McCain Courts Leftwing Bloggers

Republican John McCain’s campaign has begun holding regular conference calls with leftwing bloggers and blogs that focus on single issues such as healthcare and the environment.

On May 15, McCain held a conference call with bloggers including Greg Sargent of TPM Election Central, Kate Sheppard — a political reporter for the environmental Web site Grist.org — and Erin Kotecki, who blogs at BlogHer.com and The Huffington Post, according to Wired.com.

An earlier call included Med Gadget and other blogs devoted to healthcare issues.

These calls are in addition to the weekly calls McCain holds with conservative bloggers to keep them informed about his positions.

Patrick Hynes, one of McCain’s online communications consultants, told Wired that McCain is seeking to foster a relationship with people who are likely to criticize his positions because McCain “loves the rough and tumble of politics.”

And Tracy Russo, who was John Edwards’ blog outreach coordinator, called McCain’s new strategy to court leftwing bloggers “good thinking on the part of McCain’s campaign.”