Yes Virginia, Progressive Bloggers are Making a Difference!

With the statewide election season wrapping up (aside from a few special elections), and newly-minted Gov. Tim Kaine (D) firmly ensconced, Virginia’s Democratic political bloggers have picked up right where they left off: challenging Republicans on legislative issues. The year 2006 has already been deemed as the year of the local blog by prominent Capitol Hill newspaper, Roll Call which said:

“…if 2004 belonged to the national political blogs, 2006 might well be the cycle of the local political blog. These blogs specialize in state or local political coverage, and while these smaller, non-national political blogs may not have the resources — financial or otherwise — of the well-known titans of the blogosphere, many are starting to gain a following, not to mention the respect of state and local media outlets and politicians.”

With the Commonwealth’s progressive blogging community having played a substantial role in Kaine’s election, as well as, the increase in the total number of Democratic seats in the state House, the new General Assembly session is bearing witness to Roll Call’s prediction. Through a variety of strategies and tactics, Virginia’s Democratic and progressive bloggers are now turning their sights to the legislature. A sample of a few key players illustrates this point.

Charlottesville’s Waldo Jaquith has been hired by a number of clients to give his observations about key pieces of legislation, and he has developed a tool for getting RSS feeds for bills submitted by legislators. The Virginia Centrist blog has created a running list of “Best and Worst” bills proposed by Delegates and Senators, and the New Dominion blog is keeping readers up-to-date on the latest moves around the state Capitol. Finally, Raising Kaine - touted as the “Voice of Virginia Progressives” - is both promoting elements of Gov. Kaine’s legislative agenda and hammering away at the remaining special election races.

So far, these bloggers and their progressive and Democratic brethren have outshone their conservative and Republican competition. In doing so, they have provided a substantive response to lingering questions over whether bloggers could shift from election-season political activism to artful legislative watch-dogging. Though the Virginia General Assembly session is still young, on the progressive side at least, the answer is a resounding “Yes!”