Netroots Rising: How a Citizen Army of Bloggers and Online Activists Is Changing American Politics

By Nate Wilcox and Lowell Feld

Book Overview

The 2006 elections will be remembered as the year when the center of power in American politics shifted from traditional top-down central broadcasters to new bottom-up decentralized activists in the blogosphere and netroots. The authors give firsthand accounts of the burgeoning power of the netroots to determine the outcome of political contests, most notably as when the national balance of power was tipped by Jim Webb's rag-tag army of bloggers and netroots activists. They assess the prospects for Netroots 2.0: whether the netroots hordes will crash the party or work out an uneasy cohabitation with the traditional party power elite.

The 2006 elections will be remembered as the year when the center of power in American politics shifted from traditional top-down central broadcasters to new bottom-up decentralized activists in the blogosphere and netroots. The authors give firsthand accounts of the burgeoning power of the netroots to determine the outcome of political contests, most notably as when the national balance of power was tipped by Jim Webb's rag-tag army of bloggers and netroots activists who provoked and exposed the gaffe that proved fatal to George Allen's senatorial bid.

Veteran online campaigners Feld and Wilcox recount and analyze many other political campaigns in which netroots activism was decisive or instructive, including: * U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's downfall. *Tim Kaine's election as Virginia govenor. *Howard Dean's and Wes Clark's presidential campaigns. *Ned Lamont's primary victory over Joe Lieberman. The authors conclude with an assessment of the prospects for Netroots 2.0: Will the netroots hordes crash the party or will they work out an uneasy cohabitation with the traditional party power elite? The foreword is written by Markos (Kos) Moulitsas Zuniga, founding editor of the world's biggest political blog, Daily Kos.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0313346607
• ISBN13: 9780313346606
• Release Date: June 2008
• Publisher: Praeger
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Fascinating Behind-The-Scenes History

In 2006 I joined those fed up with the bush administration and stumbled into the netroots movement. Other than vote, I had never done anything in politics. However, I discovered Raising Kaine while doing a google search and soon joined Webb's "ragtag army" of volunteers to unseat George Allen. Raising Kaine became the center of my election activities. RK not only had discussions of events and issues, but flyers that you could download and print to distribute. A great endorsement from Webb's company commander in Vietnam was posted. I literally printed out hundreds of copies and distributed them throughout my neighborhood. Netroots Rising is a fascinating behind-the-scenes history of the whole netroots movement.

A 'must' for not only computer libraries, but any collection strong in social issues

NETROOTS RISING: HOW A CITIZEN ARMY OF BLOGGERS AND ONLINE ACTIVISTS IS CHANGING AMERICAN POLITICS comes from two veteran online campaigners who analyze political campaigns in which netroots activism was decisive or instructive. Their survey offers insider and first-hand accounts of the power of the netroots to determine political outcomes and also offers chapters covering how activists build movements and insiders kill them, and how the passage of time affects political and internet movements. A 'must' for not only computer libraries, but any collection strong in social issues.

Important Social History of a New Political Phenonemon

I suppose you really could start Netroots Rising and put it down. I'm also told there are people who can eat just one potato chip. The book reads almost like a novel, with several narrative lines that switch back and forth between the points of view of both authors, Nate Wilcox and Lowell Feld. It has a rising story line with twist and turns, obstacles, and complications. And the varying plotlines converge at the end. The book opens with the state of the political sphere in 2002, where the advantage went to the Republicans. Most fundraising in both parties consisted of large donors writing checks for at least $1,000 or $2,000 a pop. But the GOP had the lock on donations from small donors thanks to their mastery of direct mail and earlier computer technology. They built better databases than the Democrats and led the way with grassroots GOTV field efforts. Their ground game was cleaning the Democrats' clocks in every election cycle. In addition, the earliest, most successful websites and blogs were dominated by Republicans like Drudge Report, Free Republic and Instapundit. They duplicated the success of Republicans, who had long dominated the airwaves on cable TV and radio, with talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh. Netroots Rising opens from Nate Wilcox's point of view with the situation in Texas and recounts the struggle of the progressive grassroots and the new netroots activists in local races there. It covers the antics of Tom DeLay and his newly formed Texans for a Republican Majority PAC (TRMPAC). It briefly describes Republican dirty tricks in other states, such as those that defeated Vietnam veteran and triple amputee Max Cleland in Georgia, and describes DeLay's successful attempt to force an unprecedented and barely legal mid decade redistricting scheme in the Texas legislature. The tome describes in fascinating detail the various attempts to unseat DeLay and the role of a growing grassroots activist core, which did an admirable job of challenging him. The book then segues into the mounting frustration of Lowell Feld, who watched, with increasing dismay as the 2000 election unfolded, followed by 9/11, the invasion of Iraq, and the Democrats' totally ineffective 2004 election campaign, when John Kerry was Swiftboated into defeat while a core of paid professional consultants and party insiders appeared helpless to counter an aggressive Republican spin machine. Lowell had earlier enlisted in the Draft Wesley Clark movement, attended meet ups, and gradually got involved in both netroots and grassroots activism. Meanwhile, Wilcox joined Howard Dean's campaign, one of the earliest to utilize the Internet effectively. The book goes back and forth between Wilcox in Texas and Feld in Virginia. Of course, it ends with the triumph of Jim Webb's election, truly one of the glowing success stories of the progressive Netroots in 2006. It gives the behind the scenes account of the famous maccacca incident that led to George Allen's defeat by

Fascinating window into new media politics--penned by two of the best

For people involved in the tsunami of online political activism over the past five years (a.k.a. 'The Netroots'), Lowell Feld and Nate Wilcox are household names, and reading through their fascinating new book, *Netroots Rising*, reveals exactly why that is. Part social history, part activist manual, part political biography, *Netroots Rising* is--at its core--a first-hand description of the 2006 Virginia Senate race, wherein the Democratic Party candidate Jim Webb out hustled and out smarted the incumbent Republican George Allen, thereby giving delivering a new Democratic majority in the Senate. If ever there was an election tale that could make even the most disengaged reader jump out of their chair and shout, the 2006 Virginia Senate race was it. *Netroots Rising* is a perfect case study for college courses and field trainers alike. But what makes the book so rewarding to read, however, is more than just the tale from the trail. It is the masterful way Feld and Wilcox put their experiences in Virginia in the big-picture context of a shifting reality in American electoral politics. Insiders will relish the chance to read Feld and Wilcox' version of 'L'Affaire Macaca'--wherein George Allen insulted a Webb field staffer with an obscure, but well-documented, racial slur. Newcomers to the netroots will devour the brilliant genealogy of online politics that Feld and Wilcox lay out starting from the presidential bid of Gov. Howard Dean. In the end, Feld and Wilcox walk their reader from an election culture of flipping pancakes and soulless media buys purchased by shadowy consultants, to a brave new world of open-source campaigning, tech-savvy staffers, and engaged citizen journalists who take on the most powerful politicians with little more than a hand-held video camera, a laptop computer, and a fearless turn-of-phrase. Want to know how U.S. politics changed over the past five years, who changed it, and how you can join the fun? Stop listening to the pundit-rubes who litter the 24/7 network and cable shows and pick up a copy of *Netroots Rising*. And while you're at it: buy a few copies for your friends and family, too.

Progressive Blogs Transform Political Landscape!

The American political landscape has been irrevocably altered by the rise of progressive bloggers and online activists. In Netroots Rising, Lowell Feld and Nate Wilcox have provided a gripping insiders account of this phenomenon. Every campaign manager and Party Chair in America needs to read this book. Peter Rousselot ,Chair, Arlington County Virginia Democratic Committee