Nancy Pelosi reaching out to bloggers; Virginia politicians look to YouTube, and bloggers!

The Dems are doing an awesome job reaching out to us bloggers!

Soon after Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was sworn in as House speaker, she took questions from internet bloggers on a conference call that was closed to "mainstream media."

Last week, after President Bush's State of the Union speech, Pelosi's aides arranged for bloggers to question two Democratic leaders on yet another conference call closed to the "mainstream media."

Via the Associated Press:

Pelosi also hired a full-time staff member this month dedicated to blogger outreach, and is making plans to launch a blog of her own. The day she was sworn in, bloggers were given special accommodations at the Capitol to cover the event, and fed lunch.

It's all evidence of the newfound attention bloggers from left-leaning Web sites are commanding on Democratic-run Capitol Hill, especially from the new speaker, a San Franciscan with an appreciation for the power of the Internet and grass-roots activism.

Politics in Virginia has taken a turn for the better too! Republicans in the state's General Assembly were killing bills WITHOUT recording a vote, so Democrats decided to do something about it. Democratic operatives are now trolling the halls of Virginia's State Capitol with video camera in hopes of putting Republicans on the defensive. So far it's working too, as you might imagine, Republicans are accusing Democrats of "bringing a new, harmful tool into the nation's oldest state legislature." Harmful tool? So bringing more transparency into the goings on of your state government, and helping people understand what REALLY happens behind closed doors is "a harmful tool?" Excuse me but it seems as though Republicans have something they feel they want to hide here.

From the Washington Post:

"We saw last election how [video] can be a powerful tool, so now we are helping bring sunshine and openness to the General Assembly," said Mark Bergman, a state Democratic Party spokesman.

GOP leaders warned their colleagues Thursday to be on their best behavior around the camera, which is the size of a small thermos and not always easy to detect.

Videos are posted here, the blog for Democrats in the state legislature. Among the videos posted, is this one, where Republicans kill a possible min. wage increase in subcommittee:

[Cross posted on Daily Kos, and Raising Kaine!]