This argument over whether online wonkery is useful has been pretty interesting. Check Duncan (and again) for the pessimistic take (generally no, Democrats can't do anything, but policy knowledge can help defensively ) and Max, Henry, and Kevin for the optimistic view (wonkery is awesome!). A few thoughts:
• Is anything we do useful? Does it need to be? The internets boast more blogs than Limbaugh has prescriptions (bam!), and only a small handful can be thought of as politically effective, and they're neither reliably nor predictably powerful. Add in that the marginal cost of reading another blog is miniscule, and a couple sites chewing over GAO numbers can't, at any rate, hurt things.
• The political effectiveness of wonkery is a little tricky to evaluate. As Max and Kevin note, it sure did the trick during the Social Security fight, but, as Duncan argues, that was a rearguard action. So are arguments over potential policy choices worthwhile? Maybe. The image of wonkishness can prove politically effective, particularly in the media. Pundits love to sadly sniff that Republicans are corrupt plutocrats bent on destroying the country, but at least they have ideas, while all those dullard Democrats offer is more empiricism and responsible stewardship. They're so 1997. A vibrant and noticeable policy community can potentially combat that meme, and if it emerged soonish, fit snugly into a neo-gingrichian narrative (corrupt incumbents plus vibrant opposition party=turnover).
• Who are we writing for, anyway? Assuming that knowing policy is a good in and of itself, isn't there an inherent utility in using our blogs to better inform our readers? I mean, most of my visitors already don't like Republicans. My work there is done. But now, they don't only dislike Republicans, but they know a lot of boring facts about health care. That's value for ya.
• A couple media folks, political operatives, and otherwise influential entities read my site, but even so, claiming as much as an infinitesimal political impact vastly overstates my effectiveness. This may be different for some of the bigger boys, but given the societal benefit of pushing politically-useful memes or informing folks, I'm probably doing more good through the latter. And hopefully, I can do both.
• Plus, wonkery gets you chicks (or dudes). I'd have thought that'd be obvious.
Update: Digby has more, and says it better. Damn Digby.
