chance to chat. Not enough time for that was built into the schedule 😦 And while I agree with the idea of competitors not showing the others’ ads, I’m getting to a different idea here: the role of bloggers and electeds in the horizontal media, where we have an opportunity to make things different.
linda b – y’all actually don’t have the same last name 🙂
It was great meeting you Ms Paige and I really enjoyed our chats outside during the breaks.
I do understand your strong dislike of car rides but if you ever are down my way please let me know.
did I miss something or why didn’t someone blog from the blogging convention. like in real time.
I know when I went to the TBA conference I did so.
Firedoglake also blogs in real time.
It would make it more interactive and that would be a plus.
All in all it sounded like it turned out quite well for all.
Vivian, it was very nice to meet you. Looking forward to being around you again. Treasure trove of political know-how.
But… I STRONGLY disagree that this was the last bipartisan glog conference. DWJ arguably brought along the most liberals (Jaime, Greg, Megan), and as a blog we protest the idea of two separate conferences.
Bipartisan events will help lessen the severity of blog wars. Giving faces to our opponents makes us less willing to join the 101st Keyboard Division.
Good post overall, though. I just disagree with that assessment.
Vivian, overall great round up but I was sad to hear your assesment that it would be the last bi-partisan conference. As you know, I couldn’t be there – for all my joking about losing weight because of the root canals, the TMJ – not the actual root canal – has been miserable and painful, or I definitely would have been there. And I was certainly looking forward to the next one.
I agree with Madhatter that bi-partisan events, at least in theory, could lessen the severity of blog wars. And, of course, even those on the same side often have feuds.
Anyway, I will be interested to see how it play out. And thank you for coverage of it.
I agree with you again except that this is the last bi-partisan blog conference… I would not be able to have met people like you, or even greg andjaime, and it was a pleasure finally getting to meet you. I also agree it helps keep the blog flame wars down a bit. I would be very sad to find out that we could not meet again at a bi-partisan conference next year 😦
Like Bunky and Hatter, I have to disagree with you on the last bipartisan blog conference. Unless of course everyone becomes a conservative in the next year.
That being said, I really had the best time at the conference. Honestly, the people I enjoyed most were the liberals. It was refreshing to see someone you disagreed with getting along. Don’t get me wrong, I loved seeing the conservative bloggers, but I get to talk to conservatives a lot.
I have to say the thing I liked the best was the fact that I was surrounded by people who cared, not for me, but for the Commonwealth. It was really encouraging.
I especially enjoyed meeting you, Vivian. I hope to see you around a lot more.