Netroots Risingauthor Nate Wilcox has an interesting interview with Democratic consultant Kelly Fero that I recommend reading.
Most of the interview focuses on 2002, when Fero, a long-time ally of John Sharp, witnessed the beginnings of what would become the "Dream Team."
The way Fero tells the story makes it seem like the "Dream Team" wasn't so much about electing a full slate of Democrats as it was about electing one man in particular.
[Garry] Mauro lost by 19 points at the top of the ticket and the next race down was essentially a tie, showing that Perry wouldn’t have won without Bush’s big coattails. The thinking was in ‘02 who could we get at the top of the ticket who could fix that problem because Sharp wanted to run for Lt. Governor again. So after looking at demographics we thought how bout a well-funded Hispanic.
So we thought of Henry Cisneros. I’ll never forget that meeting. After the long pitch, Cisneros looked at Sharp and said, “Sharp, could I win?” and Sharp goes, “No, but I could” only partly tongue in cheek.
Fero is also pretty hard on Tony Sanchez's campaign, who spent $87 million and didn't have much to show for it.
... I got a call from Hidalgo County in the final days before the election saying that the field program that we were hearing about for months amounted to kids standing in medians holding up Sanchez signs. Another person working for the Sanchez campaign told me that the day after the election he tried to return $80,000 in cash to the campaign and they wouldn’t take it. So he bought a new car.
In the end the NASA like command and control center turned out to be a typical street money in south Texas operation. We could’ve run a campaign like that for slightly less than $87 million.
This weekend, we interviewed Nate from his Virginia home about the book.
Burnt Orange Report: What inspired you to write the book?
Nate Wilcox: We had been talking to the 2006 campaigns on instant messenger and, after the campaigns were over, we had been watching the [Jim] Webb campaign with an eye to recruit talent, and had been impressed with Lowell's blogging. He was by far the best campaign blogger of 2006. There were a lot of liberal national bloggers that weren't comfortable with Webb. Matt Stoller was an early opponent, Blue America didn't think he was liberal enough but he [Lowell] managed to get DailyKos diaries recommended over and over.
I was talking to Lowell, and had some time on my hands, and he had some time on his hands and we talked a lot about campaigns and the way blogs and the internet as a whole had changed campaigns were going. So, Lowell ended up deciding he wanted to tell the story of the people of the Draft Jim Webb campaign, and he went to publishers. One was interested, but wanted to widen the scope. He invited me in to widen the scope of the history of the internet and campaigns from 2002 through 2006.
[Note: Although Amazon.com indicates it is presently sold out of pre-release copies of Netroots Rising, you can still place your order. They are working with the publisher to obtain more copies and will ship yours as soon as they get them in. ]
Since 2002, there has been a cosmic shift in the way political campaigns use the Internet and the way citizens interact with campaigns on the World Wide Web.
In Netroots Rising, Nate Wilcox and Lowell Feld provide an insider's view of important watershed moments in the history of American politics and the Netroots.
For Democrats and progressives (and regular students of politics) who want to understand how the online movement has begun to eclipse television as a the "key" force in American politics, this book is a must-read. From using the internet to organize opposition to mid-decade Congressional redistricting in Texas to the Howard Dean campaign, the Draft Clark movement, and 2006 campaigns like that of Jim Webb, the authors explore the history and growing pains of the Netroots movement in a way that keeps you turning the pages.
The much-anticipated text Netroots Rising by Lowell Field and Texas' own Nate Wilcox is scheduled for release later this month and we here at Burnt Orange Report are excited to have in our hands now a review copy.
On Monday, we'll be bringing you two posts related to Netroots Rising. First, we'll publish a review of the book. Second, we'll also have an interview with co-author Nate Wilcox to share with our readers.
Without letting the cat out of the bag or giving too much away in anticipation of our review on Monday, we will tell you that Netroots Rising is a very compelling read and that a number of Texans and Texas bloggers are mentioned in or were interviewed for the book.
Miss the show? No problem. You can always listen to the archives at www.blogtalkradio.com/headingleft where you can stream past programs or download a podcast.
