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Next Generation Netroots Like the printing press, radio, and television in the past, today's communication technologies are vastly reshaping the political landscape. Bowers has been in the middle of this revolution, while Kerbel has had a front-row seat. Together, they place current changes in historical context and persuasively suggest what this era of the Internet means for liberals, conservatives, and the future of American politics. Markos Moulitsas, Founder of Daily Kos Matthew R. Kerbel and Christopher J. Bowers have written the seminal account of the ascendance of the netroots and the progressive movement that has accompanied it. Next Generation Netroots describes the struggle of the forces on the left to first gain a foothold in the Democratic Party and, more recently, to use the mobilization powers of the Internet to assert a stronger voice in setting policy. This book is crucial to the understanding of the conflicting forces at work at a time when the direction of the country is deeply uncertain. Thomas B. Edsall, Columbia University Next Generation Netroots is the book online activists didn't know they were wait- ing for. Matthew Kerbel and Chris Bowers explain why everything we thought we knew about how to expand the progressive netroots is wrong, and why it's time for a new approach. When what you're doing doesn't work, read this book. Susan Madrak, Senior Political Writer at Blue Nation Review This page intentionally left blank NEXT GENERATION NETROOTS From the early demise of Trent Lott at the hands of bloggers to the agonized scream of Howard Dean; from Daily Kos and the blogosphere to the rise of Twitter and Facebook, politics and new media have co-existed and evolved in rapid succession. Here, an academic and practitioner team up to consider how new and old media technologies mix with combustible politics to determine, in real time, the shape of the emerging political order. Our political moment shares with other realigning periods the sense that political parties are failing to address the public interest. In an era defined by the collapse of the political center, extreme income inequality, rapidly changing demography, and new methods of communicating and organizing, a second-generation online progressive movement fueled by email and social media is coming into its own. In this highly readable text, the authors—one a scholar of Internet politics, the other a leading voice of the first generation netroots—draw on unique data and on-the-ground experience to answer key questions at the core of our tumultuous politics. How has Internet activism changed in form and function? How have the left and right changed with it? How does this affect American political power? Matthew R. Kerbel is Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department at Villanova University. Christopher J. Bowers is the Senior Campaign Director for Daily Kos and an experienced consultant for a wide range of campaigns and organizations. This page intentionally left blank NEXT GENERATION NETROOTS Realignment and the Rise of the Internet Left Matthew R. Kerbel and Christopher J. Bowers Add Add Add Add Add AddAdd AddAdd AddAdd First published 2016 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2016 Taylor & Francis The right of Matthew R. Kerbel and Christopher J. Bowers to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Published 2016 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Names: Kerbel, Matthew Robert, 1958- author. | Bowers, Christopher J., author. Title: Next generation netroots : realignment and the rise of the Internet left / Matthew R. Kerbel, Villanova University, and Christopher J. Bowers, Daily Kos. Description: First edition. | New York, NY : Routledge, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references. Identifiers: LCCN 2015041948| ISBN 9781138652477 (hardback) | ISBN 9781138652484 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781315624235 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Internet–Political aspects–United States. | Information society–Political aspects–United States. | Communication in politics– Technological innovations–United States. | Political participation– Technological innovations–United States. | Liberalism–United States. | Political culture–United States. Classification: LCC JK468.A8 K46 2016 | DDC 302.23/10973–dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015041948 ISBN: 9781138652477 (hbk) ISBN: 9781138652484 (pbk) ISBN: 9781315624235 (ebk) Typeset in Bembo by Taylor & Francis Books To our spouses, children and parents Adrienne and Gabrielle Kerbel Doris and Sheldon Kerbel Natasha and Linus Chart Maureen and James Bowers This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS List of illustrations x Acknowledgments xi List of contributors xii Introduction 1 1 There is No Center 7 2 On Coalitions, Movements and Regime Change 34 3 Netroots Rising 56 4 Television, Message Control, Money and Republican Dominance 84 5 Objectivity and Transparency 100 6 The Limits of Netroots Influence 115 7 Resolution 131 Index 150 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figures 6.1 Cumulative change in real hourly wages of all workers, by wage percentile, 1979–2013 116 6.2 Third Way Board of Trustees 121 Tables 1.1 Major presidential campaign spending on television during the Reagan coalition era, in millions 16 2.1 Fourteen key similarities between the conservative and progressive movements 43 3.1 Top 25 sources of traffic to Daily Kos, November 14, 2005–January 17, 2006 68 3.2 Average monthly television and Internet use by age (hours) 79 4.1 Traffic, “Likes” and “Talking About This” figures for leading conservative and progressive Facebook pages, November 2014 88 6.1 New York State traffic to Daily Kos during the 2014 New York State Gubernatorial Primary 124 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Collaboration is always more than two writers working together, and we were fortunate to benefit from the wisdom and experience of our editor, Jennifer Knerr, and from the editorial assistance of Ze’ev Sudry. As we developed our manuscript, we received critical feedback on the content of our argument from a host of individuals with insight into the dynamics of Internet politics in general and the Internet Left in particular. We are especially indebted to David Karpf, John Kenneth White, Natasha Chart, Markos Moulitsas, Will Rockafellow, Susie Madrak, Michael Langenmayr, Ilya Sheyman and Tim Tagaris. Any undertaking of this magnitude takes time and invariably requires long nights of writing under the pressure of looming deadlines. For one of us, this was the first time through the process of writing and revising a manuscript; for the other, it was the ninth. Regardless, we were both sustained by the patience of our families and by their support for our commitment to this project. They are part- ners in our work, and with a deep sense of appreciation and gratitude we dedicate this book to them. LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS Matthew R. Kerbel is Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department at Villanova University. An early student of the Internet, he is the author or editor of nine books on American politics, including Netroots: Online Progressives and the Transformation of American Politics, and If It Bleeds, It Leads: An Anatomy of Television News. In Netroots, he considers the possibility that Internet politics will rekindle the relationship between politicians and ordinary citizens that was largely lost in the television age. His interest in media politics stems from his experience in radio and television news, including work as a news writer for the Public Broadcasting Service in New York. He lives in Wayne, Pennsylvania with his wife Adrienne and daughter Gabrielle. Christopher J. Bowers is the Senior Campaign Director for Daily Kos. From May 2004 through June 2007, he was lead writer at MyDD.com. In July 2007, he co-founded Openleft.com and served as the managing editor until August 2010. He has been involved in seminal netroots events, including organizing the Liberal Blog Advertising Network in 2005 and the Senate public option whip count in 2009. Additionally, he has served as a consultant for a wide range of campaigns and organizations, including online powerhouses MoveOn.org, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and the New Organizing Institute. He lives in Rochester, NY with his wife Natasha Chart and son Linus. INTRODUCTION I want my country back! We want our country back! I am tired of being divided!1 Governor Howard Dean to the California Democratic Convention, March 15, 2003 America has made their decision, they’ve decided, we are going to take our country back!2 Rep. Michele Bachmann to Iowa voters, March 26, 2011 Take our country back from whom? While the context of these two statements could not be more different, with Howard Dean embracing a pluralistic view of America in opposition to the economic and foreign policies of the George W. Bush administration, and Michele Bachmann railing against big government and the
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