Drudge (and his small crew of editors) use the influence of the site to push what they believe to be overlooked stories within a campaign. And... Drudge tends to have a storyline (or two) that he grasps onto and stays with for weeks or months. In 2008 (and 2012) that was how Romney was stronger than many people gave him credit.... So far in this cycle, Drudge has been hard on Bush (highlighting lots of stories that suggest the former Florida governor isn't all that conservative) and quite kind to Walker. Here's the current lead of the site:
If Drudge continues to push Walker, it will matter in terms of how the Wisconsin governor is regarded by Republican politicos. Ditto Bush — although to a lesser extent because Bush is such a known commodity in Republican circles. (Ask any nascent campaign for the GOP nomination whether having Drudge "like" them matters. If they say anything but "yes," they are lying.)
February 3, 2015
"Why Matt Drudge might be more powerful now than ever before."
WaPo's Chris Cillizza explains. Excerpt:
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Walker is pretty clearly getting his shot right now. Drudge is giving him a push.
It's up to Walker what he does with his opportunity.
It won't be long before the NYT attempts to destroy him.
So... Cillizza is jealous that drudge has more power than him?
Walker is getting a bump awfully early. I wonder if he'll peak too soon.
Drudge is still around?
Yeah, gotta be careful about peaking too soon.
HotAir already has him pegged as an open borders amnesty shill.
Walker doesn't do himself any favors but not having a clear message on immigration and what he actually plans to do about it.
But this could be a good test of his campaign skills. If he gets on top and stays on top, that's a good sign for the general election.
GOP NOMINATION RANKINGS
1. Bush (--)
2. Walker (rising)
3. Christie (falling)
4. Rubio (--)
5. Paul (--)
I see Christie continuing his fall. The real question to me is which of the 2010 darlings will challenge and defeat Bush for the nomination.
I don't think Rand Paul will be able to sniff the nomination because he alienates important GOP constituencies. He might warrant VP consideration, however.
My hunch is either Walker or Rubio will surprise Bush and win over the donors. Based on speaking ability and charisma alone, I think Rubio will do it. But then again, who knows, Bush might have some sway over Rubio.
Cillizza takes a passing shot, saying that Drudge's web page "looks like crap". That triggered more comments than anything, mostly from people (like me) who praised TDR for being clear, simple, uncluttered, and remarkably free of pop-ups, autoplay videos, and other, well, crap.
There's going to be a lot of "front runners" between now and Iowa--remember last time? Almost everyone had a lead in the polls at some point. Then it may have reflected unsatisfaction with Romney as front runner (he was really the only one likely to get the nomination, except Perry who joined late) but this time around it just seems no one can naturally dominate.
Interesting that everything Cillizza says about Drudge is true for Wash. Post, which is clearly pushing Bush.
"Everybody already knows Bush..." says the story maker. But that's not true. Few people outside Florida know anything about Bush except his name.
And early winner tags is exactly the favorable first impression Walker needs. The folks in Iowa did not know him before he made his speech. Now he is their candidate. That's a miracle speech.
Drudge is a reporter. Not a narrative maker that he is falsely accused of being by the real narrative gang.
The leader of the republican party is a homo-love it.
Why?
Because the MSM's "speak-truth-to-power" mask is off, and everybody and his puppies that are not already devoured by Dear Leader know the MSM are the Propaganda Wing of the Democratic Party. Ergo, no one who has a little brains trust the MSM. Drudge fills a vacuum.
Titus: "The leader of the republican party is a homo-love it."
Oh, so now Drudge is the leader of the Republican party.
You'll have to forgive me but it's hard to keep up with who the leader of the Republican party is since the dems change the designation basically every week.
What's the over/under for how long Drudge gets to be the lefty-designated leader of the republican party before the left changes it again?
Sounds like someone at the Washington Post is a bit jealous because he isn't the prettiest peacock in the ostentation of peacocks and peahens.
"The leader of the republican party is a homo-love it."
And the Democrats are about to nominate the enabler of a compulsive sex offender. What's your point?
I'd note also that while Drudge is hardly the "leader" of the GOP or even the Right, the fact that he has influence with those groups if anything speaks well of them. Besides, it wasn't a Republican president that signed the Defense of Marriage Act into law. But I'm sure Hillary will do a deft job pretending that she and her husband "evolved" on the issue, rather than read the political tea leaves.
I will not vote for Rubio. Enough with the Senator Candidates.
Paul is working hard to kill himself. Is vaccines where he wants to die? Really.
The big plus for Walker is that he's been relentlessly attacked for years. There isn't many bombs you can throw at him. And it's not like Hillary where the press blunted a lot of the attacks.
And hearing a WaPo guy criticize any other site is hilarious. WaPo is one of the worst sites I have seen. Slow as hell doing much of anything.
"MadisonMan said...
I will not vote for Rubio. Enough with the Senator Candidates."
If Rubio v Hillary, then what?
Sigivald said... [hush][hide comment]
Drudge is still around?
I am going to file that with:
Kudos
LOL
Drudge who?
Methinks
I have never read/watched/listened to... but I think..
IYKWIMAITYD
I am not a Savage Robot
The big plus for Walker is that he's been relentlessly attacked for years.
Walker sells papers and ad buys, not to mention the Wisconsin media are without except a collection of D+ chickenshits scared of their own jobs if they wander too far into investigative journalism. I'm not sure Walker has even been asked a follow-up question in 4+ years. That's why many of us welcome the national spotlight on Walker. Perhaps that's a bit too optimistic, we got Dubya twice.
Rather Dubya twice than Obama twice. What a mess the world isin with him as the leader of the free world!
His domestic legacy is gonna be "free stuff for you and you and you and you!" And foreign policy wise "there were no Islamic terrorists just terrorists that burned people alive and oh, beheaded a few folks, too! But, remember, Muslims are really peaceful folks!"
garage - how is that John Doe investigation coming along?
What followup questions were not asked?
It's ironic that the MSM would rather have Matt Drudge as the Republican kingmaker than Rush Limbaugh.
Oh wait, for the Clinton narrative Matt Drudge has to head the vast right-wing conspiracy. Not ironic after all.
Titus said...
The leader of the republican party is a homo-love it.
Are you a "tolerant" homophobe progressive?
"If Drudge continues to push Walker, it will matter in terms of how the Wisconsin governor is regarded by Republican politicos."
Use of "in terms of" in place of real English is lazy and off-putting. Most often, it is better to use "with regard to" or "with respect to."
In this case, Ann means something like "in determining."
Fullmoon: Yup.
I mean, I only ever even think of Drudge existing when Althouse links to him.
I can't even remember the last time Glenn Reynolds linked to Drudge.
Being the leader of the GOP seems to be like being the No.2 of Al Qaeda. There seems to be no shortage no matter how many mainstream media drones take one out.
Original title of article: "Drudge must be stopped."
"That's why many of us welcome the national spotlight on Walker."
Tell me that in October 2016.
Walker looks good now but what about the secret routers? The cudgels used against him will be his lack of a college degree and seeming lack of sophistication.
Althouse blog will easily see ten million hits in 2016. Maybe twelve. Many new people will get to know the centrist and heterodox Althouse.
Sigivald said...
Drudge is still around?
2/3/15, 11:45 AM"
Why yes he is. And interestingly enough his little website has a higher probable market value than the NYT and WaPo combined. Thats the difference between being a journalist and a party house propaganda hack.
Drudge's continuous auto-refresh is a major pain to me. After the 2nd or 3rd time I just go somewhere else, whether I am finished reading or not.
The Drudge Report still exists? Who knew?
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