Interesting piece from Sunny over on Pickled Politics today:
Are bloggers on the political left of the spectrum really that crap compared to those on the right? I don’t believe so, but I’ll come back to this question another time. I do want to point out how and what can be achieved if we put our minds to it.
The full piece is well worth a read. I don’t agree with all the points Sunny makes (personally I think the liberal versus authoritarian political divide is hugely important and is a better way of looking at many issues than trying to shoehorn people into left or right), though his piece does neatly follow on from some of the issues I’ve written about before:
Liberal Democrat bloggers tend to be either fairly inward or local looking. There are many blogs that really talk all about what is happening in the party, along with a smaller number of – often excellent – blogs which are clearly aimed at a particular local audience (e.g. a councillor’s blog such as Mary Reid’s, which seems to be largely aimed at her constituents – understandably enough!).
What we seem to be missing are those combative, outward looking souls who spot a story and want to help spread or extend the message or the point or the attack, as opposed to inwardly looking expressing their own views on it. So you tend to get stories not spreading, and where they are commented on, they are only commented on by those who have reservations to express. (Full piece)
There’s a challenge there for other bloggers to rise to!
Lynne Featherstone 
Lib Dem bloggers, like Lib Dems in general, tend to be hugely varied and impossible to pidgeonhole (although there do seem to be a fair number of Doctor Who geeks among us). This is the major problem the media has with us: Iain Dale and Guido and (to a lesser extent) DK tend to be fairly predictable rent-a-quote ranters. They also tend to suit the mores of the MSM better than we do.That said, one of the reasons that we are not as influential is that there are so damn many of us, and each of us has our own PoV. I value our lack of sheepish adherence to norms, but recognise that sometimes it would be better if we could all band together too…
On left v right – I am happy to be identified as left-wing and see liberterianism as an important part of the left-wing tradition…statism has been too but I would debate whether that is the true spirit of left-wing politics……On the piece in general I agree there is a challenge there….the challenge is to look and grow outwards…i found it a bit odd that Move On wasn’t mentioned by Sunny….
Darrel G, well this piece was more about UK politics and blogging, than about email activism and other forms of grass-roots politics (MoveOn). Don’t get me wrong, I love MoveOn, and have met people from there, but they are a slightly different bag from political blogging.Hi Lynne, I think your ealier post is spot on and thanks for the link! I’m writing a longer piece on this for Liberal conspiracy and will include your response in that too. And though I somewhat agree with the liberal/authoritarian divide, I think it has to be combined in some ways to a left/right divide. I see myself as a left-liberal and certainly not a statist leftie like many socialists.
That being said Jennie some of us have been quoted in the MSM even myself once rather embarressing misquoted in the Dunfermline and West Fife by-election so that on my return to HQ I was accosted my the offending newsprint.As for being a Doctor Who/Sci Fi geek. stand accused but occasionally try nad use popular culture to draw out a point I’m making. Like what I did post in the last half hour in fact.