Local Bloggers Start A Global Conversation, by Aman Batheja

Local bloggers start a global conversation
By AMAN BATHEJA
abatheja@star-telegram.com

Move over, Bill O’Reilly. Step aside, Keith Olbermann.
This election season has shown that one doesn’t need a TV show to passionately push a point of view.
Whether you call them pundits, political observers or typing heads, political bloggers have ensured that the public discourse this election season has been the most wide-ranging and multifaceted in American history.
Local bloggers, some of whom had shied away from politics before this year, say writing about the elections has attracted more readers while forcing them to do research on the issues and gain a richer understanding of their own beliefs.
"I would have never known what an earmark was before, but now it’s ingrained in my psyche," said blogger Mark Pakulak of Runaway Bay, who writes about the presidential race on his blog, The Idiot Speaketh.
Local but global
Bloggers made a splash on the national political scene in 2004, when they helped break several big stories in the presidential race between George W. Bush and John Kerry. Since then, millions of opinionated people have joined in on the global conversation.
"It’s just really cool to know that there are people in Israel, Australia and London who log on to my mad ravings every day," said Allen Patterson, a shipping manager from Fort Worth who often writes about religion and his libertarian politics on his blog, The Whited Sepulchre.
Many blogs have focused more on politics this year even though they may not have started out that way.
John Rost, a maintenance supervisor from Arlington, launched his blog, A Keyboard and a .45, in 2006 to write about his passion for gun rights. More recently, Rost has explored the presidential candidates’ positions on guns, including conducting an interview via e-mail with California Rep. Duncan Hunter when he was a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination. He has written several posts in recent days urging readers to vote for John McCain.
"Right now it’s real political because we’re in a political season, but most of the time, I try to keep it about guns," Rost said.
Barry Green of Decatur, a former district attorney for Wise and Jack counties, regularly peppers local and national politics into his blog between photos of women in skimpy clothes and random musings.
"It tends to spur a lot of comments if you put up anything political in nature," said Green, who launched his blog, Liberally Lean from the Land of Dairy Queen, about three years ago. "Even those that disagree, I think they tend to come back more than those that agree."
Now that they have a taste for punditry, some find they can’t get enough.
In October, Pakulak said, he tried to take a vacation from posting political news on his blog. He didn’t last three days, he said.
"There was too much stuff bursting to get out," he said.
Pakulak’s blogging initially tended to focus on anything he found funny. That changed in August when McCain picked Sarah Palin as his running mate. The disabled stay-at-home father has since devoted most of his blog posts to the presidential race and mocking Palin in particular.
"My ammunition will go way down if McCain doesn’t win," said Pakulak, who supports Obama.
Hot-button topics
Along with giving millions a voice online, many bloggers say writing about political issues helps them better understand their own beliefs. Some, like the Denton County writer behind the blog Political Virgin, find that blogging anonymously lets them explore their thoughts more freely.
"It allows me to work out my own views without having to defend those views to people in my daily life," the blogger, who asked that her name not be used, wrote in an e-mail.
The constant give-and-take with visitors who post comments often pushes bloggers into debates over their positions. Several bloggers recalled posts about hot-button issues — evolution, healthcare or the economy — that sparked dozens of responses.
"Sometimes it strengthens your view. Sometimes it changes it," said Steve Southwell, of Lewisville, a computer programmer and the lead writer of Whos Playin?, which covers local and national politics. "In the end we disagree, but hopefully we keep it respectful."
Though the elections have provided plenty of fodder, some bloggers will be happy to be done writing about the campaigns.
Jim Carson, a former Keller city councilman, launched Keller City Limits back in 2005 to focus on city issues. Posts about local and national races, most written by another blogger to the site, have attracted plenty of readers, he said. However, he looks forward to the blog regaining its prime function as "a sounding board" for local residents talking about local issues, he said.
"Ideas that would not get heard otherwise get put up regularly on the blog," Carson said. "Even if those ideas get rejected, at least they were considered."

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