My votes for the 2011 Netroots Awards – Part 1
It’s that time of year again. Voting is now open to determine the best of the blogs and online activism on the left in Florida.
A multiple-award winner last year, I have some pretty strong opinions about which Florida-based blogs/bloggers are worth a damn. What follows are a listing of the categories in this year’s Netroots Awards and who I will be voting for in said categories. You can read about who I nominated here, although it’s important to note that who I nominated is not necessarily who I am voting for.
Also, keep in mind that last year’s winners can not be nominated again (a silly rule which I will have to talk to my good friend Kenneth Quinnell about). Here goes:
Best National Blog: Blogs written by Floridians that covers primarily national politics. (Last Year’s Winner: The Reid Report): Quite honestly, I have yet to come across a Florida-based blog that covers PRIMARILY national politics that comes close to being as good as last year’s winner, The Reid Report. Correct me if I am wrong, but the difference between Joy Reid’s blog and the rest of the presumptive nominees is as stark as night and day.
In my nominations post, I wrote, “I am refraining from nominating any blogs in this category. I reserve the right to update this section if someone can show me a site deserving of the award.” After a cursory review of the nominated sites in this category, I am torn between sticking by my original sentiment or voting for Beach Peanuts, Pensito Review or Ranger Against War.
While I really enjoy the effort of Beach Peanuts, it’s Pensito Review which is, in its focus, a truly ‘national’ blog.
Best State Blog: Blogs about statewide politics in Florida. (Last Year’s Winner: FLA Politics) This is the category SaintPetersBlog is nominated in and most deserving of winning. I will try to show some humility by not explaining why other than to say what I’ve said before: there is what I do and there is what the rest of the Florida blogosphere does.
Best Local Blog: Blogs about city/county/regional politics in the state of Florida. (Last Year’s Winner: Saint Petersblog) I vote for the The Ybor City Stogie. The Stogie is not the most complicated, in-depth site, but it is unabashedly progressive and it is wonderfully local. The Stogie’s ongoing series’ ‘Tampa Bay Homeless‘ has, with its haunting minimalism, developed into the most thought-provoking ongoing series published on Florida’s blogosphere.
Best Media Blog: Blogs written by professional journalists at Florida publications. (Last Year’s Winner: Politifact Florida). I am voting for the Buzz blog, because it is the gold standard for professional political blogging in Florida. This category is a no-brainer. I don’t even know why William March’s March on Politics is nominated as it now dormant, having been absorbed by the lackluster Fresh Squeezed Politics, which is the dog’s breakfast of professional political blogging in Florida.
Best Professional Blog: Blogs written by state or local political parties, candidates or party operatives in Florida. (Last Year’s Winner: Doug Tudor). Okay, let’s be honest here, this is a weird category with only three nominees. The Fort Report is a website with a lot of potential (it could have been the anti-Sayfie Review, in fact). But it is not a blog, it is an aggregator and it’s more and more important to make that distinction. So no Fort Report. Steve Schale has posted on his blog just five time this year, so I can’t vote for his site no matter how intelligent his observations. That leaves Kevin Cate, who I will vote for in the same spirit Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This is an award given on the come..on the promise of great (online) things to come from Kevin Cate.
Best Party Website: Best Florida-wide website associated with a political party or political party unit (such as a caucus or coalition). (Last Year’s Winner: Democratic Veterans Caucus) Certainly it has the most resources available to devote to a website, but the Florida Democratic Party’s relatively new website was so overdue that I just have to vote for it.
Best Candidate Website: Anyone running for statewide or local office in Florida can win this one. (Last Year’s Winner: Alan Grayson) I am voting for Patrick Murphy’s Campaign Website because of how professional and well-organized the site is for a first-time candidate’s campaign.
Best Interest Group Website: Any Florida-based nonparty activist, charitable or grassroots group. (Last Year’s Winner: Hands Across the Sand) This may be one of the most competitive categories because there are several strong possible nominees. But there can only be one winner, so rapid fire: Awake the State is too limited in scope. Organize Now is a solid site, but less technically exciting as the competition. Space Coast is also a solid site, but unless you are a Space Coast Progressive, how often are you visiting the page. I really like Pink Slip Rick, but it’s mother site deserves any vote cast for it. This leaves us with Progress Florida vs. Florida Watch Action. I believe I have to vote for the latter because of just how attractive the Florida Watch Action site is.
Alright, that’e enough for one post. I’ll continue in another post on Wednesday.
[...] said categories. You can read about who I nominated here and who I voted for in the first round here, although it’s important to note that who I nominated is not necessarily who I am voting [...]