Bloggers having impact in Nevada

Bloggers poised to be players on state's campaign landscape

Anjeanette Damon (adamon@rgj.com) RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL November 20, 2005

Nevada has been blogged.

Just ask Chancellor Jim Rogers, who still might be a Republican, or U.S. Sen. John Ensign, who still might have a political bombshell to drop on a would-be opponent.

Already players on the national stage, political bloggers have arrived in the Silver State and are poised to alter Nevada's campaign landscape.

Nevada's nascent blogosphere recently revealed the past drug use of potential U.S. Senate candidate Jack Carter and instigated a controversy that compelled Rogers to become nonpartisan.

Blogs are Internet journals that offer a running commentary on the issues of the day, with writers combing other blogs, mainstream media and other sources for nuggets often overlooked by the established press. Beyond that, they offer an instantaneous forum for political debate.

It's a citizen punditry that already is breaking news in Nevada and shaping debates in some of the state's key races.

"Local political blogs have a lot of potential to shape politics in Nevada and be influential in the same way that national blogs have been influential," said Donica Mensing, a journalism professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. "They can set up buzz about candidates, skewer campaigns, hold figures accountable."

Among those in Nevada's budding blogosphere are former and current journalists, an anonymous aspiring novelist and a credit underwriter.

The Las Vegas Gleaner, http://www.lasvegasgleaner.com/, is a liberal blog launched this summer by Hugh Jackson, former editor of a weekly newspaper, and has quickly become a must-read in political circles.

Las Vegas columnist Jon Ralston, who hosts a television talk show and writes a daily political newsletter, recently joined the blogosphere and Las Vegas City Life editor Steve Sebelius takes daily pokes at the political establishment on his blog.

Those who run campaigns are waiting to see how local bloggers will change things in Nevada politics.

"We just really don't know at this point," said Kirsten Searer, spokeswoman for the state Democratic Party. "Most of these blogs are just sheer entertainment. They are really funny and are insightful as well.

"The beauty of bloggers is they have an audience of the right people. If they break news, then insiders in politics and mainstream media are likely to pick it up."

Nationally, bloggers have become the veritable fifth estate of government, acting as a check on presidents, Congress and the press. They have brought down a television news anchor and two Senate leaders.

In 2002, liberal bloggers ensured the nation took notice of former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott's pro-segregationist comments, creating such a maelstrom that Lott was forced to step down from his leadership post.

Political impact

Last year, bloggers were given some credit with helping to defeat former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle in South Dakota by scrutinizing his record and championing his opponent.

Chuck Muth, a Carson City-based conservative political consultant, hopes the same can be done in the Silver State when Daschle's successor, U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., is up for re-election in five years.

"Setting it up is easy and cheap," he said. "All you need is a good writer who has a fundamental interest in politics."

The governor's race already is a favorite topic for Nevada bloggers.

Jackson regularly harpoons the three Republican candidates. He champions Democratic candidate state Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, and castigates her opponent, Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson, as too conservative for the Democratic primary. He regularly refers to him as the "Democrat."

Early in the campaign, when Rogers made news as a possible Republican challenger to U.S. Rep. Jim Gibbons, Jackson was the first to report Rogers' contributions to federal Democratic candidates.

Within days, the state's largest newspapers were pushing the story forward. Within two weeks, Rogers, who had been a Republican for 30 years, switched to nonpartisan.

Daily visits to the Las Vegas Gleaner grow each week. In August, an average of 80 people visited each week. Last week, the average was 182.

"The more people who are looking at this stuff the better," Jackson said. "Inasmuch as me or anybody else can contribute to the sum total of human knowledge with regards to candidates, that is the ideal way that we can contribute to the debate."

Blogs ignored by some

Gibson's press secretary Greg Bortolin said he reads Jackson's blog "with a chuckle."

"I'm not discounting the blogs because people do read them and they do influence people," Bortolin said. "But at the end of the day, television and the mainstream media have a far greater reach. I just don't see a blog as something I have to deal with."

Titus's campaign manager disagrees.

"Blogs have proven to be very relevant in this race," he said. "The folks that blog tend to be intelligent Nevadans. They are savvy and understand the issues confronting this state."

Since 1999, Gibbons has been the subject of an entire blog devoted to pillorying his record. Run by an anonymous writer, http://www.votegibbonsout.com/ has almost daily posts criticizing Gibbons' votes, press releases and appearances.

Last month, the writer took a break from Gibbons-bashing to reveal that Jack Carter, son of former President Jimmy Carter, who is considering a Senate run in Nevada, was kicked out of the Navy for using marijuana and LSD.

The story quickly made national news.

Gibbons' campaign manager, Robert Uithoven, said he isn't worried that Vote Gibbons Out will hurt his candidate.

"It didn't play a role in the previous election and I don't see it playing a role in this one," he said.

At present, the Nevada blogosphere tips toward liberals, but conservatives are hoping to change that soon.

"Nevada conservatives are a little behind the curve," Muth said.

Eric Odom, a Reno college student, has created the Nevada Independent Conservative Political Action Committee, which has a blog at: www.nvconservatives.blogspot.com.

And Mark Noonan, a 40-year-old underwriter from Las Vegas, who already has a national following as a writer for Blogs for Bush and GOP Bloggers, is gearing up to launch Battleborn Politics by the first of the year.

"I'm a conservative Republican," he said. "This will not be a balanced blog. I will give the other side their due, but I'm here to support my side."

Jackson's Gleaner sports a similar disclaimer: "Neither objectivity nor balance are priorities. Accuracy and honesty are."