Hmmmm. This simply lacks credibility. Blogging has a growing role in politics but don’t get all bourgoise and delusional about it. There’s more to labour than just teachers, hippies, and do-gooders.

“The reason the left wing blogosphere SEEMS smaller is that it’s not. We don’t have a big focal point like Iain Dale because there are so damn many of us, moving in our own circles.”

Alos, most libertarians are simply herded into the right-wing camp, and there are plenty of libertarians in the British blogosphere, so the strength of the ‘right’ is probably overestimated, as most libertarians are only right of centre because most of the lefties are at present so illiberal.

I’d really like to believe that any centre-left vision could take off, god I would. I’ll commit the heresy and say it – I even think that quite a few aspects of New Labour were/are positive.

The stark reality is though that Britain is a conservative country with a conservative press that calls the tune. In terms of how to make in impact, all we have seen from left blogs is a masterclass in how not to go about it.

I hate having to set the bar so low and I hate the bland, uninspiring politics we see. I hate the thought that New Labour c.1998 is about as progressive as we are going to see in my lifetime.

Perhaps the more interesting time will be in years to come when the bloggers get their fangs into a Conservative government. If New Labour suffered death from a thousand website cuts I struggle to see how the Conservatives are not vulnerable to the same fate.

My point though is that this should not be the case, politicians should not have to face a drip-drip of polemic. Debate is not the same thing as polemic and screaming – it has just become conflated with those things.

But to my mind there is no doubt that it is a climate that suits the right.

Left-wing bloggers actually have a reasonable profile – within the left wing press. But the trouble is that the press is not really particularly left-wing. We get inquiries all the time, but of course the Daily Mail isn’t exactly jumping with glee trying to get hold of our bloggers and write about what we’re doing.

I think this is a key thing the rightwing blogger neglect to mention when they’re gloating about the influence of their blogs.

Rarely will you see them admit that media wise that the left has its work cut out with a hostile media which is hugely dominated by the right.

Though I am still laughing at the supposed “leftiness” of the head of a PR firm whose clients include Exxon,the Chinese Olympics and Japanese whalers!

Too right, and I’d put my own hand up as guilty. The frustrating thing is that its obvious that Politics is so bland and uninspired at the moment that I think almost any centre left vision could take hold very quickly. Maybe its a generational thing. I hope something is coming.

This was about how the left can make an impact. But saying that I broadly agree with your points:

The reason that the right seems better at this is that it is far easier to spew polemic that is ‘against’ rather than ‘for.’

well, you can do both, but there’s little point in criticising an opposition that can’t do anything.

Part of this is the left being its own worst enemy and it walks into every right-wing trap too easily. By blaming ‘right-wing government’ it is effectively talking the code and language of ‘it’s the government’s fault.’

I agree completely.

Agree with all of what you said Jess, particularly:
And where is the interest from the (mainstream) political parties of the left? We certainly don’t see much of that at all.

yup.

Jennie, yes, also agreed.

Once again, Letters From A Tory shows complete ignorance of blogging history (or perhaps determination to rewrite it).

Indeed, he’s well on track to becoming the new Praguetory…

I disagree that you could simply substitute left and right as you suggest, but I take the point. What I was getting at is that ultimately blogging is about polemic and evermore that has become anti-government polemic. That has played into the hands of the right.

Debate is not the same thing as polemic and polarised left and right screaming at each other is not debate.

Bishop Hill (6) – Interesting thought, I admit I had not thought of that.

Jess (4) – Yes – ‘big media’ still calls the tune.

b’shalom

bananabrain

If you follow the implications of it through though, it also means that the libertarians are always going to be at the forefront, because they will throw stones at all of the political parties.

I actually think the Casting the Net thing on LC provides a useful function in this regard – it introduces lots of us to stuff we would not otherwise read, and helps to foster something of a sense of community.

Left-wing bloggers actually have a reasonable profile – within the left wing press. But the trouble is that the press is not really particularly left-wing. We get inquiries all the time, but of course the Daily Mail isn’t exactly jumping with glee trying to get hold of our bloggers and write about what we’re doing.

And where is the interest from the (mainstream) political parties of the left? We certainly don’t see much of that at all.

The reason that the right seems better at this is that it is far easier to spew polemic that is ‘against’ rather than ‘for.’

That is that it is easier to kick at government and tag any type of government action, regardless of party, as ‘leftist.’ In doing this the logical end-point of the argument comes that rightist/small-state thought is de facto correct as everything government (and the conflated left) does is irretrievably malign.

For as long as what can broadly be termed ‘the political class’ is seen as the be all and end all of everything, this status quo will remain. Whilst government and hardly anyone else is the target of internet ire how can a leftist approach get any traction? Think of it this way. A junior clerk in Newcastle puts two CDs into the hands of a private sector courier which then loses them and bloggers blame the Prime Minister.

Put simply – what was that last positive blog about government you read? Given the climate of debate is any of this a surprise?

Part of this is the left being its own worst enemy and it walks into every right-wing trap too easily. By blaming ‘right-wing government’ it is effectively talking the code and language of ‘it’s the government’s fault.’ That is exactly the territory the right-wing writers want to fight on. In this sense Iraq became a gift to the right bloggers because every blog became about every government action being seen through the lens of Iraq.

Had blogs been around at the time, Clem Attlee would have been an internet hate figure.

Blogging has just descended into who can kick hardest and screech loudest. The right has established ‘government’ as an easy target. Anyone can bitch, but being positive is hard. Right-wing blogging is the politics of kicking – the left has just made it easy for them.

http://lettersfromatory.wordpress.com