Bloggers may play key role in Hatch's '06 race

Blogs and the traditional media feed off each other. A blogger may write about an issue or come up with a political "scoop." Other bloggers comment on that post and link to it. Pretty soon someone in the traditional media or on a radio talk show makes note of the issue and mentions the blog. Other bloggers then link to the story in the traditional media. Before long, the story is all over the newspapers, radio and television. The blogging/media world becomes an echo chamber that really revs up the buzz.

In Utah, we don't quite have the critical mass of well-read bloggers for it to work just that way, but we're getting close.

Utah's bloggers are mostly anti-Hatch. They are not so noisy that they've attracted much traditional media attention (except in this column), but they do link to each other and they have an impact in certain circles, particularly the high-tech community, which tends to not like Hatch.

Pignanelli: "Orrin Hatch . . . is the digital Joe McCarthy!" growled high-tech billionaire Mark Cuban on a local radio station and promised to contribute to Hatch's opponents. By referencing the anti-Communist crusader senator, Cuban (most Utahns know him as the vitriolic owner of the Dallas Mavericks) revealed the political controversy currently raging on the Internet that involves a handful of Utah politicians. Invigorated from the prior successes LaVarr noted, bloggers are now preparing for their biggest battle yet — the Utah 2006 U.S. Senate race. They and their high-tech allies (like Cuban) express open contempt for Hatch and his legislation to safeguard copyright protections through imposing liability on technology companies (recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court).

Hatch's Republican opponent, Rep. Steve Urquhart, is a hero to many Internet-savvy politicos. He is a longtime blogger who has gained recognition for his legislation dealing with high-tech issues. Presumed Democratic contender Pete Ashdown is the owner of Utah's most famous homegrown Internet service provider, XMission. Ashdown is well known in national techie circles for his articulate manner in discussing issues important to them and for the high quality of service his company provides to customers. XMission recently introduced free wireless access to the Internet in downtown Salt Lake City, and Ashdown now approaches cyber sainthood among bloggers.