Ned Lamont defied gravity. He began as an unknown candidate and trailed Lieberman in the polls for quite awhile. Analysts from Conn. to Calif. will say Lamont won because of the liberal bloggers, otherwise referred to as the ‘netroots’.
What this really boils down to is that the voters voted but the online community spoke loudly and raised Lamont's profile. Bloggers shook an election that would have otherwise been about maintaining the status quo.
It must be said that voters in Connecticut are not a representation of voters throughout this country. Yes, the blogosphere has the ability to propel a candidate and message to a national audience but it's the voters themselves who actually go to the polls. I must caution those that believe this election will force other democratic candidates to mimic Lamont’s positions. This election was held in one state where the message resonated. Look at the Iowa caucuses in 2004. Dean was supposed to sweep but his online community did not turn out a win at the caucus. Why, because his message did not resonate with caucus goers, despite his ‘front-runner’ status.
This election did send a message to the grey-haired consultants and lobbyists in DC that the online community is a powerful force at raising awareness and spreading a message. The community is not going away and should be closely monitored as part of every campaign’s arsenal from here on out.
As a final note, we must realize the primary in Conn. only involved Democrats. How this compares to an election involving Republicans is a different animal to deal with. Most Americans are not extreme left or right. It is clear that the 60 percent of American’s are opposed to the war in Iraq but the Dem’s have yet to propose a solution that addresses the problem.
This is a great New York Times article about the blogosphere’s affect.
UPDATE - This TIME article is great and mirrors what I was trying to say
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