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Quote of note:
Stoller agreed that being removed as an official blogger was best. "I just didn’t want any confusion between what I say and what the DNCC says," he said in an interview. He added that the DNCC "wants bloggers to say whatever they want to say. The difference was that I was associated with the DNCC."
Democratic Blogger Canned Over Criticism
by Drew Clark
BOSTON -- The authors of the online diaries known as Web logs, or "blogs," are known for their fierce independence -- but one was so true to that tradition that he quickly lost his slot on the official blog of the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) this week because of a critical comment on an unrelated group blog.
The deleted blogger, Matt Stoller, was the "blog community coordinator" for the DNCC, which organized the convention here. On Monday, opening day, he critiqued convention keynote speaker Barack Obama by unfavorably comparing him with Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, the Democratic candidate for vice president.
Stoller continues to blog on his personal site and retains the credentials he was granted to help other bloggers make preparations to come to the convention, the first major political gathering to grant credentials to such individual Web posters. But the post at The Blogging of the President, where Stoller is the editor, prompted the DNCC to sever its affiliation with Stoller and remove his name from the blog of the committee's Web site.
Obama is an Illinois legislator running for the U.S. Senate and is seen as a rising political star in the party. He spoke to credentialed bloggers at a Monday breakfast for them.
"To be honest, I don't get the big deal," Stoller posted after hearing Obama that morning. "He seems very charismatic, but I have yet to cross that bridge with him where I feel like he's saying anything really interesting or useful. He's a lot like Edwards -- charismatic and demographically useful for the Democrats. But is there there there?"
Stoller, a college-aged consultant, praised Obama in posts on Tuesday and Wednesday. But the Monday post was enough for Eric Schnure, a communications consultant and the official DNCC blogger, to dismiss Stoller despite previous praise for Stoller's "many creative blogging talents."
Democrats have celebrated the emergence of blogging and created a "bloggers boulevard" at the FleetCenter here. In a June post, Schnure compared bloggers with the pamphleteers of the American Revolution.
"Having the freedom to spread ideas and share opinions -- whether they are in the form of passionate protest, irreverent wit (hit or miss), or just plain 'Common Sense' -- is not just part of our democracy; it’s vital to it," he wrote. "Sadly, not everyone seems to appreciate that notion. Some prominent Republicans come to mind. ... That’s really why I’m excited to have the opportunity to head up this blog."
But in an interview, Schnure said dismissing Stoller as a DNCC blogger helped clarify that individual opinions do not represent the party’s views. "He wasn’t speaking on behalf of the DNCC," Schnure said.
Stoller agreed that being removed as an official blogger was best. "I just didn’t want any confusion between what I say and what the DNCC says," he said in an interview. He added that the DNCC "wants bloggers to say whatever they want to say. The difference was that I was associated with the DNCC."
