(
Note: this is a guest blog.)
By Arianna Huffington
What happens if Kerry wins?
How will he clean up Bush's squalid mess? And how can we help him?
A Kerry victory will be due not only to the blogosphere's funding efforts but to the bloggers holding Kerry's feet to the fire. It's bloggers who'll have to urge Kerry not to run away from his voting record, but to embrace his liberalism -- and define it as the foundation of the values that led to this country's great social breakthroughs. It's bloggers who'll have to embolden Kerry to ask the American people to commit themselves to a large, collective purpose that looks beyond our own self-interest -- and to a more just and equitable society. And it's bloggers who'll have to convince him to reach out to the 50% of eligible voters who didn't vote in 2000 -- the young, the poor, the disenfranchised.
The blogosphere is now the most vital news source in our country. I've toiled in the world of books and syndicated column writing, but more liberating is the blogosphere, where the random thought is honored, and where passion reigns. While paid journalists often just follow a candidate around or sit in the White House press room and rehash a schedule, blogs break through the din of our 500 channel universe and the narrow conventional wisdom. For that the blogosphere has my undying gratitude.
That said, let's get back to the initial question. What will be the role of blogs once John Kerry takes office? And what can they do right now to get a head start?
For starters, blogs should keep the pressure on Kerry. We must make sure that he takes a long, hard look at what happened in 2000 and 2002, and avoid falling into the same traps. Kerry has spent the last 20 years working in the fetid environs of Washington, DC; the best thing bloggers can do is make sure that the Democratic Party's recent spine transplant surgery holds, and that they don't go back to acting like a bunch of dithering poltroons.
This means calling attention to exhibits A and B of spineless behavior, Senators Joseph Lieberman and Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. Lieberman undercuts his credibility nearly every time he opens his mouth. And who can ever forget Daschle's stirring answer when asked why Democrats didn't offer a bold, full-throated alternative to Bush's tax cut plan: "Well, we -- you got to take it one step at a time." You do? Why? Is this an AA meeting? Bush doesn't take it one step at a time, and neither should Democratic leaders.
Let's not fool ourselves, the temptation to return to the bend-over-and-take-it behavior that so recently threatened to turn the Democrats into a permanent minority party will remain strong. That's why blogs need to keep reminding Kerry that only a party with a spine and a leader with a bold vision for America -- that goes beyond carping -- will be able to lead us to victory and to new breakthroughs beyond November.
