There's no doubt Hillary faces some hostility in the netroots. I've had several reporters ask me whether Clinton has "reached out" to the netroots, to which my answer is, "no". "Ahh", think the reporters, "So what Hillary needs to do is 'reach out' more and all will be well, right?"
Nevermind that "reaching out", in political terms, seems to mean "have a meeting with Markos", which is so freakin' stupid I can hardly stand it. I rarely do those kinds of meetings because frankly, I never know what to say. It's not like politicians will ever say anything juicy anyway. I'll talk to politicians when working on a journalistic endeavor (like Crashing the Gate or, early next year, my book on Libertarian Democrats). Other than that, I'd rather hang out with a staffer any day of the week. Staffers actually give you real information because they don't have to worry about "gaffes" or making a bad impression or whatever.
In any case, no, "reaching out" isn't enough. Not near enough.
So how would Hillary ingratiate herself to the netroots if she was so inclined? Here's how, and this applies not to just Hillary, but every single politician seeking netroots love and respect.
1. Be a leader
2. Get people involved
It's that simple. It's not about kissing up to top bloggers, or praising us in speeches, or otherwise kissing our butts. It's about showing leadership.
Hillary's problem, as I have written before, is that she has enjoyed a huge soapbox for six years and yet doesn't have a single high-profile policy or legislative accomplishment to her name on an issue of real value. Sure, Dems have been in the minority in the Senate, but she doesn't even have a significant policy proposal to her name. It was as if the Clinton Health Care debacle has made her risk averse in perpetuity.
A couple of days ago, Hillary called for a Privacy Bill of Rights in a speech. Now that's the sort of thing people want. Real leadership on a real issue of concern -- the increasing intrusion of government and corporate American into our private lives.
Now, talking about introducing such a bill is only the first step. The second step is to actually work to make that bill a reality. Inform people of where it sits in the legislative process. Give people action alerts, let them know who to call, where to put pressure, what letters to write, etc. Get people vested and excited in that effort. Show them that you are investing some of your "political capital" to make it happen.
THIS is how you reach out to the netroots. Not by kissing our butts, but by engaging us in tangible efforts to make this a better country. And while such efforts may not translate to 2008 support, they can help diffuse hostility, just like Kerry was able to do with his efforts to filibuster Alito.