This week the entire Oregon House Democratic membership rolled out its own group blog. In what looks like a first among the 50 states, the Oregon House Dems have jumped into the blogosphere, both raising their own visibility and Oregon residents' access to them.
The Oregon House Dems deserve credit not only for adopting new technology and putting their own words directly in front of the voters. They also get kudos for letting readers comment on their posts, providing the interactivity - with all the perils and pitfalls it brings - blog consumers expect.
That small step is a far cry from the typical conservative, Republican blog, where iron-clad message control means no reader comments of any kind. Whether the GOP itself, or leading conservative blogs like Instapundit, Powerline or Hugh Hewitt, the Right apparently believes it is better to give than receive. The contrast with the national Democrats and left-of-center blogs, like Atrios, DailyKos, Political Animal or Think Progress, could not be more stark.
Hats off again to the Oregon House Democrats.