Opinion: Local lands on D.C.'s 'blog row'

No, he wasn't in trouble with the feds for anything. In fact, it was an opportunity of a lifetime for him.

My friend, Paul Seale, owns Alien Media, a small, Nixa-based Web design and hosting business with clients such as Congressman Roy Blunt, 417Guns, GPS Security and Outdoor Home. He's also a huge politics, history and war buff. Throw all of those facts in a blender and out comes his work for noendbutvictory.com, a Web site devoted to the war in Iraq, democracy's progress there and the impact on Iraqi citizens.

That's how Seale ended up on blog row. Since November, he's been blogging for No End But Victory; Seale also overhauled the Web site. It's been a great gig for him.

Well, a great thing got better when the site's organizers invited Seale to represent the No End blog at the House Republican Conference Radio and Blog Row on Capitol Hill on Jan. 31.

The Row is a GOP-sponsored forum for bloggers and radio show hosts in which House members answer open questions. The live blog - which started at 2 p.m. and ended around 12:30 a.m. - was wrapped around President Bush's State of the Union address. Other groups represented were National Association of Manufacturers, Human Events Online and National Review Online. The House held its first live blog row in October.

Seale jumped at this chance despite, aversions to flying and big cities.

We went out to lunch upon his return. I had to find out how it went. I had to see this insider's look at Washington.

War bonds

The highlight for Seale stems from a single question that he asked: “Why not sell war bonds?”

Seale asked this, recalling the military funding mechanism applied during World War II. “It wasn't all just put on the national credit card,” he said during our lunch.

The response was “a shocked look,” as if a light bulb went on in the legislators' heads.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost more than $300 billion to date, with the Bush administration after another $100 billion, according to Knight Ridder reports. A joint study of Columbia and Harvard universities published in January estimated that total costs could exceed $2 trillion, when factoring in soldiers' lifelong health care.

As with the World War II bonds, Seale says selling war bonds would, No. 1, pay down the country's debt and, No. 2, develop national unity, giving Americans a way to help out with the war.

“I'm really hoping that maybe we will see (war bonds sold),” he said. “That would be the ultimate flattery.”

A Clear Channel journalist on blog row liked the idea, Seale said, and dubbed them “freedom bonds.”

“It'd be great to make an impact on policy, to make a difference. We'll see,” Seale said. “Isn't that what it's supposed to be all about?”

Plastic people

Seale's grand and admittedly broad-brushed impression of those who represent each of us is that many are “plastic.” There's a lot of faking and self-absorbedness in our capital.

“There were a lot of people who were completely self-absorbed, and that goes for the journalists and bloggers as well as the people who were giving the answers,” Seale said. “They sometimes get so wrapped around the (capital) Beltway news circle and don't stick their head out of the window to see how the rest of the world is doing.”

A frustrating issue: Seale said that some reps “filibustered” questions, meaning they gave answers without really answering the questions. Journalists call it talking in circles or using talking points.

But, Seale said, there are others who really care about Americans and seek to hear the voice of the people. To name drop, the good representatives on blog row included Indiana's Mike Pence, California's Ed Royce, Ohio's Deborah Pryce, South Carolina's Joe Wilson and Florida's Mario Diaz-Balar. Exactly a week after the event, Seale received a personal thank-you letter from Wilson.

Business contacts

The trip also served as a networking opportunity. As any good small-business owner would do, Seale scheduled some meetings with prospects.

While a few fell through, one really solid meeting could result in some technical consulting work for Campaigns & Elections, a magazine covering business and trends in politics. The possibly of writing a monthly tech column was discussed, Seale said.

Blog excerpts

Seale asks Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., to define victory as it pertains to the war: “Victory means significant withdrawals and increases of Iraqis to take up for themselves (and) rebuilding of the Iraqi economy in terms of schools and power plants,” the blog reads. “Elections are another defining of that government taking hold. … There is no definable statistic like a white flag.”

Seale asks National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Ed Patru about rebuilding Iraq as a democracy as an issue for voters: “Ed first sidesteps the issue - talks about homeland security.” A follow-up question gets this: “The public does understand that there is a solid need to have a stable Iraq. The public understands that without a total victory in Iraq, we will be vulnerable at home.”

Read more at www.noendbutvictory.com.

Eric Olson is Springfield Business Journal news editor.