Today's Blogometer: Victory Breeds Ambivalence?
The contrast between blogger reaction to their respective parties' cong. leadership races says more about human reaction to winning and losing than it does about contrast in styles between the left and right. DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas and MyDD's contributors are taking a hands-off approach to the House maj. leader race (although it is quite clear their readership is heavily pro-Rep. John Murtha (D-PA). Righty bloggers, on the other hand (with RedState in the lead) can't tell everybody often enough how strongly they endorse Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) for min. leader and Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) for whip. Will the netroots' ambivalence continue when the Senate starts handing out cmte chairs?
DEM LEADERSHIP: My Name's Paul, And This Is Between Y'all
The netroots' heavy hitters are being noticeably coy about the maj. leader race between Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and John Murtha (D-PA). DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas tells readers he is "going to take a close look at both candidacies, and all of us should do the same." MyDD's Chris Bowers is "open-minded about this race." Kos does ad though: "One thing to note -- Hoyer has clashed repeatedly with Pelosi the past few years. Murtha is a Pelosi loyalist. I don't feel like dealing with years of "divided Democrats" stories because a Majority Leader Hoyer is constantly undercutting Speaker Pelosi."
Daily Kos and MyDD readers were distinctly less undecided. A Daily Kos poll had Murtha up 83%-16%, and Murtha also led at MyDD's poll 69%-14%.
GOP LEADERSHIP: We Get It, They Want The New Guys
In stark contrast to their lefty brethren, RedState wants to make it extra crispy clear that they endorse Reps. Mike Pence (R-IN) and John Shadegg (R-AZ) in their respective races for minority leader and whip: "Today we would like to make it explicitly clear and reiterate that while we respect Representatives Blunt, Boehnor, and Cantor, we believe a fresh start is in order. We also believe there is no better place to turn than the Guardians of the Reagan Legacy and the 1994 Conservative Revolution."
RedState's Erick Erickson also explains how one has "to feel sorry for John Boehner to some degree" and later pleads with Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) not to enter the whip race.
