The DNC's blog credentialing f'up

The DNC started off great with their blogging credentialling process. Of particular note was their state-blogger program, which would seat grassroots-level state bloggers with their delegations on the convention floor. This was how it was pitched at the time:

2008 DemConvention State Blogger Corps

Recognizing the growth of more localized blogs, this pool is designed for those covering state and local politics. To qualify as a state blogger, the applicant's blog must have been in existence six months prior to requesting credentials and have at least 120 politically related blog posts. Bloggers must submit their daily audience and list their authority based on Technorati stats. Bloggers may also provide examples of posts that make their blog stand out as an effective online organizing tool and/or agent of change.

A press release from that time:

In November, the DNCC announced its blogger credentialing process for 2008, including an expansion of the credentialed blogger pool from prior cycles and the addition of a state blogger credentialing program. Under the DemConvention State Blogger Corps, which is designed for those covering state and local politics, the DNCC is offering the opportunity for one blogger to be credentialed from each of the states and territories. The program, recognizing the growth of more localized blogs and in line with Governor Dean's 50-state strategy, has been open for applications since December.

So how did the DNC choose to recognize the growth of local blogs "in line with Governor Dean's 50-state strategy"? Mostly, they got it right. At least in 45 states. But they blew it big time in five others, dissing some of the best state bloggers in the country.

In New York, the excellent Albany Project was passed over for a site focused on NY City corruption founded by the Politico's Ben Smith. Go to that site, and it's nothing but press releases. [Update: That press release page is a lower-level page, which I got when I clicked on the "blog" link in their navigation. They have real writers on their home page.]

In New Jersey, the inimitable Blue Jersey got passed over for PolitickerNJ -- a non-partisan, corporate owned site run by the guys who own the New York Observer. Somehow, I doubt that's inline with the spirit of Dean's 50-state strategy, online organizing, or being agents of change.

In Alabama, Left in Alabama was passed over, as was Cotton Mouth in Mississippi, passed over in favor of a site, Natchez Blog, devoted to Natchez MS, population 18,000 -- a site, by the way, that didn't have a single post or action alert on the MS-01 special election we won last week. Cotton Mouth was one of the best resources on that race (and the Senate race as well).

Finally, Michigan Liberal was given the big diss as well.

The DNC's online guy at the convention, Aaron Myers (email: [e-mail]) claims that it's a big ado about nothing, that the snubbed blogs will be getting regular blog credentials when those are announced sometime this week.

But that's not the point.

The state blogger corps were a special program and a particularly coveted one since it allows those bloggers to sit with their delegations on the convention floor. Regular bloggers can't do that. They may "have access" to the state delegations, but they won't be sitting with them.

The solution was easy -- take the five blogs that were given their unwarranted access, and give them regular blog credentials just like most everyone else. Those are the same credentials sites like Daily Kos will have, so there's nothing shameful about them.

Then they could give those five state blogger corps passes in MI, AL, MS, NY, and NJ to the blogs in those states that have are TRUE reflections of Dean's 50-state strategy, those blogs that are organizing and building for a Democratic majority at the local level with little recognition virtually and no money. Those are the bloggers who are in the trenches helping make victories like MS-01 possible.

This fix could've been done quietly and without any public commotion, but Aaron Myers and whoever ultimately makes those decisions have decided to be obtuse about it. They're pretend that there's no difference between the regular credentials and the state blogger ones, a farcical position. If there was no difference between the two classes of credentials, then there wouldn't be two classes of credentials.

So why would the DNC take a program that had gotten rave reviews, and then muck it up by 1) creating an unecessary controversy, and 2) appear so uninterested in quietly fixing things? The rumor is that state parties were given veto power, and the excluded blogs all have a history of criticizing and holding their state parties accountable. For example, here's what Cotton Mouth heard:

We've been in contact with people who have told us that we were considered for the credential, but were vetoed by someone in Mississippi's Democratic Party. We are attempting to find out who that person is and why they felt we should not represent Mississippi.

This is obviously bull, as is the lack of responsiveness and outright tone-deafness to this problem by Myers and company at the convention. They've let this become a public controversy when it could've easily been handled quietly, and things will escalate, as many of the credentialled state bloggers are closing ranks around the snubbed ones and are already pitching the story (successfully, as we'll soon see) to the traditional media.

Completely unnecessary. Luckily, it's not too late to fix things, and the DNC should do so immediately.