A very funny New York Times Magazine article talks about why they think conservative blogs are more effective than liberal blogs. (You may have to sign up to read the article, but it is free.)
The writer concludes, predictably, that conservative blogs thrive because of the conservative-dominated media that appeals to supporters' emotions and doesn't mind lying to promote an agenda. Liberal blogs, he writes, spend more time examining all sides of an issue and arguing the nuances with other liberals.
While the article is laughably slanted for a publication whose writers manage to keep a straight face when they recoil in horror from charges of bias, it does make one good point. Liberal bloggers are generally less effective when it counts than conservative bloggers.
The "culture of corruption" campaign slogan is effective, for now, on the lefty blogosphere. But when it comes to shedding light on issues that matter to people and not just preaching to the choir, the liberal blogs come up short.
Can the conservative blogs spank the liberals in 2006 like they did in 2004? No one knows. But little of a structural nature seems to have changed since then, except that the mainstream media pays a lot more attention to the blogs. There are many interesting subtexts to this story that I don't want to get into publicly now, but this will be a huge story one year from now.
