Joe Lieberman is not taking any questions, at least not from bloggers.
In response to a serious primary challenge, Lieberman recently bought TV ads assuring voters that even if they don't "change each others' minds," he hopes for a "dialogue" and intends to earn his reelection. But that sentiment is absent from the Lieberman Campaign's current response to the netroots.
After over a dozen conversations, the Lieberman Campaign rejected a basic interview request from MyDD blogger Jonathan Singer, who says he was ready to "provide the Senator with an opportunity to respond to some of his detractors" in a "respectful and professional" arrangement. Since Singer has a track record of high-profile interviews and MyDD is a respected website for Democratic discussions, the snub is yet another political error that will hurt Lieberman. It reinforces the perception that he would rather chat with Sean Hannity than a Democratic writer.
But why should anyone besides Connecticut political junkies care?
Because this episode opens a window to progressive bloggers' struggle for legitimacy - both as activists and writers.
Singer's conversations with Lieberman staffers took place over several months. Either they were very serious about finally arranging an interview with a major progressive blog, or they have a weird way of saying no. I think they probably spent weeks debating how to handle bloggers. Would direct engagement serve the campaign's goals, or just rile up the very people who helped recruit Ned Lamont, Lieberman's challenger, and raise money for him? The campaign probably settled on the latter, but it is definitely presenting Lieberman as a listener who is having an honest dialogue with his critics. That does not mean it's actually happening, but the message is in the ads, the speeches, and the talking points. Just a few days before Lieberman officially spurned Singer, Campaign Manager Sean Smith told the Hartford Courant that his boss "thinks the emergence of blogs is an exciting development for citizens to engage in the political discourse." But that's a far cry from the snide comments Lieberman had for bloggers last year, as reported in the New Yorker:
His fate was sealed with a kiss, planted on his cheek by Bush, just after the President delivered his State of the Union address. "That may have been the last straw for some of the people in Connecticut, the blogger types," Lieberman told me. But he is unapologetic about his defense of Bush's Iraq policy, saying, "Bottom line, I think Bush has it right." When I asked if he was becoming a neoconservative, Lieberman smiled and said, "No, but some of my best friends are neocons."
Lieberman's derisive dismissal of monolithic "blogger types" contradicts his campaign's attempt to welcome them as an "exciting development" for dialogue, and this tension brings the legitimacy struggle full circle. Lieberman's attitude parallels the journalists who attacked bloggers this week in the Stephen Colbert debate. False generalizations are offered instead of substantive arguments. But the sharp reaction of Washington establishment figures suggests that some view bloggers as competition. (For more on this issue, check out this American Prospect column, and these posts by Chris Bowers and Peter Daou.)
No one denies the progressive bloggers' impact on the Lieberman race. The press reports it, the campaign acknowledges it, and Lieberman's rhetorical olive branches are popping up on television and computer screens across Connecticut. But empty references to dialogue won't cut it. Lieberman is in a Democratic primary, and he must make his case to Democrats.
Politics is about representation. Who votes for us in Congress, who represents us in policy decisions and who speaks on our behalf - be it on behalf of our state, our party, or our country. The netroots have added voices to this debate, and its time for our political leaders to catch up.
So if you agree and you live in Connecticut, call Joe Lieberman and tell him to do that interview with a progressive blogger. It'd be a start. (The campaign office is 860-244-2006) And if you don't live there but you want to help, tell Congress to support net neutrality, so we can protect blogging, and, you know, dialogue.