Netroots Rising

The following interview with Sen. Jim Webb was completed on June 21, 2007.

Feld: How much of a role, and in what ways, did the “draft” play in your decision to enter the US Senate race?
Webb: Seeing the spontaneous enthusiasm of the “draft” movement was a very strong motivator for me, particularly as one who had never run for office, and would be running as a Democrat after having served in the Reagan Administration.

Feld: When you started your campaign, you seemed very interested in running a Howard Dean-style, netroots/grassroots-oriented campaign. Do you think that’s what ended up happening? If not, why not?
Webb: To the extent that it was possible given the incredible time constraints in a campaign that was begun only 9 months before the election, with no money and no campaign staff, I believe we did accomplish that goal.

Feld: Do you believe you would you have won the primary without the netroots and grassroots support that you got? How about the general election?
Webb: This is a difficult question to answer, as there are so many dynamics in play in an election campaign. But it would not have been possible to get the word out regarding the campaign, particularly during the primary, without this support. And the true turning point in the general campaign was the Tim Russert debate, after which we received around $150,000 in unsolicited internet contributions within 24 hours.

Feld: What were the main contributions the netroots and grassroots made to your campaign? Were there any downsides to having the netroots and grassroots so heavily involved?
Webb: My campaign was truly a bottom-up endeavor. It relied very heavily on volunteers, word of mouth, and netroots / grassroots in order to build support. Of particular value was the quick-response reactions to character assassination and the misrepresentation of my views, both of which were emblematic features of the Karl Rove campaign formula.

Feld: How do you see the role of the netroots developing in 2007, 2008 and beyond? Do you believe the netroots/grassroots model will ever displace traditional ways of running political campaigns?
Webb: I do continue to believe that this is an evolutionary aspect of campaigns. At its best, this approach represents participatory democracy in its finest form. At its worst, it offers trouble-makers to engage in anonymous personal attacks.

Tags: Jim Webb

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