As many sociologists have described, the Internet and information technology have fundamentally changed the way people conduct their social lives and how they interact with others around them. In that sense, I suppose it was inevitable that they also have changed other aspects of American society and institutions -- in this case, how the political system operates:

The transformation of American politics by the Internet is accelerating with the approach of the 2006 Congressional and 2008 White House elections, prompting the rewriting of rules on advertising, fund-raising, mobilizing supporters and even the spreading of negative information.

Democrats and Republicans are sharply increasing their use of e-mail, interactive Web sites, candidate and party blogs, and text-messaging to raise money, organize get-out-the-vote efforts and assemble crowds for a rallies. The Internet, they said, appears to be far more efficient, and less costly, than the traditional tools of politics, notably door knocking and telephone banks.

The article goes on to discuss the seemingly disproportionate influence that bloggers have on the policies of their own political parties, especially among Democrats. That is, many of the most well-known progressive bloggers are staunchly liberal and often criticize Democrat efforts to “moderate” their message to appeal to independents and centrists.

At the same time, the article suggests (similar to what other articles have also noted) that these bloggers tend to constitute a rather small proportion of the Democratic base, as they tend to be quite privileged -- very well-educated and middle- or upper-income. In other words and in many respects, these bloggers may only represent one portion of the “progressive” landscape but seem to have a disproportionate level of influence.

As a diehard progressive myself, I certainly recognize the need to fight for core values of social justice equality, which in fact have been the cornerstone of my life and career. At the same time, as a pragmatist, I also recognize that in order for Democrats to regain power, our message has to reach and connect with a wider audience -- one that goes beyond just core followers to include moderates, independents, and centrists.

In the end, there’s no doubt that it’s going to be tough to balance core progressive principles with compromised policies designed to draw in a wider support base. But through my years as an activist and an educator, I’ve found that in order to achieve meaningful results, extremist policies on either side are not the answer.

In fact, this has been one of the biggest criticisms of “The Left” in recent decades -- that it’s too fractious and divided, unable to reach beyond their core in order to achieve any kind of success. This also seems to be how conservatives have been able to attain and maintain power -- by broadening their politics and integrating different issue constituencies under their umbrella.

I believe that this is something that Democrats can learn from Republicans. There is room in the Democratic party for many followers -- ones that encompasses many different perspectives.