Most of my regular readers know by now that I occasionally contribute to John Hawkins' Conservative Grapevine, which means Hawkins occasionally sends out different posts, interviews and surveys from RWN to me.  Anyway, Hawkins sent out this one, where he notes he was refused passes to attend the GOP Convention. 

From the sounds of things, he was rejected for his well-publicized post rejecting McCain for his turnarounds on immigration.  I did talk to Hawkins a little bit about it, I think he's kind of amused by the whole thing at this point, which I don't think is expressed in his post.  He found a solution to the problem anyway, he simply handed the keys to RWN to someone who had been invited.  In any case, I think it's foolish for them to refuse Hawkins the RNC press passes.

Yeah, the blogosphere is a tiny place in the broader scheme of things, but it does have an effect, particularly on the media.  It is also a good way to measure enthusiasm amongst the base and activists.  This is especially true of larger sites like RWN. 

McCain and the GOP leadership absolutely must rebuild the bridges they burned with the conservative movement, the selection of Gov Palin is an acknowledgment of that point.  The choice of Gov Palin was a good start in that direction, but they have to follow through by continued efforts to reconnect with the grassroots.  Inviting prominent conservative bloggers, especially those who are willing to strongly criticize McCain and/or the GOP would be a positive, if small step.

Posted by: doubleplusundead at 10:19 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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